What exactly is the fantasy genre of literature? It depends on who you ask. Many literary scholars and critics have specific criteria for which elements need to be present. I found this out while doing research for this month’s issue.
One scholar diligently separated the fantasy genre into twelve subsets. A website showed me fifteen subsets. Purists will sometimes divide everything into high fantasy or low fantasy.
Sometimes genres overlap. Certain works of science fiction, horror, or even romance can be part of the fantasy genre. Are fairy tales, legends, mythology, and fables part of the fantasy genre? If they include magic, mythical/mystical creatures, alternate realities, or supernatural occurrences they can be.
After the J.R.R Tolkien classic, The Hobbit, was published in 1937, Its follow up was interrupted by the beginning of World War II in Europe. He published the first book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1954, and set the standard for high fantasy.
He created an alternate reality to Earth. He created creatures and beings in addition to humans and the animals we know. He gave us magic – some is good; some is evil. There are elves and fairies. Elves are superior creatures to humans. Unlike the tiny elves from fairy tales and the North Pole, Tolkien’s elves are intelligent and wise. They have keen senses, magical abilities, superior fighting skills, and a longer life span than humans. They have their own complex language and belief system. They rule their kingdoms wisely and peacefully, and they tend to dislike and distrust outsiders.
He borrowed elements of chivalry from tales such as Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory, and mimicked the living conditions of Medieval times when brave knights in armor rode horses and defended the kingdoms of their sovereigns who lived in castles. Powerful wizards existed, the mead was strong, the taverns were lively, and the villagers lived simply.
He reinvented ogres, trolls, and fairies, He made his Hobbits timid and gentle, and sometimes comical because he realized the intensity of the story he was creating needed a dash of humor. He wanted to remind his readers that humans must always remember how to laugh and find joy even in the darkest of times.
Above all, his message was that absolute power and the quest for absolute power are dangerous and can corrupt anyone.
Fantasies are a storyteller’s delight. They allow an author to use their imagination to make things happen that could never happen in the world we inhabit. It may sound simple, but it’s not. Authors of fantasies must create magic systems, build worlds, and create complex characters. There must be a quest and the struggle between good and evil.
When I began writing a short story with a fantasy theme for this month’s issue, I learned a little something about the daunting task of writing fantasy. I love the story I created, but didn’t have time to fully develop my world, my characters, or tell my story. At best, I wrote a short prologue to the story I want to tell about what happens when three warriors become virtually invincible. Maybe one of my next books will be a fantasy.
If you wrote a fantasy, what would be the setting? Is it in an alternate universe or our world? When is it? Is it in Medieval Times, modern day, or the future? Will the sky be blue? In one fantasy I read the sky was pink, and the grass was blue. In another, animals and trees could talk, but they only spoke to the protagonist of the story.
Will you need to create different languages for different people, or is there a universal language?
Are there flying cars or winged horses? How about dragons? Everyone loves a good story about a dragon.
Once you have those things figured out, you can create a conflict and devise the resolution of that conflict. Who will be your hero and your villain? Will there be magic? That’s not really a question because all fantasies need magic., The questions are how much magic, and who will have magical powers?
How will you treat gender and gender identity? How diverse will your characters be? Will all men be macho? Will women be warriors or damsels in distress? Are your heroes young and strong or older and wiser? Perhaps you will find a way to make your heroes and your villains less stereotypical, but still believable.
Some of this is Writing/Storytelling 101, but the fantasy genre gives you so many more choices and challenges.
What choices would you make?