Are You Writing Serious Fantasy?

[Naaramare]

how do you use your monsters - as foils for the hero/heroine? in unexpected ways?

Well, my dragons tend to become main characters in and of themselves. They're my living, breathing, flesh-and-blood "monsters"; they have a society, are utterly physical (although very strong in magic), lay eggs, raise young, fight wars (with the occasional very foolish human ruler) and so forth.

My phoenix is mostly a spiritual incarnation; I suppose you could call her a messenger of God (if you're not calling her a God in the Machine . . .^~), so she's more of the 'foil for the heroine', I suppose. Mostly simply an outward manifestation of what the heroine knows she's supposed to do, but is terrified of.

My ki-rin are usually borderline deus ex machinas. ::grins:: They're unexpected, I suppose, running about delivering justice (and not always what one would expect, as heroes have been turned into frogs and suchlike) and wisdom and occasionally "stealing" children.