 Fantasy: March 22, 2006 Issue [#938] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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“I don’t want to die!”
My head swooned and the hospital bed spun about madly like the needle of a compass. The ceiling began to dematerialize, molecules floating away as though they were no more than white blossoms blown by an unseen wind.
“You can’t have me!”
I hung tightly to the bed, balling clumps of mattress in my fists, holding on for dear life. Then I was in the open, floating, and it was like looking at the clear night sky—all black and cold and infinite, with tiny lights glinting, unreachable and far away. It was terrible, yet beautiful; I was drawn to it like a child to a window.
--billwilcox
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Transporting…
How does your character get from one world to the other? Of all the fantasy books I’ve ever read in my life about alternate worlds and parallel universes, I’ve always found the act of getting the main character from one place to the next to usually be the weakest part of the story—the most unbelievable. It’s as though it was written as an afterthought, since the body of the story is mainly centered in the other world.
Every author has their own little trick of getting their hero to where the action is.
In the Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny transports his characters through shadows of the one real world called, Amber. An intricate design is used called, the Pattern that Prince Corwin must walk in order to control Shadows. But what I found unbelievable was how he drove his car through ‘shadow worlds’ while the scenery changed all around him—a bit corny for me.
In the Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs has Captain John Carter trapped in a strange cave in Arizona by Indians back during the Civil War and then he is inexplicably transported to Mars. He simply wakes up and there he is. Talk about a cop-out.
I found that in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson, the hero is dying from leprosy (which I thought was a brilliant idea for an anti-hero), and then ends up in the fantasy world of The Land after getting hit by a car.
The list goes on and on, from traveling through wormholes, to projecting ones astral body to other dimensions. Every fantasy author has a little gimmick that’s used to transport their hero to Disneyland.
There was a rent in the fabric of the universe, and Duncan, broad-faced and half sobbing, stood at the very threshold. His physical body had never entered this realm before and he braced his mind for its reaction to the Infinite. Without hesitating, he ripped the membrane open, bent low, and entered the other world.
As he stood upright, his body convulsed from lack of oxygen. Duncan calmed himself—focused his will—adjusted his perception. His inner-being persuaded his brain that this was breathable air: his brain told his lungs, and his lungs, finally agreeing, took a deep breath of ether.
Dawn approached, sharp and chill, as he scanned the oblique landscape. The stars blew about, unrestricted and whirling in the endlessness above; the planets dangled by strings, reminding Duncan of a childhood mobile that had once hung in his bedroom. Looking at the geodesic panorama, he tried to adapt his vision to the irregularity of the fourth-dimension.
Moon-eyed, he followed the growth-line of some tubular vegetation that weaved in and out of a maddening, florescent-blue river. Duncan floated just inches above the rolling grass, the strength of his will grasping at a pinpoint of light in the distance. He directed his body toward it.
His mind registered his surroundings as Limbo—the world in-between the worlds. One could easily get lost here, staring into the ever-changing void forever—to become a shadow of shadows. Duncan ignored the vast stretches of distance and time as only illusion, and concentrated on his goal.
He came to a halt. A beautiful field of roses stood perfect before him and his mind was whisked away—playing in the garden. Each flawless blossom would erupt as he passed nearby sending blood-red petals into the air. He grappled with the vision, felt what he saw was quite natural, understandable, even though it was a false reality.
He tried to focus on the task ahead as rose petals melted on contact with his skin and he could taste their sweetness through his flesh. As Duncan marveled at how this could be happening, the vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and he found himself at the gateway to the heavens.
--"The Golden Door" by billwilcox
So I ask again, how do you get your hero to where he’s supposed to be?
In a simple puff of smoke?
Through a rabbit hole?
However you do it, and there are not as many different ways as you would suspect, make it as interesting as the rest of your story. Be creative—have a tornado blow your house to Oz or something—dare to try something totally new and exciting.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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FANTASY PICKS
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FEEDBACK
Wist 
Submitted Comment:
Thank you for featuring me in this Newsletter! As always it has been informative and very enjoyable to read. I look forward to continuing to read many more in the years to come.
Wist.
avid_writer
Submitted Comment:
Very nicely written newsletter! :) You gave good tips for writing, thanks! I will keep these things in mind.. :D
scribbler
Submitted Comment:
I have the exact same problem! I try to write a serious fantasy but my characters keep finding themselves in silly situations!
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