Are You Writing Serious Fantasy? II

[Meela]

I am currently working on around five or six novels, or at least the basic ideas. Two are most definitely not based on Tolkien, and a couple are not even fantasy.
One is more comparable to Lord Of The Rings but I am trying to avoid any large similarities. I am also working on a series of short stories, which are largely unrelated to Tolkien.

The only way in which Tolkien has influenced my work is in the way he has portrayed elves. I suppose I never really considered the different ways in which elves could be personified, ie. near-human, pixie, etc.
Other than that, Tolkien has no major influence over my work. I have been writing since I could write, and it has always been fantasy. I generally live in a dream world (in fact, I'm wondering if I have some sort of mental disorder, I spend so much time "out of the real world"), regardless of my love of Tolkien.

[THE Ka]

When I ever find the chance to write, fantasy for that matter, I tend to enrich it with poetry, something I love as a hobby. When I do this, I end up proof-reading it over a million times, even though they are always short stories. Another thing I love to do is encorporate historical fantasical items such as one I used, a spiegeltent which played an important role throughout that story.

Also, I have a bad habit of being a Poe, I always have something of maniacal or of dark humour happen. Another habit is giving characters very detailed backgrounds - Which end up taking a whole page... None if my characters are "goodie-two-shoes" either, I don't know why. Sometimes it would be nice to have some to liven up the text a bit.

Tolkien has effected how I see or specifiy fantasy in some ways, mostly structure. His works are indeed high fantasy works of genius, which most tap insperation out of like a fountain. I don't think I have based any of my works on similar topics and ideals as Tolkien, but it would fun to try.


Well, that's all. Really.

~ Poe Loving Ka~

[Assasin]

The Ka, I never write about goodie two shoes either. If the people are kinda bad, it adds drama. My stories always have the worst things that can happen to people, but I at least can still make it funny. (Without being like Leggy and Gimli)

[Encaitare]

Mmm, Poe. One of my idols. Except I don't want to die a drunk.

I too like to write flawed characters, or nasty or annoying ones. People don't want to read about all these perfect characters... at least I don't.

[Kitanna]

Flawed characters are always more interesting. They seem to endure the most conflictwise. Atleast mine do. They always have to fight two battles. One for whatever cause and then one within themselves. Good stuff. That's what Kitanna is in my story. She's my most flawed character I've ever had and everythings always about questioning if "this is really who I should be fighting for" or "is it really worth helping when the world will crumble" I love her so much which is why I picked that name to be my Barrow Downs name.

Encaitare~ I also hate reading about perfect people. They're ok as minor characters but a good story can't have a super perfect person as the main character. There's no conflict in that. My friend's story characters are all perfect and like superhuman with no flaws and I can't stand reading about them.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Blood and gore is quite good. I usually like to write about that from the perspective of a horrified onlooker. I don't think I've ever glorified it.

[Nurumaiel]

I'll agree that nobody wants to write (well, maybe they do, but they oughtn't to want to) a perfect character. But you have to be careful of how you're defining perfect and how you're defining flawed.

I've stumbled across a few people who seem to think if a heroine has anything even similar to good looks, it means she's perfect, and the author is under obligation to counter-act that good point by making her selfish, or some other flaw. If the main character is talented at something, then she (the poor young women are mostly picked on, but mostly by young women, so the gentlemen still retain their gallantry ) must certainly be perfect. If she is unusual she must be a Mary-Sue (but if everyone else were as unusual as she, she wouldn't be unusual anymore).

I'm not in any way saying that you have these ideas, but some people truly do.

The word 'flaw' is often misinterpreted, as well. I've stumbled across people who think a person must have a flaw for every virtue they have, which is most realistic. I know many people, in fact and fiction, who have only one or two flaws against their many virtues... but these few flaws spoil everything else to a certain extent. I've heard that if your main character is selfish enough to not want to help her (again... it's always the females who are picked on) family and friends with something but not so selfish as to watch her friend die so she won't have to, she isn't selfish enough.

I once read a book about a fellow who had quite a few flaws... he was obstinately stubborn, he was accustomed to use slang, etc., etc. But even these flaws weren't actual flaws. They were un-refined virtues. Near the end his stubbornness was refined into determination to stand for what is right, and his use of slang developed into a real grasp of humour. This character didn't have any flaws, but only un-refined virtues. And yet almost every young lad I know who knows him adores him.

I'd be interested in hearing how others on this thread define 'perfect' and 'flawed.' How bad does a person have to be to be flawed? And when is it that they're pushing the limits and becoming perfect?

And here's something to think about...

If you have a good character, without many serious and wicked flaws, and perhaps only un-refined virtues, don't make everyone else around him really bad, to show up his goodness. Surround him by characters who are just as good as he is, and maybe even a character whose better.

And if you have a bad character that you really want to show up as mean and selfish, put at least one very good character alongside him who will show, just by being the opposite, how bad this character really is. It worked in Gone with the Wind with Scarlett O'Hara and Melly.... or at least it worked for me.