Fantasy stories can be pretty hard to master so we’ve been talking and we asked:
- Of the stories that you’ve read, how heavy is the worldbuilding from a scale of 1-5? Additionally, how do you personally define “heavy worldbuilding”?
- What are your general expectations of a fantasy story?
- What are some things that the fantasy genre is notorious for? (Objective)
- Conversely, what are some things that you don’t like about the fantasy genre/fantasy writers? (Subjective)
- Have you read eastern fantasy? If not, please move directly to 5b. Otherwise, please talk about your experiences in delving into that subgenre and how you fell in/fell out of love with it. 5b. When reading stories with a total culture change/totally distorted perspective, what immerses you the most? What alienates you the most?
- What are your thoughts on using ethnic lore/culture as inspiration for fantasy stories? For example, Polynesian mythology/witchdoctor-ing or Irish folklore.
- Right now, in this moment, what do you feel like reading? Light fantasy? Snarky tweets? Your own unfinished story, perhaps? (I do want a genuine answer, but you could also just shamelessly promote your work if you wish lol)
Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Thoughts by the writer ‘Cheshir’. Be sure to follow them on their social and hear more of their creative writing tips and tricks or thoughts.
1. I read some pretty light fantasy stuff, about 2-3 on the scale (besides wuxia/xianxia novels). Heavy worldbuilding, to me, goes along the lines of The Hobbit or official D&D campaigns, where the creator literally creates an entire world for us peons to explore. Wuxia stories are more of a 4 since they are still based on Earth, and I’d put the likes of HP and PJ in 3.
2. Western fantasy usually seems to involve quests that are either bestowed upon a hero, or forced onto a criminal. There’s a lot of “chosen ones” and friendship, which is cool. Wings always make an appearance, and alternate versions of humanity such as Elves.
3. Actually, I don’t know. That-that’s why I asked the question…
4. I don’t like it when there’s no sense of continuity, like the fantasy is just there for the sake of convenience. It is also very off-putting when writers suddenly inject a race that is specifically beautiful or promiscuous, but that I cannot explain why. Cannon-fodder face-slapping scenes are also pretty unenjoyable, since much fantastical logic must be taken into account, and it’s simply not fascinating. Then again, when there is an overload of detail and information in a fantasy setting, I get tired.
5. It was easy for me to make the transition from western to eastern fantasy because I already knew a bit of East Asian mythology. I also have a hobby of whim-fully learning different languages, most of which are Asian, so some of the words were easy to interpret on my own. Because I am still new to it, I seem to have a preference for eastern fantasy, but in the end, both are wonderful themes. Now, on immersion, I find that inner dialogue or author’s asides in new perspectives are very helpful. I like books that force you into a totally different perspective, so even if I feel alienated, I can cope.
7. Want to sleep… but I also want to read replies…I want to think about fantasy…
