Creature-centred Narrative

[Wanara009]

Recently, my brother bought a little game called Deadly Creatures and it really got me thinking.

Is it possible to center a narrative around an animal in written medium? Not magic animal that act like human, just mundane animal. I know this is done a lot in television but I have yet to see this kind of thing done in written medium.

If it is, do anyone have a tip for it?

 

[Steerpike]

I think The Grizzly King, by James Curwood, does just that. It was written some time in the early 1900s. Disney made a movie based on it called The Bear. I'm not sure how closely the movie conforms to the book.

 

[Philip Overby]

I'm sure this has been done. Surely with all the dog and cat lovers out there.

However, to go about doing it "as an animal would think" would be hard to do for a whole novel. A short story, maybe. The key would be issues that crop up in most stories:

1. How does the animal change throughout the story? Did he start out rabid and then become tamed or something?
2. What is the animal's goal? Most dog, cats, tiger, fish, whatever just eat and sleep. There's little else that motivates them. Although the interesting part would be having the animal interact with humans. That way you can have someone talking to the animal at least.

I'm sure there's other points, but something that could be interesting (in a fantasy setting) is to have some kind of dog or something that's stranded in the wild, and it has to escape dragons, elves, and all sorts of others things. Like Homeward Bound with dragons.

 

[MadMadys]

I believe The Incredible Journey was, unlike the movie that was based off it, about animals that did not talk. It simply followed them as they went so it can definitely be done. Now if they are a mundane animals the tasks they do would be mundane as well which doesn't exactly make for interesting reading so you'd have to give them something to do. Journey had pets trying to return to their masters so it was a very simple but compelling enough plot. A fantasy version of this might be an interesting twist.

 

[Ireth]

I've read a few novels that do this. David Clement-Davies' books Fire Bringer, The Sight and Fell all take place in the same universe, which I believe to be a historical Earth; Fire Bringer focuses on a herd of deer, while The Sight and Fell are about a pack of wolves.

Fire Bringer's protagonist, a deer named Rannoch, interacts with other animals as well as humans. The other animals understand and speak with him, but the humans don't. There's a lot more to the story than that, but it would take a long time to say it all. It's a pretty thick book. XD

 

[tlbodine]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Watership Down yet, as it's probably the best animal-novel out there. For the uninitiated, it's the story of a group of rabbits who break away from their warren and head off on a quest to find a new territory. It's very excellent. The author, Richard Adams, wrote a couple of other animal-centric novels, including the cult classic The Plague Dogs (which is a bit challenging to read but well worth the effort).

The other animal novel I suggest everyone read is The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy. It's about elephants and it's one of the saddest, most brutal and hauntingly beautiful books I've ever read.

As it works out, I myself just finished a novel about rats

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I was waiting for someone to mention Richard Adams. Great books, but in Watership Down the rabbits are sort of magical. In the Plague Dogs and Shardak they're just animals, though they seem to understand far more than I'd expect.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Wanara009]

Huh, Thanks guys. I've heard about some of these books before, but I only found out about what's it about now. Let's see if I can get ask some of them for Christmas. Again, thank you for the tips and answers

 

[Mindfire]

Recently, my brother bought a little game called Deadly Creatures and it really got me thinking.

Is it possible to center a narrative around an animal in written medium? Not magic animal that act like human, just mundane animal. I know this is done a lot in television but I have yet to see this kind of thing done in written medium.

If it is, do anyone have a tip for it?

There's the Warriors series. It's about ordinary cats. Who apparently are divided into Middle Earth style clans.

 

[michael.harrel]

"Raptor Red" by Robert Bakker is, IIRC, about a perfectly ordinary Velociraptor.

 

[Mindfire]

"Raptor Red" by Robert Bakker is, IIRC, about a perfectly ordinary Velociraptor.

Is there any such thing as an "ordinary" velociraptor? That's like your average, run-of-the-mill GIANT FREAKING SLOTH.

 

[Wanara009]

Is there any such thing as an "ordinary" velociraptor? That's like your average, run-of-the-mill GIANT FREAKING SLOTH.

But Velociraptor is the size of turkey. Bring something along the line of Gigantoraptor then well talk

 

[Mindfire]

But Velociraptor is the size of turkey. Bring something along the line of Gigantoraptor then well talk

My point wasn't about the raptor's size (I'm well aware it's a fraction of the size it's shown to be in Jurassic Park). My point is that the just the name velociraptor has a kind of mystique to it (due in part, ironically, to Jurassic Park), so to call it "ordinary" is a bit wrong, just as it would be out of place to call a giant sloth "ordinary".

 

[Steerpike]

Huh, Thanks guys. I've heard about some of these books before, but I only found out about what's it about now. Let's see if I can get ask some of them for Christmas. Again, thank you for the tips and answers

The Grizzly King is probably free online, since it is in the public domain. Check Project Gutenberg.

 

[Wanara009]

My point wasn't about the raptor's size (I'm well aware it's a fraction of the size it's shown to be in Jurassic Park). My point is that the just the name velociraptor has a kind of mystique to it (due in part, ironically, to Jurassic Park), so to call it "ordinary" is a bit wrong, just as it would be out of place to call a giant sloth "ordinary".

I don't know about anyone else, but personally, Velociraptor became mundane awhile ago. Compared to others like Kaprosuchus (nature's attempt at making 1 predator have all the advantages except for being able to fly) or the aforementioned Gigantoraptor (which is like knowing that there's a rat the size of a cow), Velociraptor are rather underwhelming.

 

[Ireth]

the aforementioned Gigantoraptor (which is like knowing that there's a rat the size of a cow)

Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

 

[michael.harrel]

My mistake -- it's been years since I read the book, so I just skimmed through the wikipedia article, and apparently it's actually about a Utahraptor, not a Velociraptor.. So, yes, a much larger dromaeosaurid, perfectly ordinary for its species, and while closer than Velociraptor to the animal depicted in Jurassic Park, lacking perhaps the mystique of the name.

 

[Rullenzar]

I'm not quite sure if your intention is to do something like Homeward Bound or a documentary style like earth or the like.

I think if you plan on doing something like Earth you should study the animal and know everything there is to know about them.

If Homeward Bound style then I say have fun with it and go nuts. There are no limits in my opinion.

 

[TWErvin2]

Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker is an excellent example of a novel written from an animal's POV--a Utah Raptor's (think Jurassic Park), among other animals from the Cretaceous period. Using imagary and how an animal would instinctively think and respond to events and the enviornment is key to this novel's success. It might be a good novel to take a look at as not only is it an excellent read, it'll provide insight and ideas in how to write from a perspective other than human.