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This newsletter is for everyone who enjoys the magic and mystery of a good Fantasy, be it Tolkien, Jordan, Rowling, or a host of others. I will also be attempting to give some time to other types of fantasy, as written by the likes of Asimov, Wilson, Clarke and a galaxy of talent.
I hope to present some information that will be useful to other fantasy authors on site, and entertaining to all our subscribers.
So, let the wonder and glory of all that is fantasy engulf you.
The Fantasy Editors:
Colin Back on the Ghost Roads
billwilcox
The Milkman 
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Happy Holidays
Yes, it’s that most wonderful time of the year again. We have gone past Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you’re Canadian or American, and Halloween. Some of us honoured Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Heck, here in Korea we celebrated Peppero day, that special day of the year when everyone hands out chocolate covered pretzel sticks to anyone who will hold still long enough to receive them. Now we are preparing for the big ones, Christmas, Chanukah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and most likely a whole host of others I am not aware of. Note, spellings may not be fully accurate, and I don’t even know where to look on some of them. No disrespect is intended, and please feel free to correct my misspellings for the future. While they come from a variety of sources and cultures, these holidays all have one thing in common. None of them celebrate a time that a mighty evil being terrorized the world and was stopped by a small band of heroes, trapped but still scheming, nor do any of them have anything to do with any ongoing plots in our story. Why is it that so many holidays and festivals in fantasy stories exist only for those reasons?
Like entertainment, holidays and festivals can be used as ways to bring a fantasy culture to life and make it feel more real. Sometimes they can be very useful to explain some of the history that is relevant to the story world, but they can also serve other helpful plot devices. You want to stall the heroes on their chase of a villain? Plant them in the middle of a major local festival. Sorry sirs, you’ll not be able to leave until morning, custom demands it. There are a broad range of reasons why people might venerate a particular day or time of year besides waiting for a small band of unlikely heroes to free them from some titanic evil. Let’s look at a few of them now.
1) Harvest festivals. These are very common among cultures that rely primarily on agriculture to survive. Despite the historical connections, both Thanksgivings are mainly celebrations of a harvest. Korea has a similar festival in the autumn of their old lunar calendar, so it falls any time from late August to early October. They all typically involve gathering families together for a large meal to celebrate plenty. In years of sparse harvests, there may be some sort of ritual sacrifice performed to help increase the bounty for next year.
As a side note, using a lunar calendar for some important events can really throw a twist into a story. Imagine a group of heroes arriving at their destination thinking they are days early for their deadline of the great Feast of Yx, and finding out that Yx was a Lunar society and the festival starts in ten minutes.
2) Religious events. This will often fall in with the small band of heroes cliché but it doesn’t have to. Any religious observance can result in a holiday (which unless my etymology is completely off is the origin of the word in the first place). In a world where the gods take an active interest in the world, evidence of divine power is everywhere, and holidays to celebrate divine kindness or ward off divine malevolence would logically be very common. Even in worlds where such interest isn’t so obvious, religious holidays with no bearing on the plot at hand may be very common.
You can use religious festivals for other plot purposes than the usual. In the Bible, for instance, it was custom for the Romans to release a prisoner of the people’s choice on a certain holiday. That could be useful to your heroes if they need information from a felon about to be executed.
3) Events of Historical Importance. These also tend to fall into the Heroes vanquishing evil end of things, but can also commemorate the birth or death of a local political figure, military hero, famous wizard or priest who has little to do with the current plot and so on. These sorts of festivals can be used to very good effect to rally the local populace to do something the heroes need done. “On this day you are celebrating the day twenty of your villagers held yonder pass against an army of Ogres 1000 strong! Today, only 200 are poised to attack, and you can field fifty stout yeomen. Can you be expected to do less? I say thee nay!!!”
4) Events of Local Importance. The founding of the town shrine, the founding of the town tavern, the opening of the first general store, the day the town became a town, all these are good reasons for the people to take a day off and throw a party. This is the perfect vehicle to slow the heroes down a bit. They can also be good ways to introduce small points of local character that can be important later on. “Wait, the tavern was founded on this spot three days after this map was penned. You don’t suppose the reason we can’t find the forked tree here is because they built the Forked Oak Tavern out of it do you?”
5) Just plain needed a rest. This one probably wasn’t too common back in the middle ages, but in a fantasy world it could be viable. A holiday is created because a long period of hard work has been completed, and the people need a chance to rest. This is another good place to add local colour to the heroes’ travels as well as work in some information about the world.
So, there we have five possible sources for holidays that do not necessarily have to commemorate anything directly relevant to the plot. Take these suggestions to heart and let your characters have a little fun once in a while.
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From: Bluebird
I had a request. In a previous newsletter there was some talk about archetypes (as in the inanimate sense; ie. an apple).
I would love to see a newsletter highlighting typical character archetypes found in fantasy. Its a topic I don't know very much about, but am thoroughly fascinated by.
Just a humble request. Thanks a bunch.
~Bluebird
I may be able to tackle this one at a later date. In the mean time one of the other authors may wish to take this topic up as well. I'll leave it posted for the team to look at. I'm sure someone will examine archetypes in an upcoming newsletter.
From: billwilcox
Colin,
This is an excellent technique. You enter a fantasy world and make comments about the farmers planting their seeds in your descriptions. Later, you can note how high the crops have grown since last you were there. Or a child can be described and later introduced as a teenager. You have to give the feeling that it is a world that continues and grows just like any other.
W.D.
Yes, that is the idea. Make it clear to the reader that the world does exist beyond the confines of what the main characters can see and hear. Make it believable by making it alive.
From: JdotRO mom to Charlotte!
Excellent point regarding recreation...I honestly hadn't thought to give my characters something to do in between banishing evil and making out with knights on white horses...lol...thanks for the helpful tip!
Most authors don't, which was why I felt it needed to be addressed. Glad you enjoyed it and found it useful.
From: Asura
I really enjoyed your ideas on adding a little entertainment to fantasy stories. I must say I had never thought of it before. I can't wait to sit down and put together games, theater and music in my world.
Just a few simple details can make a fantasy world seem like a real place. go to it, and let me know how it works out.
From: scribbler
just something I thought of as I read the newsletters. A fantasy series that had a sport that did not involve killings is of course the world of Harry Potter. Quiddich anyone?
Perfect example. Often integrated into the book plots, but always existing beyond them as well. The pro Quiddich teams are mentioned, their standings change, their players move around just like in a real world sport, all without influencing the plot. It makes for a much livlier story and makes it more believable as well to me.
From: dlnacho2005
Just a big thank you to the editor! This newsletter gave me much food for thought. It got the creative juices flowing and that is really important! Thanks again!
Thanks for writing in. That's the reason I do these newsletters. Glad you find them helpful.
From: Izkata
Well, it's Monday night... Friday afternoon, I had left to visit a college, and had only returned Sunday morning (Yes, this DOES pertain to the newsletter!). Saturday night, I had went to a party at one of the fraternities, and there were a few comments made that... well... Here are some of them:
"It's so weird... I only just met you all, yet I feel like we've known each other our whole life."
"It's kinda sad... After tonight, we'll probably never see each other again.."
For some reason, being over there stuck me back into fantasy-writing mood. I think I found my muse - real life. It all just reminded me of an inn or tavern, where you may meet other adventurers or part ways....
Those actually sound like quotes from some fantasy novels, so I'd say your point is just. We should always write about what we know, and we all know people and places. Just translate them into your stories and things will feel right, generally.
From: vanax
could you go over fantasy scenery? i'm having a hard time bringing my world to life because of the unsual aspects of the world i am writing about. thank you.
vanax
To quote or possibly paraphrase Victor Borge, "I never do requests...unless of course, someone asks me to do so."
Tune in next month for Fantasy Scenery, because anything that cuts down on my efforts to think of a topic is a good thing for me.
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Fantasy: December 07, 2005 Issue [#757]
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