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Intro to Fantasy Novels
by
Joyce Lavene & Jim Lavene
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- Fantasy novels have no scientific roots
- Anything is possible in fantasy novels
- Magic is a common element of fantasy novels
Fantasy and science fiction are often grouped together, but these two genres are more like cousins. They both rely on the author’s imagination. Fantasy books are as likely as sci-fi to be in space, underwater, or in another dimension, but that’s where their similarities end. While sci-fi is rooted in science fact, fantasy has no roots. There doesn’t have to be even the smallest possible reality in a fantasy novel. This genre is the writer’s amusement park where anything and everything becomes possible.
Sword & Sorcery
This subgenre can take place in any time and in any world. Usually, the books have an almost mythological feeling to them and are peopled with gods and goddesses, demons and angels, mighty heroes and heroines. They perform larger than life deeds that frequently save the world or what’s left of it.
What began with updated tales of Hercules and Ulysses became Conan and Elric. Beautiful sorceresses accompany heavily muscled sword wielders. Magical creatures abound. These books ebb and wane in popularity but their universal appeal seems to create a new market for them every few years. They are usually between 85,000 and 150,000 words and can be graphic in sex, violence, and profanity.
Magic Users
Just like the sword and sorcery novels, books in this subgenre include the use of magic, but this is where the similarities end. A magic user is a kinder, gentler breed of novel. There may be a sword or two, but today’s magic user would be more likely to drop it on their toes than use it. They are repressed souls who resort to magic to keep themselves sane or, like Harry Potter, they are born unwittingly into it.
There have been many magic users of this nature throughout fantasy. Barbara Hambly’s Windrose Chronicles and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series are only two of these unique groups of books.
It’s not unusual to have magic users in modern-day settings. They hide in the shadows until the world needs them. Then they come forward with trembling hands to save the world. The word count for this subgenre is between 85,000 and 100,000 words. Graphic sex, violence, and profanity are still likely even though the heroes and heroines are less prone to fighting than their muscle-bound counterparts.
… from The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel.
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