Writer's Life: The Nuances of Fantasy or Fairy tales versus Epic Fantasy (Kimberly)

Writing in different sub-genres within the same fictional world is easy. Did you laugh? Me too. In truth, writing in different sub-genres in the same fictional world comes with its own series of challenges. In this case, let's talk fairy tale retellings versus epic fantasy.

During the course of my career I've written in a number of different sub-genres within the fantasy world realm that do not include my two ventures outside of fantasy. I started in urban fantasy then added fairy tale retellings and have now expanded the fairy tale universe to include an epic romantic fantasy. Sub-genre or niche bouncing is something I consider to be normal for many authors, so don't be alarmed if you're the same way. Not all of the shiny ideas fit into the same box and that's okay. However, there are going to be challenges when you hop sub-genres because each niche brings its own nuances.

Urban fantasy and fairy tale retellings set in a secondary world have very obvious differences in setting and world building. However, even if two sub-genres are set in the same fantasy world, there are still  challenges ahead. I'm going to focus on three of them.

Challenge #1 - Fairy Tales vs All Original

The biggest difference between writing fairy tale retellings and creating an all new story comes down to plot points. With fairy tale retellings, I have a road map to reference because the fairy tale I'm adapting provides defined points that must be incorporated inside the story framework. When examining the original tale I want to adapt, I look at the key elements and decide what can be dropped, kept, or twisted on its head. Which plays into decisions for how the story will unfold because there are certain parameters that must be met in order to qualify as a retelling or a looser reimagining. 

With all original stories, such as my Unseelie of Sonera trilogy, I have more plot flexibility because I do not have a specific road map I need to follow. This can also be an additional challenge because if you get stuck in parts, going back to the fairytale for inspiration will not help. 

Challenge #2 - Subplots Everywhere

Epic Fantasy is known for its subplots buffet. Everybody has a subplot! The world building is often massive and the main plot is created or carried by an ever-evolving group of subplots. Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time series are some of the best known examples of epic fantasy and its layers of subplots. Even if you are in the same broad universe as your less subplot-heavy fairy tale retellings, there will still be a big difference between them and your epic fantasy. Some subplots will be political, personal, and romantic, which will feed into the overarching series plot. With Unseelie, I have a lot of subplots in play due to the complex nature of the villain's plans and the obstacles faced in each book as Tatiana and Ramessu work toward their final goals. I also have a lot of family related subplots since there is a strong theme of found family and mother's love. This is partly due to the fact my epic fantasy trilogy is a continuous series in the vein of Lord of the Rings. They must be read in order to make sense.

With my fairy tale retellings, the books are far more stand-alone even though they each contribute to the overall series arc. I feature a different couple and their romance in each book so the subplots do not build on top of each other on the same scale as they do in the epic fantasy. There are fewer subplots contained in each book and only one or two background subplots carry over. With Love's Enchanted Tales, the primary background subplot was the curses connecting the different books. They are built more like the Chronicles of Narnia. They do not absolutely need to be read in order to make sense but there's some spoilers if you read them out of order.

Challenge #3 - The Size of the Cast

Epic Fantasy is known for large casts and for featuring multiple POVS. When I began Unseelie of Sonera, I had my two main characters, Tatiana and Ramessu, and a couple of side characters. The number of featured side characters grew in Book Two due to the demands of the story. When I started writing Book Three, the number of POV characters grew to eight due to the demands of the story once again. This combined with the complex layering of subplots makes for a challenging writing experience because you must avoid accidentally dropping characters and subplots.

By contrast, my fairy tale retellings usually only feature two POVS, the main couple. This makes it far less challenging to keep track of who is speaking and where. Other fairy tale retelling authors only feature one POV, usually the female main character. Even with fairy tales featuring larger casts such as Twelve Dancing Princesses or Month Brothers or Six Swans/Children of Llyr, a retelling usually only follows one or two POVs. The smaller POV cast also makes it easier to prevent dangling subplots that are not a part of the series arc.

With each of the these challenges, having a shared world does not negate them because they are rooted in the different nuances and expectations associated with these two different sub-genres. This is especially true if you plant your niches in different parts of the fantasy world like I did with Sonera. The fairy tales are set in a fairly contained corner of the world that draws on medieval Europe and India while Unseelie is set on a different continent that draws from ancient Greece and Rome. 

As challenging as it can be to write in these different sub-genres, I must admit that I love doing it. I love exploring a fantasy world full of different cultures. I love exploring the different ways of telling a story that can be more centralized around my main couple or can expand to include the villain and important side characters who will bring their own subplots and growth arcs. Fantasy comes in so many different flavors and nuances. It is not always easy to move between them as a writer, but I find it more than worth the effort of rising to each challenge.

Happy writing!

Kimberly A. Rogers

Christianity and High Fantasy (Hannah)

I’m sorry about the short post today, but this is a topic that has been on my mind ever since I began writing my current manuscript. See, I am a Christian, and it is my desire to glorify God in everything I do. That most certainly includes my writing.

Unfortunately for me, I write high fantasy. High fantasy is a particular sub-genre of fantasy that is set in a world that has no connection whatsoever to earth as we know it. The fantasy content is “high” as opposed to low fantasy, which includes worlds that are essentially earth with magical or fantasy elements added in.

Christianity in high fantasy is tricky. J.R.R. Tolkien, the renowned author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as many other works in Middle Earth, was a devoted Christian, but he never explicitly showed these elements in his work. His stories showed the Christian belief in good’s ultimate triumph over evil, but this does not in itself make Lord of the Rings or any of the others “Christian” books.

Pilgrim’s Progress comes closer, in that it is a clear allegory for the Christian life. Because it has no relation to earth and is filled with fantastic elements, it could be considered high fantasy. The Kingdom series by Chuck Black also follows the pattern of Pilgrim’s Progress in that it retells Bible stories in a new setting.

The “Dragon” Books, by Bryan Davis, are a combination of low and portal fantasy. Portal fantasy stories have settings such that earth is connected to another fantasy realm via a portal of some sort. Obviously, with a heavy emphasis on earth and a good deal of time spent there, it is easy to fit the Gospel into the narrative.

But what about high fantasy? I am not writing allegory, and neither am I writing low or portal fantasy. High fantasy is tricky in that we must treat the figure of Jesus especially carefully. In an alternate world, it isn’t much of a stretch to say that the same God is the Creator. However, it is really right to say that Jesus came to the alternate world as well as earth? If He did, did He live essentially the same life as the one He led on earth? What about the Bible? That book in particular is inextricably tied to history. What does the other world have for God’s Word? These are all difficult questions that face a Christian high fantasy writer. I asked the question many times: how can I get a Christian message into my book? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have several Christian high fantasy books on my shelves to serve as inspiration.

Swords of the Six, by Scott Appleton, solves this problem by having God but not Jesus. In the book, there are a couple of prophets who are in communication with the Creator and whose job it is to do the Creator’s will and lead others to do the same. The God in this book is clearly recognizable as the Christian God, but there is no mention of salvation or Jesus. Instead, the characters serve the Creator wholeheartedly because they love Him. This is a viable option, given that it can share truths about God and the proper response to Him. The main drawback is that it does not present the Gospel explicitly. This may not be too much of a problem, depending on what story you are telling.

The Map Across Time, by C.S. Lakin, takes a different option. The author chose a few key Bible verses as her theme, and presented the verses in-story as wise sayings that the characters learn to accept and live by. In this way, she is able to infuse her story with Biblical themes even though she did not create a world with God or Jesus or the Bible explicitly mentioned. The downside of course is that if I had not found the book in a Christian bookstore, I may never have realized it was supposed to be an obviously Christian book.

Another two of Bryan Davis’ series, Dragons of Starlight and Tales of Starlight, are also high fantasy. Here he omits any mention of God and Jesus but his strong Christian themes shine through his characters, who live by a clearly Christian system of morality that is regulated by the Code. This book receives little explanation, but the characters treat it as if it were the Word of God for them. It is, of course, perfectly consistent with the Bible.  This focus on the morality of the Christian life without getting into the specifics of exactly how God, Jesus, and the Bible relate to an alternate world is the most simple method to use and use well, but can have difficulty because without God, there can be no morality.

There are pros and cons to each approach, and there is no clear way to go about writing high fantasy that is explicitly Christian but not blasphemous in any way. Ultimately, I believe that as long as the author seeks to honor God with her writing and trains her ear and heart to listen for His words, she will produce a book that is pleasing and glorifying to Him.

I wrestled with the question of how to infuse my work with Christian themes when I first started writing, and it took me about a year to settle into a decision. Since then, I have continued to question whether it was the right one. At this point, I will not rewrite my story to support a sweeping change, so I am stuck with my original decision. My story follows Tolkien’s example, with Christian virtues and values underlying the storytelling, but with no explicit references to anything resembling God, Jesus, the Bible, or other recognizable elements of Christianity on earth.

In the future, maybe I will find a better option. For now, I will do the best I can to honor God with my writing, no matter what it is.

Have you had trouble showing Christian themes or elements in your writing? Do you have any suggestions for high fantasy writers in the future? Which example do you like best of the ones I listed above?

What are Dystopian and Steampunk Fiction? (Erin)

Back in January, I wrote about different types of Fantasy. Maybe you noticed I didn’t talk about  Dystopian Fiction or Steampunk Fiction. Often considered subsets or sub-genres of science fiction, I think the lines still spill over into fantasy quite often. Today, let's talk about the definitions of each.

1.      Dystopian fiction is fiction that is set in a somewhat grim possible future. Dystopian fiction examines how society would look if all the worst things happened, as opposed to utopian fiction, which represents society in its perfect state. Books like Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, Lois Lowry’s The Giver quartet, Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember series and the Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix all fit the bill of dystopian fiction. Common themes in dystopian fiction are population control, life after a major natural catastrophe or apocalypse, mutant germs and germ warfare and revolution or war under a dictatorial government. What is your favorite dystopian setting or series?

2.      Steampunk Fiction can be thought of as retro science fiction. Steampunk fiction considers what would happen if technology had continued to rely on steam power, as opposed to coal and fossil fuels. Steampunk incorporates fashion and conventions of the 19^th century and is often set in Victorian England, but can be set in other locations, as well. If today’s inventions appear, they are reinvented to work with steam power, and new, creative steam-powered devices and gadgets are a hallmark of steampunk. Steampunk can also fall into the category of “alternate history.” The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea are often considered precursers to steampunk fiction. I have read very little steampunk fiction, so be sure to send me your suggestions for steampunk books I need to put on my “Must Read” list!

Thanks for reading and remember, we love your comments!

Erin

Attributions: 
https://pixabay.com/en/vintage-steampunk-hot-air-balloon-1143341/

http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Book-1/dp/0439023521/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457647061&sr=8-2&keywords=the+hunger+games 
References: 
http://www.tor.com/2011/04/11/dystopian-fiction-an-introduction/ 
http://www.abebooks.com/books/victorian-fiction-jeter-robots/steampunk-literature.shtml
http://sciencefiction.com/2011/10/18/what-is-steampunk/

What is Fantasy? (Erin)

Hello! So nice of you to stop by! You’re probably here because you love fantasy, or you love us. (If the latter, thank you!) Either way, I’m sure you have a pretty good idea of what fantasy is. Basically, anything that comes out of someone’s imagination and couldn’t happen in the real world qualifies as fantasy. Think magic, talking animals, mystical creatures, and living legends.

But, did you know the fantasy genre can be broken down into several distinct categories? Read about some of them here, then post a comment to tell us which you like best.

Take Note: Each of our bloggers’ names is in parentheses next to the type of fantasy they are currently writing.

High Fantasy (Hannah):  This is fantasy that is set in an entirely different realm, with no connection to anything in the “real” world (i.e. Earth). High Fantasy often includes histories of separate lands, like the Shire, Rohan, and Mordor, in Middle-earth; races such as Elves and Hobbits; new languages (Can you read Elvish or Dwarvish?); and lots of maps.  

Click here for an interactive map of Middle-earth.   

Can you tell J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings series is a great example of a High Fantasy?

Arthurian Fantasy: Arthurian Fantasy in based on the legends surrounding King Arthur, Merlin, Morgan Le Fey, and the Knights of the Round Table. Examples are Stephen Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series.

Classical Fantasy: Fantasy based on Greek and Roman Mythology, like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series.

Historical Fantasy: Fantasy that takes place in a historical setting, such as the Civil War, or Victorian England. Check out King of Shadows by Susan Cooper or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Fairytale Fantasy (Laurie and Laura): Based on fairy tales, but full of realistic characters, twists and surprises. My daughter’s favorite is Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm series. 

Science Fantasy: Often set in space and science plays an important role, but different than Science Fiction. Science Fiction must be possible according to scientific principles, given logical technological advances. In Science Fantasy, anything goes! Madeleine L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time was one of the first Science Fantasy books written for younger readers. She had a hard time finding a publisher, because no one could figure out how to categorize her book! 

Portal Fantasy (Elizabeth): Fantasy where characters move back and forth between the real world and a fantasy world, via some type of portal, like the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series, or Platform 9 ¾  in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Time Travel Fantasy: Fantasy where the characters move forward and backward in time. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, of course.

Low Fantasy: Fantasy set entirely in the real world, but including fantastical elements unknown to most people. Did you know there are vampires and werewolves in Forks, WA? (If you can’t answer that, you may need to read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.)

Magical Realism (Erin and Laura): Real life in the real world, but requires you to believe in legends, random magic, or mystical occurrences. Magical Realism doesn’t rely on fantasy elements as much as Low Fantasy, but includes just enough wonder and mystery to make you think it couldn’t really happen. Read The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel, to see what I mean.

Of course, authors often use more than one fantastical device, so many of the books I mentioned could be placed in more than one category.

Remember to post a comment and let us know your favorite type of fantasy.

Also, let me know if you think of a type of fantasy I missed!

Thanks for reading!

Erin