Why Do Some Fantasy Worlds Breathe?

[Carolyn]

Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures, right?. At its heart, it asks a simple question. How do people make sense of the world around them?

Every culture develops its own answers. Its own stories. Its own traditions. Its own understanding of what is sacred, shameful, valuable, and what is worth fighting for.
The most memorable fantasy worlds feel alive because their creators understood this.
Imagine a desert culture where water is sacred. Hospitality, inheritance, marriage customs, religion, architecture, and even crime would all develop differently than they would in a land of abundant rivers.
Who controls access to water? How is it stored? Who inherits the wells? What rituals surround its use? What happens when someone wastes it?

The moment we begin asking these questions, we stop creating scenery and start creating culture. And culture is where fantasy becomes immersive. After all, plots repeat.
Plots repeat. Cultures don’t.
Maybe this is why the greatest fantasy worlds feel so real. They’re not built from maps, magic systems, or royal bloodlines alone. They’re built from people.

Your thoughts?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

"Why Do Some Fantasy Worlds Breathe?"

Because if they don't, they pass out and don't get any ice cream, anyway.

 

[Mad Swede]

For me good writing is inherently by and for people, but it is also about people.

As writers we try to build an emotional bridge with our readers, and we do that by using character, emotions and perspectives in conjunction with events to give the readers something they can relate to. That means our writing can't be entirely character driven, it must also be part-driven by the plot itself.

Part of what makes good writing for people is using the story arc (events, things at stake and obstacles), the narrative and pacing to get the readers in and then keep them hooked. That then gives us as authors the opportunity to then build that emotional bridge by writing about people, by focusing on the characters and their personalities (their aims, desires, flaws, reactions and struggles), the conflicts their personalitets lead to, their growth through the story arc and the influence they have on the environment around them (the setting). You can call this a focus on the humanity of the characters if you like. And it's this need for humanity that means good writing has to be by people, because where else is that sense of humanity, that knowledge of people, going to come from?

I suppose you could summarise my views by saying that the greatest story settings breathe because they're fundamentally about people.