What do we think of cosy fantasy?

[Finchbearer]

What do we all think of the concept of ‘cosy fantasy’?

Generally characterised by low stakes, a charming setting, close knit community or found family and general sense of comfort or nostalgia.

Settings often include shops, cafes, gardens or any other setting that is meant for leisure or pleasure. Magical forests, quaint villages or in a cosy cottage.

There could be an emphasis on romance, mystery or humour and of course magic or other fantastical elements.

The characters could fit into those fantasy archetypal races such as goblins, elves, faeries, orcs, dwarves and humans, or all the characters could be human or otherwise anthropomorphised.

I personally feel like Wind in the Willows is the OG cosy ‘fantasy’, and fits many of that criteria - but that was originally intended as a children’s book.

Have you written any cosy fantasy? Do you know what it is or do you like it? Would you consider writing it? What do you think it says about what people want to read nowadays?

I feel like it can be very relaxing to both read and write, and I’ve been dabbling with a few cosy fantasy and cosy fiction ideas. Low stakes maybe appeals to many readers because real life is harsh enough? Or perhaps it appeals because the usual fantasy rhetoric is to place the main character into hardship after hardship and people are just experiencing some sort of fatigue from this type of formula.

 

[CupofJoe]

I kind of like cosy too.
I know a writer that was working on the idea of a fantasy Miss Marple style and tone world.
I don't know how far they got.
Given the appeal of cosy TV murder mysteries [Father Brown, Midsummer Murders, Madam Blanc to name just three from the UK], I can see there being a market for stories in the same manner [look at the success of Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" series].
But getting into that market with a fantasy lead story might be a challenge.

 

[Finchbearer]

I’d be up for reading Miss Marple…but fantasy!

There certainly is a well established ‘cosy murder mystery’ genre, perhaps particularly in the UK, and especially with the screen adaptations. Period dramas with low stakes plots and a charming setting could probably also be thrown into the mix. Think ‘The Durrells’ ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ and ‘Darling Buds of May’ but to name a few.

Cosy fantasy is probably more niche and unlikely to become as mainstream as that. I’ve seen some crossover such as the ‘Shady Hollow’ series, think Wind in the Willows but make it murder mystery. Could that be described as fantasy though?

- interestingly I definitely consider The Hobbit cosy fantasy. Or that is to say I find it a very cosy read.

 

[Mad Swede]

There's a Swedish term for the sort of feelings stories and settings like that give the reader: bullerbykänsla. It comes from Astrid Lindgren's childrens books about children gring up in a small hamlet made up of four farms, a hamlet called Bullerbyn. The term is usually taken to mean a slightly idyllic and usually rural feeling of security and coziness. It isn't always meant in a positive way, because it can mean an environment or story which conveys a message that it is not accepting of new ideas or people who are different.

I don't write cozy fantasy stories and I never will. It's partly because having served on peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world I've seen what can happen in supposedly cozy communities like that. They can be the absolute worst for personal hatred and revenge.

It's also partly because I grew up on a farm in an area like that and my family still own the farm, nearly 500 years after the family first moved there. For me the farm itself is home and it, together with those memories, provides a sense of comfort when my PTSD is giving me hell. In an odd sense the memories, the feelings and the comfort are in some way mine and they're not something I want to share.

 

[Finchbearer]

That is a great word, and that it almost has an oxymoronic meaning to it, ‘it could mean cosy and nostalgic, but also insular and ignorant’

I get it. I grew up in a small village, and though they may look quaint from the passerby, everyone knows everyone else’s business, and small places often do suffer from that ignorant way of thinking.

I don’t know the exact origin but nostalgia was originally seen as a kind of ‘madness’ or metal illness as we’d probably say today, rather than something that was just nice memories.

Perhaps we are all mad for wanting to create these comforting cosy spaces in our minds.

 

[Finchbearer]

Actually MadSwede I thought you would have mentioned hygge. Everyone here has gone mad for it, they probably don’t really know what it is!

 

[pmmg]

If I can bring back 'Once Upon a Time', that seemed like a cozy fantasy. Wouldn't Shrek also be a cozy fantasy?

While I would not be opposed to it, I don't think it would be something I would write. I feel the stuff I want to say would not fit in such a venue.

For me, Mystery Series seems to more fit the bill than fantasy, but a fantasy mystery series might be a winner.

 

[Mad Swede]

Actually MadSwede I thought you would have mentioned hygge. Everyone here has gone mad for it, they probably don’t really know what it is!

Hygge is Danish not Swedish.

 

[Finchbearer]

Hygge is Danish not Swedish.

Well there you go! Lol

 

[Gurkhal]

I haven't read nor written any kind of cosy fantasy. I don't think that's my style but I wouldn't know for sure since, as I said, I haven't written or read something like it.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Cosy Fantasy is a pretty hot genre at the moment. With Legends & Lattes being one of the more well known examples. It's a fairly new term, and as such it's still a bit vague about what does and doesn't all under it. For instance, I think a few Discworld novels could be classified as Cosy Fantasy, but are not because they were written before it became a thing.

In the end, genre is a marketing tool, and a way for readers to guess what sort of story they are getting into. Write the stories you're passionate about, and only then stick them in a genre box.

 

[Finchbearer]

If I can bring back 'Once Upon a Time', that seemed like a cozy fantasy. Wouldn't Shrek also be a cozy fantasy?

Is Shrek cosy to you? I don’t think it would fit the genre completely, but it could. I don’t find it cosy to watch, but it is fun.

I just find it fascinating that it’s become popular because it must say something about society and what they want to consume. Fantasy is also becoming more popular in general and is gaining a much wider readership. I went to the nearest bookstore recently, and fantasy and SF still has its own special little section at the literal back of the store, but in the general fiction area there were fantasy titles a plenty, which was a delight to see. Crime, by far has the biggest niche section.

 

[LittleOwlbear]

I love some iyashikei too, or some cozy games. I don't know if I would read novels in that genre but I do like cozy scenes, daily life, fluff etc. inbetween the plot. Sadly these are the scenes people tell you to remove from the story, because "they are not adding anything", which is nonsense.

 

[Devor]

I feel like it can be very relaxing to both read and write, and I’ve been dabbling with a few cosy fantasy and cosy fiction ideas. Low stakes maybe appeals to many readers because real life is harsh enough? Or perhaps it appeals because the usual fantasy rhetoric is to place the main character into hardship after hardship and people are just experiencing some sort of fatigue from this type of formula.

I haven't read any cozy books (although I am pulling up a list of them to browse, which is headed by one called "Legends and Lattes"), but I've seen a few cozy anime. They're nice. They defy the "laws of writing" which are all about building tension. They do quite the opposite.

My hunch is that they're getting common because people just aren't as social anymore, so it plays into that angle of our desire for connection. But I'll stop there, as I'm not too much into psychoanalyzing.

I wouldn't write a cozy novel. I like my drama and action too much. But I could write a cozy chapter, and sprinkle in some more cozy moments here and there throughout. And those cozy anime taught me something about writing, too: That you can substitute "tension" with other things.

Rising levels of cozy, let's go!

 

[Ban]

I enjoy writing about bustling, brown cafés (translated Dutch term for a specific type of old, warm and comfortable pub/tavern), talks around a campfire, card games at the dinner table and dinners at restaurants, but while those are all "cosy" (I prefer gezellig, to return to a previous thread), the overarching stories are not concerned with maintaining that feeling over the course of the full narrative. It might happen that there are more "cosy" scenes in the given fantasy than not, but it's not intentional. I am more than willing to cut through the comfort with blood, guts and heartbreak if the story calls for it.

 

[Finchbearer]

Wait…Google tells me that the word ‘cosy’ is not directly translatable. Interesting.

I thought ban that your strongman story had distinctly cosy ambience. I believe there can be blood, guts and even underlying threats in what could be described as cosy fantasy or cosy fiction (cue all the ‘cosy’ murder mysteries), so that is not necessarily a deciding factor.

My hunch is that they're getting common because people just aren't as social anymore, so it plays into that angle of our desire for connection.

Devor that is a very interesting perspective. What separates cosy fantasy from cosy fiction is perhaps that detachment from the real world. That escapism, but instead of escaping into a world filled with darkness and threat, we can now escape into a fantasy world filled with cinnamon buns and a friendly dwarf who bakes them…

 

[Ban]

I don't mind the label as I do write a lot of cosy scenes, but in practical terms I would not describe my fantasy as cosy. Disaster is rare, but it can strike. To my mind "cosy" implies a sense of safety, where the reader is insulated from that potential. Perhaps that's an idiosyncratic interpretation.

 

[Finchbearer]

Sadly these are the scenes people tell you to remove from the story, because "they are not adding anything", which is nonsense.

That’s so true. But what I’ve found when I’ve read these types of fantasy novels is that it actually really refreshing to not constantly wait for that rising action every single chapter.

 

[Finchbearer]

I don't mind the label as I do write a lot of cosy scenes, but in practical terms I would not describe my fantasy as cosy. Disaster is rare, but it can strike. To my mind "cosy" implies a sense of safety, where the reader is insulated from that potential. Perhaps that's an idiosyncratic interpretation.

Well I only read the intro! Let us know when you’ve published it. THEN I SHALL GIVE MY JUDGEMENT.

 

[Ban]

Well I only read the intro! Let us know when you’ve published it. THEN I SHALL GIVE MY JUDGEMENT.

I'll keep you informed.