  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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In the end, dawn came.
A rising shaft of sunlight caught the edge of the Amulet, which was suspended round my lichen-covered neck. It flashed, bright as glass. Automatically I raised a claw to cup it, just in case sharp eyes were on the lookout.
—“The Amulet of Samarkand” by Jonathan Stroud
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Writing fiction or fantasy is really only an elaborate lie you’ve concocted in your mind. But you should try to use your story to find out why certain elements or characters in it seem so important that you have to write about them.
Sure, we want our characters to represent the best or worst of humanity, to be larger than life. But even Sauron had his weaknesses or he would have become uninteresting.
If you’re yearning to write a fantasy about elves fighting an evil so wicked it would make Sauron look like a wimp, ask yourself why. What is it about this guy that makes him interesting to you. Readers want to know the reasons for people’s behavior, good or bad.
Another important part of writing is to read and re-read your story as it develops. The story is trying to tell you things—not only about yourself and your subconscious, but about itself. Maybe your villain is becoming more likeable than you expected or intended; perhaps you can understand his motives better, and even sympathize with them. That would not only reflect your own understanding but also give you a chance to make your story more complex and subtle, more interesting to your readers.
Or you may find that your hero, every time he’s in a jam, has something witty to say. Maybe this means that your subconscious finds something really funny about the situation you’ve put him in, and could also mean that your hero has a better sense of humor than you’d planned on. Could it be that your story wants to be a satire instead of a dead-serious heroic fantasy or space opera?
This happens to me all the time. I struggle hard to write horror, and then my subconscious cries out for release and I end up writing a comedy. You may notice this in my Port, where you’ll find about as many comedies as horror stories.
But satirizing fantasy, like Terry Prachett, can work up to a point (after all, there’s satire in everything) but it’s also a sign that the original genre has run out of energy and your story needs new life—a new kick—or something totally different.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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FANTASTIC PICKS
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FABULOUS FEEDBACK
Witty_Writer 
Submitted Comment:
I enjoy the newsletter, the humor and creativity is great. I was wondering if you could write a fantasy story but not start it fantasy-like. Like that the first few chapters would be completely non-fantasy until it all unfolds?
I think you can find a lot of fantasy out there, Witty, that uses this technique. I wrote a piece called, {item: 723167}, in which the story starts out as a hunting trip amongst four good friends and then turns into something else entirely.
FantasyTeen
Submitted Comment:
That was a really neat article! It made me think (something that can be hard to do before noon somedays) Thanks so much!
Raine
Submitted Comment:
That’s because you can't be sure that the sun will rise, that the Earth is round And some fantasy worlds are discs floating on the backs of four elephants who ride through space on the back of giant turtle. Thank you Terry Pratchett.Creating fantasy worlds can be a whole lot of fun but they are, as you say, a different sort of problem. There is, in fantasy especially, the willing suspension of disbeleif. However, you can only press the unbelievable so far before the world and all your hard work becomes a farce instead.
River Song
Submitted Comment:
W.D, thank you for your awesome article. There were a lot of great reminders in there for all of us. Fantasy is a wonderful genre to write in if you want to let your creativity flow, but you're right, there are many demands for writing a good fantasy story. Thanks!
Puditat
Submitted Comment:
Bill, an excellent editorial. You said so many sensible things, but what really grabbed me was this bit: "even changing the laws of nature to suit the story". My novel in progress was criticised - a world with two suns should still get cold at night. But it's my world and it doesn't drop significantly in termperature at night. You gave me faith in what I've written... thank you!
scribbler
Submitted Comment:
I hate it when authors take the easy way out and use "magic" to solve all the problems they wrote themselves into. :(
Karen Rump
Submitted Comment:
Thank you very much for this week's letter. It's a fantastic reminder, and one that's done very well. ^_^
Karen Rump
Submitted Comment:
Now that's interesting. Never thought of it that way. ^_^
Lothmorwel
Submitted Comment:
Hiya, I've just read the fantasy and action newsletters and I love the pieces you'vce written.I've been wondering for a long time what second person is, and now I know!I really enjoyed reading the newsletters, you highlight some really important factors in writing and give the reader something to think about and try out. I get the newsletters regularly (and also the horror, short fiction and one for writers in general) and enjoy all of them, I just thought that today I'd let you know that I like reading your writing especially.Thank you,
Hazel.
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Fantasy: February 22, 2006 Issue [#890]
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