Oh no, not again!
Well, I hope not. This post comes out of another thread talking about fantasy character types. It got me thinking, as folks here often do; specifically, thinking about the other elements of story-telling: plot, theme, and setting.
It's interesting that we would all (I think!) readily agree that there's such a thing as a fantasy setting. Is there a fantasy plot, or are all the fantasy plots just regular plots in an unusual setting? Is there such a thing as a fantasy theme? If there are fantasy plots and themes, then it feels odd to say all elements of writing have a fantasy angle except for character.
Conversely, it would be odd to say there's no fantasy character, theme, or plot, which would mean fantasy is distinctive only in its setting. That doesn't seem adequate, to me.
So: what would you identify as themes either exclusive to fantasy or at least being characteristic of it, even if the theme sometimes appears in other genres?
Ditto for plots.
At first glance, I'd be most willing to say there isn't really a distinctively fantasy plot. I'm not talking structure here--not three acts or five acts. What about the Hero's Journey? Well, Campbell identified that as coming from mythology, which isn't quite the same as writing a modern novel. Plus, the Hero's Journey has been presented as being useful if not vital to a great many genres. Pretty much anything with a hero in it. Doesn't have to be fantasy. Perhaps once it was more associated with the fantastic, but not any more.
As for themes, those seem even more universal to me. What would be specific to fantasy? I'll let others take the first swing at that one.
Well, I hope not. This post comes out of another thread talking about fantasy character types. It got me thinking, as folks here often do; specifically, thinking about the other elements of story-telling: plot, theme, and setting.
It's interesting that we would all (I think!) readily agree that there's such a thing as a fantasy setting. Is there a fantasy plot, or are all the fantasy plots just regular plots in an unusual setting? Is there such a thing as a fantasy theme? If there are fantasy plots and themes, then it feels odd to say all elements of writing have a fantasy angle except for character.
Conversely, it would be odd to say there's no fantasy character, theme, or plot, which would mean fantasy is distinctive only in its setting. That doesn't seem adequate, to me.
So: what would you identify as themes either exclusive to fantasy or at least being characteristic of it, even if the theme sometimes appears in other genres?
Ditto for plots.
At first glance, I'd be most willing to say there isn't really a distinctively fantasy plot. I'm not talking structure here--not three acts or five acts. What about the Hero's Journey? Well, Campbell identified that as coming from mythology, which isn't quite the same as writing a modern novel. Plus, the Hero's Journey has been presented as being useful if not vital to a great many genres. Pretty much anything with a hero in it. Doesn't have to be fantasy. Perhaps once it was more associated with the fantastic, but not any more.
As for themes, those seem even more universal to me. What would be specific to fantasy? I'll let others take the first swing at that one.