This is key in fantasy writing, but when I look at my own WIP I realize I need to be more explicit as to what this means. So I wrote this in my notebook. There's a part two, which addresses "adventure."
What is a "sense of wonder" and how do I create that using only words?
To start with, wonder comes from wondering: what's that? Who's that? How did that happen? It is tempting to say the goal is to amaze the reader, and that's part of it, but not the whole of it. Readers are, on the whole, fickle and ungrateful creatures, whose reactions can never be predicted. I don't control them, but I do control my characters.
A wonder therefore must cause a reaction in one or more characters who witness it. The wonder may be new to the reader, but it absolutely must be new (or surprising) to the character. The character reacts, so the reader can react. Merely describing a thing, no matter how spectacular the prose, is not likely to create a sense of wonder.
I don't believe a sense of wonder involves just any emotion. Wonder is, at its heart, a positive emotion. Wonder belongs to surprise, amazement, even trepidation, but it does not belong to grief or regret (to grab a few emotions somewhat at random). For example, Tolkien gives us Lothlorien not from above but from inside. Legoas is happy to be there, Gimli is fearful, Aragorn is pragmatically cautious, and the hobbits are mostly overwhelmed. Those reactions create our sense of wonder. Mallorn trees alone won't do the trick.
How do I apply this in my own writing?
First (instructions to self), create your wonders. Size is a favorite--big or small, but make it exceptional. Grotesques are reliable--the old half-man, half-horse gambit. Take whatever you like, but give it a twist. Surprise is another, and here behavior provides a good opportunity. Make the giant kindly, the wee fairy treacherous. Whatever I choose, it must provoke a reaction in specific characters. It's the character who must be surprised, amazed, overwhelmed.
Anticipation can help, especially for major wonders. Tolkien doesn't bring Smaug or the Balrog on stage in a single scene. He sets it up, giving the characters (and thus the reader) plenty to think about and react to. And then, and this is crucial, he delivers. The wondrous beast needs to justify the hype, and the prose must be up to the task. As a corollary, the big wonder gets more than one scene. This lets multiple characters get multiple views, and so multiple reactions.
Related to this, don't try to describe everything. If you (me) find you are describing an elf by moving from head to toe, or a city by doing a flyover of every district, then don't. Think how Tolkien introduces Minas Tirith, for example. Doing a detailed description isn't exactly wrong, but it tends to be impersonal, and we're aiming for the personal. Pick out two or three highlights, ones a specific character would notice.
The main thing about the specifics of the wondrous is to go for a single emotion. The reader may have ambiguity about the wondrous thing (augh, not another vampire!), but should be clear about how the character reacts. This will create the emotional space for the reader's reaction.
Lesser wonders call for less prose. I have to be careful not to wear the reader out, lest this become just one thing after another. One way to keep watch on this is to stay squarely inside the character's head. Every wonder should produce a reaction. When I start rolling my eyes when the character goes "gee golly wow" yet again, I'll know I've gone a bridge too far. Maybe no more than one wonder per chapter? I dunno; might serve as a rough guide.
How about you folks? Have you thought about the mechanics and requisites for creating a sense of wonder?
What is a "sense of wonder" and how do I create that using only words?
To start with, wonder comes from wondering: what's that? Who's that? How did that happen? It is tempting to say the goal is to amaze the reader, and that's part of it, but not the whole of it. Readers are, on the whole, fickle and ungrateful creatures, whose reactions can never be predicted. I don't control them, but I do control my characters.
A wonder therefore must cause a reaction in one or more characters who witness it. The wonder may be new to the reader, but it absolutely must be new (or surprising) to the character. The character reacts, so the reader can react. Merely describing a thing, no matter how spectacular the prose, is not likely to create a sense of wonder.
I don't believe a sense of wonder involves just any emotion. Wonder is, at its heart, a positive emotion. Wonder belongs to surprise, amazement, even trepidation, but it does not belong to grief or regret (to grab a few emotions somewhat at random). For example, Tolkien gives us Lothlorien not from above but from inside. Legoas is happy to be there, Gimli is fearful, Aragorn is pragmatically cautious, and the hobbits are mostly overwhelmed. Those reactions create our sense of wonder. Mallorn trees alone won't do the trick.
How do I apply this in my own writing?
First (instructions to self), create your wonders. Size is a favorite--big or small, but make it exceptional. Grotesques are reliable--the old half-man, half-horse gambit. Take whatever you like, but give it a twist. Surprise is another, and here behavior provides a good opportunity. Make the giant kindly, the wee fairy treacherous. Whatever I choose, it must provoke a reaction in specific characters. It's the character who must be surprised, amazed, overwhelmed.
Anticipation can help, especially for major wonders. Tolkien doesn't bring Smaug or the Balrog on stage in a single scene. He sets it up, giving the characters (and thus the reader) plenty to think about and react to. And then, and this is crucial, he delivers. The wondrous beast needs to justify the hype, and the prose must be up to the task. As a corollary, the big wonder gets more than one scene. This lets multiple characters get multiple views, and so multiple reactions.
Related to this, don't try to describe everything. If you (me) find you are describing an elf by moving from head to toe, or a city by doing a flyover of every district, then don't. Think how Tolkien introduces Minas Tirith, for example. Doing a detailed description isn't exactly wrong, but it tends to be impersonal, and we're aiming for the personal. Pick out two or three highlights, ones a specific character would notice.
The main thing about the specifics of the wondrous is to go for a single emotion. The reader may have ambiguity about the wondrous thing (augh, not another vampire!), but should be clear about how the character reacts. This will create the emotional space for the reader's reaction.
Lesser wonders call for less prose. I have to be careful not to wear the reader out, lest this become just one thing after another. One way to keep watch on this is to stay squarely inside the character's head. Every wonder should produce a reaction. When I start rolling my eyes when the character goes "gee golly wow" yet again, I'll know I've gone a bridge too far. Maybe no more than one wonder per chapter? I dunno; might serve as a rough guide.
How about you folks? Have you thought about the mechanics and requisites for creating a sense of wonder?