Jabrosky
Banned
My interest in writing fantasy did not stem from the same roots as the genre's other fans. I have actually never found most mainstream fantasy---the stereotypical variety with elves, orcs, dragons, and castles---all that fascinating. Nor do I even like magic, gods, or the supernatural in general. If I ever do invoke supernatural elements in my stories, they function as little more than plot devices or substitute for modern conveniences in pre-modern settings. If I could write a given fantasy story without any magic at all, I would do so enthusiastically.
The main sources of my inspiration for fantasy lie less in mythology or fairy tales than in reality. Growing up, I read informative non-fiction more frequently than any genre of fiction, and this still holds true today. Reality has a way of surpassing anything from the finite human imagination in sheer wonder and beauty, especially because we can actually experience it for ourselves. This is why I have always loved dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals far more than mythical monsters like dragons or unicorns. The very factuality of these spectacular creatures' existence captures my awe in a way no storyteller's inventions can match.
Ironically, as much as reality can overwhelm us with its surprises, other times it can disappoint us instead. Going back to my dinosaur example, I never liked living over sixty-five million years after all the dinosaurs other than birds died out. I could appreciate their fossilized bones in museums, but I could never see them in the form of living, breathing creatures. Therefore I could only fantasize about a world in which dinosaurs never suffered from mass extinctions, a world where they walked alongside humans as in all those old caveman movies.
For me, the joy of writing fantasy does not come from recycling other writers' inventions like elves or dragons. Instead I prefer to take reality and modify or mix it up just enough to make it better fit my personal liking. Sometimes I enjoy creating whole new worlds, cultures, and creatures, but even then I tend to build them up using components from reality. Some may regard my process as creative laziness, but I personally perceive it as customizing reality. The real world may have its imperfections, but it also possesses a lot of beauty. What I want to do as a fantasy writer is to iron out the former and preserve the latter.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this question?
The main sources of my inspiration for fantasy lie less in mythology or fairy tales than in reality. Growing up, I read informative non-fiction more frequently than any genre of fiction, and this still holds true today. Reality has a way of surpassing anything from the finite human imagination in sheer wonder and beauty, especially because we can actually experience it for ourselves. This is why I have always loved dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals far more than mythical monsters like dragons or unicorns. The very factuality of these spectacular creatures' existence captures my awe in a way no storyteller's inventions can match.
Ironically, as much as reality can overwhelm us with its surprises, other times it can disappoint us instead. Going back to my dinosaur example, I never liked living over sixty-five million years after all the dinosaurs other than birds died out. I could appreciate their fossilized bones in museums, but I could never see them in the form of living, breathing creatures. Therefore I could only fantasize about a world in which dinosaurs never suffered from mass extinctions, a world where they walked alongside humans as in all those old caveman movies.
For me, the joy of writing fantasy does not come from recycling other writers' inventions like elves or dragons. Instead I prefer to take reality and modify or mix it up just enough to make it better fit my personal liking. Sometimes I enjoy creating whole new worlds, cultures, and creatures, but even then I tend to build them up using components from reality. Some may regard my process as creative laziness, but I personally perceive it as customizing reality. The real world may have its imperfections, but it also possesses a lot of beauty. What I want to do as a fantasy writer is to iron out the former and preserve the latter.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this question?