tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059077432036354029.post4501039741991798629..comments2023-08-22T22:10:42.197-07:00Comments on your first page: Without a Dragon's ProtectionPeter Selginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493565026700541812noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059077432036354029.post-86600972734427693192010-07-16T16:38:18.508-07:002010-07-16T16:38:18.508-07:00I knew I would take some heat over my statement—wh...I knew I would take some heat over my statement—which was not a condemnation of the genre, but, as I wrote, a personal bias--and not against fantasy per se, and even less against speculative settings and genres--heck, ALL fictional settings and genres are speculative! <br /><br />All I'm saying is that once characters are able to sprout wings and cast spells it does somewhat undermine more subtle character psychology and development. Which isn't to say that mainstream or literary fiction haven't produced their fair share of shallow characters. <br /><br />I'm a great fan of Vonnegut's by the way. We met cute one day at a birthday party of his--his 86th if I remember well. He was puffing away on one of his famous Pall Malls, talking global warming when I made a dumb quip about him contributing his share of CO2 in cigarette smoke. He gave me a hard look and said, "Fuck you!" From there things went well. A really sweet man.<br /><br />Anyway, Stewart and Isaiah, I take both of your points well. In fact I don't disagree.Peter Selginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03493565026700541812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059077432036354029.post-33241362864776002002010-07-16T14:55:02.645-07:002010-07-16T14:55:02.645-07:00"The moment we introduce supernatural phenome..."The moment we introduce supernatural phenomenon into fiction we undermine the human element, with curses, spells, and potions augmenting (if not replacing entirely) psychological cause and effect."<br /><br />I have to disagree with this assessment of fantasy and sci-fi. While it's true there's a lot of poorly-done speculative fiction out there, that doesn't mean all of it uses the tropes and settings to replace character development. In fact, a lot of F/SF magazines are now looking largely for 'character driven' stories. I think the best F/SF uses its settings/tropes to make us explore these things in unusual ways. (Vonnegut's work, for example, or 2009 WFA winner 26 monkeys: http://www.kijjohnson.com/26_monkeys.htm )<br /><br />For that matter, I can think of plenty of un-genred fiction which is sadly lacking in the character department. Dan Brown, anybody? John Grisham? Clive Cussler?<br /><br />Ultimately, setting and genre are tools--just as much as character development is a tool. Each can be used well to make a story interesting and worthwile, or used poorly to drive it into cliché and oblivion.Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00228826715633338544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059077432036354029.post-76287705353241441792010-07-16T10:35:02.318-07:002010-07-16T10:35:02.318-07:00Hey, Peter!
Just wanted to first say that I appre...Hey, Peter! <br />Just wanted to first say that I appreciate the critique you did on MY first page. (the "Narrating from the great beyond" one) After a complete rewrite, the whole manuscript is better.<br /><br />Also, I agree with your statement here about the abrupt introduction of the Dragon theme in this page. It seems rather out of place, including the sudden change in dialogue, with the older man addressing the boy first as "Nick" and then as "Custodian," with no hint of explanation.<br /><br />I don't agree, though, with your general panning of Fantasy as a whole, though. I know it's a matter of taste to some extent, but I also wonder why there is the idea that fantasy elements make the story unbelievable. <br /><br />Certainly, we don't see dragons, or elves, or fairies in the world around us, but have we so lobotomized ourselves that our imaginations can't span the gap? Are we such Modernists that we must discredit intangible, far-fetched, miraculous ideas as being worthless and foolish?<br /><br />Admittedly, writers of Fantasy do have a tendency to become so enamored by their created realms that they forget to inject the Human element into their stories. But I think it's unfair to write off the whole genre simply because of a few less-skilled authors.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04889400960819776680noreply@blogger.com