Fantasy Fiction Draft Project: Brainstorming/Preparation/Drafting

Please turn in your science fiction story drafts and your homework from last class (see the previous post for details...)

TASK #1: On your blog this morning, please write about some of the fantasy films or television programs you have seen and what you thought of them. You can include anything from television cartoon shows to epic blockbuster films. The idea is to pick some of your favorite fantasy films, tv shows, (or other novels you have read and enjoyed). Take only 10 minutes to write your post today. You have other things to do in class!

TASK #2: Then: this morning, please join a partner or two and make a list together (in your journal) of the tropes and common events, characters, items, and settings likely to be found in a fantasy film, story, or novel. You may find this list useful in creating ideas for your own fantasy story.

TASK #3: After discussing and listing some common fantasy tropes you are used to, please read the following information on Fantasy Fiction:

There are quite a few speculative and fantasy genres that writers tend to write in. Each has its own "feel" or "tone" and there are a few rules writers in these genres follow.

It can be helpful to note which genres are which so that you can select reading material more accurately or when you are writing, you can SEND the right message to the right AUDIENCE or receiver.

Fantasy fiction is a wide genre suited to the fantasist reader. A fantasist is someone who enjoys escaping into another world when reading a book. They often prefer fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, historical romance, horror, and action/adventure genres when reading--anything to get them out of their own world and skin. They often feel displaced in the wrong body or time period and enjoy the imagination of a made-up, fictional world. A fantasist is the opposite, usually, of a REALIST, who prefers realistic settings and characters when reading.

Fantasy as a genre has what fantasists like best: a strange or exciting world in which to lose themselves in, often an epic story with a lot of action, weird occurrences, strange characters, and the best part: it's not OUR reality. Laws and physics do not work the same as in realist fiction.

Fantasy can be described as fiction with elements of magic, unknown monsters, creatures, strange beings, and make-believe worlds. While many consider knights in armor, mystical elves, and burly dwarves swinging axes (thanks to the role-playing industry) to be the staples of fantasy, there are other aspects to it as well. Here's an overview of the fantasy genres in fiction:

High or Epic Fantasy GenreThe high or epic fantasy genre is probably the most recognized by the general public. In high or epic fantasy, knights go on quests, fair maidens need rescuing, and the general theme is usually Good vs. Evil. This fantasy genre is set in a pseudo-medieval world of kings and queens. It often has powerful wizards, bands of adventurers, and multiple quests to undertake. The narrative scope is large and vast, and often spread out over several books in a series. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece The Lord of the Rings are just two examples.

Sword and Sorcery Fantasy GenreThe sword and sorcery fantasy genre is akin to Dungeons & Dragons games put in type. With similar characteristics of high or epic fantasy, sword and sorcery has a much smaller scope. One band of adventurers is going on one quest. There is often a lot of action involved.

Alternate History Fantasy GenreThis fantasy genre takes a snippet of real-life history and warps it to include fantasy elements. For example, an alternate history fantasy novel may be about WWII and how the goblins played a hand in defeating the Nazis.

One popular sub-genre of alternate history is steampunk. Set in Victorian or Edwardian era, steampunk fantasy incorporates steam-powered technology in often suprising or fantasic ways.

Urban or Contemporary Fantasy GenreUrban or contemporary fantasy differ only in that urban fantasy is set in a city and is sometimes darker in nature than contemporary. Harry Potter is an example of contemporary fantasy (although taken together it is also Epic). These fantasy genres combine magical beings or spells with modern socity.

Dark FantasyThe dark fantasy genre is, by definition, dark. It often overlaps both the urban fantasy genre and horror. Vampires, demons rising from the underworld, and Lovecraftian stories are dark fantasy. What makes a story dark fantasy rather than straight horror is often the medieval type setting, or more emphasis on paranormal themes over simply scaring the pants off the reader.

Other Fantasy GenresThere are other fantasy genres besides the ones listed above. Elfpunk is a sub-genre in which fantasy creatures such as elves, dwarves, and fairies enter into, or are a part of, ultra-modern 'punk' society. Erotic fantasy has a strong overshadow of sex, while romantic fantasy is more subtle in the love plots. Mythic fantasy uses classic myths or legends to introduce the fantasy elements. There are science fantasy crossovers from classic science fiction, and even comic fantasy. Fairy tales and myths are also a type of fantasy genre.

TASK #4: Take a gander at the following links/sites to help you get some nifty ideas about fantasy:

• Examples of fantasy maps
• 5 Fantasy Character Types
• Creating Fantasy Characters - Questionnaires (you don't have to answer every question, but use the questions to flesh out major character traits for ideas in your story draft...)
• Fantasy name generator & Fantasy plot generator

TASK #5: By the end of class today, please complete the following:

1. Decide on a fantasy genre you would like to use (see categories above...)

2. Take a moment to list some common tropes that might be useful in this kind of setting/genre.

3. Create a fictional fantasy world by drawing a map of your "realm".  Use those links to help give you some advice...

4. Once you have completed steps 1-3, make a list of typical fantasy names you might use for characters. Create and flesh out a few characters that might be your protagonist and antagonist. See links above for models/help on this. 

5. Start your fantasy story with an unusual or life-changing event that happens to your protagonist. Be prepared to send your main character(s) on a quest: steal the dragon's treasure, destroy a magical ring in a volcano, gain a long-lost object that could save the world, find out how to survive your freshman year in a school of magic, save your protagonist's child from a sickness, enter a world ravished by an evil force and find a way to stop evil from taking over, or gain a magic item to save the princess/prince or some beloved relative, etc.

6. Once you have a few ideas and have fleshed out your setting a bit, chosen your protagonist and given him/her/it a quest, begin to write that story. 

HOMEWORK: Complete your reading of your chosen book. Continue writing your fantasy draft. If you have not yet completed your science fiction story, please complete that draft this weekend and turn in late. Don't fall behind...