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The Value of Fantasy

Lorna

Inkling
This question has grown out of a combination of Phil's writers / readers post and a vicious circle I have found myself stuck in again. Last year I gave up writing fantasy as I thought it lacked value due it's lack of connection to the real world. And I'm back here again.

My main criticism of the genre is escapism.

I noticed amongst the comments on the writers / readers post that many people 'write for themselves.' I can understand this in terms 1) Not pandering to an artificially constructed audience (the mass market) 2) Remaining true to one's own vision / the organic integrity of a story.

Yet I feel it's our duty as writers to move and inspire our audience and benefit society as a whole.

These are the criteria I'm using to decide whether my fantasy novel has value:

1) Has a root in society (or it's history / literature / myths)
2) Provides a critique of society and suggestion of alternative modes of being.
3) Engages the audience and encourages questioning of the status quo.
4) Deals with questions of ethics.
5) Connects to the human heart, makes the reader laugh, cry and see the world around them in a new light.
6) Inspires a deeper connection with nature, myth and magic in the real world.

That's my take on the value of fantasy. What's yours?
 
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CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
This question has grown out of a combination of Phil's writers / readers post and a vicious circle I have found myself stuck in again. Last year I gave up writing fantasy as I thought it lacked value due it's lack of connection to the real world. And I'm back here again.

My main criticism of the genre is escapism.

I noticed amongst the comments on the writers / readers post that many people 'write for themselves.' I can understand this in terms 1) Not pandering to an artificially constructed audience (the mass market) 2) Remaining true to one's own vision / the organic integrity of a story.

Yet I feel it's our duty as writers to move and inspire our audience and benefit society as a whole.

These are the criteria I'm using to decide whether my fantasy novel has value:

1) Has a root in society (or it's history / literature / myths)
2) Provides a critique of society and suggestion of alternative modes of being.
3) Engages the audience and encourages questioning of the status quo.
4) Deals with questions of ethics.
5) Connects to the human heart, makes the reader laugh, cry and see the world around them in a new light.
6) Inspires a deeper connection with nature, myth and magic in the real world.

That's my take on the value of fantasy. What's yours?
Thank you for this, Lorna.
Fantasy is a wide church so everyone will have different take I am sure.
But surely a major plank of Fantasy is escapism?
It might be nice if a reader can find these criteria in a story but I don't see how a story has “value” because it does or lacks it because it doesn't.
The only duty I see that a writer has is to try to entertain. If you can enlighten and make people think, then great. But sometimes people want just to loose themselves in a different reality for a while.
Personally the only judge of if your work has value is you. If you feel you need set these six point as criterion, then good luck to you but I don't see them as needed.
 
I sympathise with you, Lorna. I keep finding myself sinking into a 'vicious circle' of self-doubt and real-world 'connection'.

In terms of stories, the only criteria I have for picking ideas (and turning them into stories) is whether they have a 'real-world connection', whether said idea is positive (in a negative and pessimistic world) and whether said idea allows for sociological reflection/questioning of the status quo.
 

Mizily

Dreamer
I fully believe that you can become immersed in another world entirely, while gaining insight to the real world. For me, it's all about the characters. The foreign situations presented in fantasy, and the way they act and react can reveal much about the human nature (even if the characters aren't necessarily human themselves).

Good characters are realistic- ones we relate to, and can learn from. They are the key to connecting with the reader. I find that in a fantastical setting, they're forced into action, to sink or swim. Fantasy reminds people of the lowest points of life, but also the very highest potential people can live to. It can inspire, I have no doubt about that.

Besides that, fantasy is especially useful in tackling real-world issues with freedom, and in ways other genres could not hope to achieve. Is it addiction or obsession or an insatiable need for power? Or just a magic ring? Ethical and global issues can be addressed, made accessible to people who otherwise might have no interest.

Historical fiction deals with real facts, following one particular period, place and perspective, romance fiction usually relationships and little else, but fantasy can take on everything. The writer can let their imagination run wild, and really create. In my eyes, that's the beauty of fantasy.
 

FireBird

Troubadour
I'm not a big fan of pure escapist fantasy. I want the book to make me think about at least one issue when I finish it, whether it be connected to our world or not. When I write fantasy I can't write with a specific theme in mind or an issue to tackle. I write the story that I've outlined and if I have a chance to add in a theme I like or an issue I feel is important I will. I will never try to force it in.

The most alluring aspect of fantasy to me is the world building and I'm sure its the same with many others. In a regular novel if you say New York or Paris a picture immediately pops into my head. If you say Quenath I have no idea what you're talking about. (I'll laugh if thats a real place.) Theres something about building a world from the ground up that is just so damn appealing to me.
 

Kit

Maester
Pure escapism is not a bad thing. Sometimes we need some. Some people may try to get that with alcohol or drugs or other self-destructive (or destructive to others) behaviors. Reading fantasy fiction is harmless escapism that may leave a person better equipped to go back out and face the harsh world again.

I work in a place where people literally live or die based on how quickly and accurately I can perform a task, and sometimes I can hear them screaming in pain down the hallways. When I get home after 10.5 hours of that, I want to decompress. I sure don't want to feel guilty because I'm not reading something that's supposed to teach me moral lessons.

Sometimes I even read TABLOIDS.
 

Akahige

Dreamer
I tend to agree with Tolkien with regards to escapism:

"Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!"
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Fantasy can be as escapist, or far from it, as any other genre. There are plenty of times I like a pure escapist book (it might be a fantasy book; it might not). There are plenty of other times I want a deep, thought-provoking story. I think there is room in the genre for both.
 
For now, I'm trying to create questions with multiple possible answers (e.g. "Having done a terrible thing, the protagonist loses everything. Was this punishment just?") That's not the only value in a story, of course, but it's a value, and I think it's an interesting one to work with.
 

Mindfire

Istar
Well it all depends on your definition of "value", doesn't it? If I do something and enjoy doing it, then that activity has value. To me, though perhaps not to many other people. But the criteria you are imposing strike me as being very "literary" minded. And there's nothing wrong with that. Except fantasy isn't really a literary genre. And that's okay too. I think when we start assessing the "literary merit" of a work it inevitably leads to intellectual snobbery. So, provided your work is not in some way morally offensive*, who cares what the "value" is? This is why I think getting people to take fantasy "seriously" is something of a lost cause. Because they don't want to take it "seriously". They want to have fun. Too many classics have been ruined, I think, by teachers forcing their students to take them "seriously."


*And even if it is, you still have the right to produce it.
 

Lorna

Inkling
Thank for your replies folks. Some thought provoking thoughts here, particularly on the value of escapism.

@ Akahige
Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!"

It takes me back to a quote from my friend William Park in an essay on Japanese horror, which has continued to haunt me:
'Actual horror lies in the imprisoned pysche.' (It's a great essay, if anyone likes Japanese horror, here's the link JAPANESE HORROR FILMS)

I think part of the reason I write fantasy is to escape the restrictions of society. Hence the guilt trip.

Is taking people on a journey through a story, providing several hours of topsy turvy adventure with all it's up and downs and scenes and characters that will be remembered for a life time (as I constantly hark back to my favourite books) enough of a reason to write?

My gripe is a personal one. The more time I spend writing and visiting internet forums the less I go out into the real world and live my dreams. Instead my desire to change an unfair world comes out as my crazy anti-hero destroying the system with his fiery rage. Perhaps it's a good thing some of my secret wishes come out in my fantasy novel rather than going out picking fights with council and torching the local shopping centre...

Perhaps a balance needs to be struck between the perfect liberty of the imagination and social engagement.

(I do apologise for my academic approach to fantasy. It even shows in my WIP where the metaphysics has swallowed the story up. Sigh.)
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
My gripe is a personal one. The more time I spend writing and visiting internet forums the less I go out into the real world and live my dreams. Instead my desire to change an unfair world comes out as my crazy anti-hero destroying the system with his fiery rage. Perhaps it's a good thing some of my secret wishes come out in my fantasy novel rather than going out picking fights with council and torching the local shopping centre...
This is a problem that many of us share I guess. If you feel the need to do something, then pick something small to work with. Lobbying a council can be great fun as well as effective.
[I wouldn't try burning places down — people tend to get annoyed...]
[And apologies if I sound preachy but I have my own moments in the dark night...]
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I'm going to echo a few thoughts from above. I do think there's room for escapism and what you're defining as value. If we run a parallel to movies, you can have something like No Country for Old Men and say Star Wars. Obviously one is regarded as more literary, but there's room for both, and both have value by their own standards. Part of it depends on the creator's intent and honesty about it.

Personally, I like variety. I don't want to watch movies like Star Wars all the time and I don't want to watch movies like No Country all the time. Sometimes it's nice to watch something simple and allow yourself to be swept into an imaginary world. Other times, it's good to have something that makes you think.

To me, all good stories have one common thing that IMHO must be at the forefront, they have to entertain and tell a compelling story. If they don't do that first and foremost, Star Wars becomes a bunch of random explosions and No Country becomes a 2hr lecture.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Interesting topic & I'm going to jump on late.

My goal in writing is purely to entertain. That's all I really care about.

That being said, I feel it's impossible for me to write good characters or a good story without some sort of values creeping in. One of the reason we can come to love a character (or story) lies in their struggles. It's their humanity that pulls us in deep. Simply watching the travails and tribulations of other person teaches us something at any level.
 

Kim

Scribe
The most alluring aspect of fantasy to me is the world building and I'm sure its the same with many others. In a regular novel if you say New York or Paris a picture immediately pops into my head. If you say Quenath I have no idea what you're talking about. (I'll laugh if thats a real place.) Theres something about building a world from the ground up that is just so damn appealing to me.

I feel the seem, but on different aspects. In the second story I've had published (the Lilith-trilogy), religion is very important. If I had written about any excisting religions, people would have an idea about the story before opening the book. By making up my own religion, I can tell whatever I want. So for me, fantasy is the ultimate way to tell about the real world.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I feel the seem, but on different aspects. In the second story I've had published (the Lilith-trilogy), religion is very important. If I had written about any excisting religions, people would have an idea about the story before opening the book. By making up my own religion, I can tell whatever I want. So for me, fantasy is the ultimate way to tell about the real world.

I like your take on this topic.... And I agree even if my goal is to entertain only, fantasy is a superb vehicle for reflecting on reality.
 

Jabrosky

Banned
Strong moral themes often creep into my stories one way or another, but in general I lean more towards escapism in fiction. If I wanted to remind myself of the real world's problems, I'd read non-fiction or watch documentaries. I question whether non-existent characters and events can accurately portray real-world issues anyway.

That isn't to say I never think about the real world whenever I write. On the contrary, sometimes I write with a desire to educate people about certain subject matter. For instance, I might write historical fiction with a poorly known and under-appreciated setting in order to educate people about that setting.
 
Most writers do well in a particular genre or two. Forcing yourself to write something else, when you are compelled to write something, gives you an unnecessary handicap. It would be like a country musician trying to write Gregorian chant. Try to imagine the field of modern horror if Stephen King had given up on horror and written only insurance training manuals.

Having said that, I recommend stretching yourself by writing in different genres. For most people it's like learning new languages, each one broadens your mind but results in less fluency.
 
We live in a world were magic is fake, chivarly is dead, true love is rare, beauty is artificial, villains lack class, heroes lack honour, and where problems are almost never solved via swordfights.

Of course we need escapism.
 
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