We who love fiction share a mixed appetite for varying levels of drama, conflict, intrigue, mystery, action, etc. But why do some of us love Dark Age Fantasy in particular? I think that on the deepest level we choose the Fantasy genre for a specific reason—to step into the “Otherworld,” a premodern, open world that is radically different from our own world. And it’s not simply to have a “different” world than ours—if that were the case then any other genre would do just as well (especially sci-fi).
Fantasy-lovers want a particular feeling—the feeling of mystical, Dark Age Otherness. The typical pictures are some mixture of King Arthur’s Camelot and Tolkien’s Middle Earth, filled with endless forests, dangerous caverns and mystical glades. We want the magic of that old mythology brought to life over and over in the Fantasy tales we read.
Of course, our reading pallets vary on what triggers distaste, but I also think it’s not completely subjective. Some of us hate spicy foods, some love it, but we all pretty much agree that some foods do not belong together. We may love pizza or peanut-butter or oatmeal, but we don’t throw them together in a blender to consume them. We can at least agree that genres should maintain some boundaries, else the very meaning of ‘genre’ falls apart.
And here is my problem with some (especially contemporary) Fantasy—Modernic contamination.
Dark Age Fantasy is much more than simply a primitive technological status. What turns me off as a reader is a Fantasy tale that feels like the world is filled with a million LARPers/SCA members instead of people and societies of this desired Otherworld. They are (hopefully) lacking guns and cars, but the anachronisms do not stop with tools and toys. Other jarring anachronisms include Fantasy characters who possess our modern psychology and worldview.
Ghosts, spirits, witches, curses and gods should be unquestionably real and dangerous to these people. Fantasy characters should never deconstruct religion or gods; characters in these worlds may be terrified (or even hate) these supernatural elements and creatures, but never sit back in their philosopher’s chair and explain a culture’s “mythological inheritance.” Skepticism (and atheism) should be alien to these worlds. These characters should feel awe and reverence with the creatures of faerie.
A Fantasy world should feel vast, and largely unexplored. Most importantly, it should feel untamed. The world should not be cleanly mapped out, hex-by-hex. Knowing the world in this detail shrinks it, diminishing its mystery and magic.
And speaking of magic… This is a major toothache. Characters in Fantasy worlds should never take magic lightly. Magic should never be equated with science. Magic isn’t just about the effect it brings. A spell that gives light is not just a substitute for a flashlight. A spell that wounds someone is not just the counterpart to a gun. Scrying is not radar detection. The point of a Fantasy setting is to generate this feeling of the Fantasy-Other. Science & modern technology gives us measurements and equations; magic is the tapping into the ineffable—the realm of the faerie. Magic is bound up with mystery and (sometimes) the divine.
So how did these contaminations become common? While it could simply be the passage of time with such a large number of Fantasy authors writing now as opposed to 30 years ago, I think that a huge Fantasy-breaking influence has come from RPGs (and CRPGs) where there is no attempt at generating/preserving the feeling of the Fanasty Otherworld. [This is also a loss to the Fantasy RPG community, who, albeit to a lesser degree than in literature, could pursue this Otherworld-feeling in their gaming sessions.] Some Fantasy writers (and the readers who buy their books) grew up playing C/RPGs, and do not feel the pull of the old otherworldliness. In fact, they may have no idea what this entire post is about.
Perhaps, as King wrote, “the world has moved on,” and the days of this “true Fantasy” are ending. I hope not. I know that trends move all over the spectrum. But I think it would be an incredibly large loss if the spirit of Fantasy was lost in the morass of modernity.
April 14, 2015 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: fantasy, magic, modernity, novels, role playing, rpgs, writers, writing | Leave a comment
Hi all,
I’m happy to announce the release of this edition of After Life. It’s now available in both paperback and e-book versions.
I’ve also created a new website (containing sales links) which you can see here: danielionson.com
Thanks and enjoy,
Daniel
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June 2, 2014 | Categories: ►After Life (novel), ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: dark ages, fantasy, fiction, horror, magic, medieval, mystery, novel, vampire, vampyre | 7 Comments
Discouragement for a writer is crushing, paralyzing. If we don’t believe in our work many will falter, regardless of the strength of our skill and the project. A writer’s morale is vital for, just like an army, if it believes it is defeated… it is.
But there is another demon at work in a writer’s life, one that generates the opposite emotional reaction: Delusion. We can (more…)
February 10, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Art of Fiction, balance, Books, craft of writing, critical, evolving, fantasy, feedback, fiction, horror, novel, success, writer, writing | 6 Comments
This is one of the first books I read on novel-writing, and it saved me.
I’d always been a tyrant with myself as I wrote, slicing into each section, paragraph and sentence as I typed it on the page. I was driving in circles. Henriette Klauser’s book helped free me from that habit.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
It’s true that unrefined creativity (more…)
January 25, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: authors, Books, creativity, critical, critiquing, editing, fantasy, fiction, henriette klauser, horror, novels, story, writer, writing | 4 Comments
The discussions I’m linking to are long (so long that I printed them off), but for all of us interested in the publishing industry (especially we who are torn about whether we should self-pub or go to the traditional houses), this is well worth our time.
I’ll break it its three main chronological parts:
1) Steve Zacharius (owner of (more…)
January 21, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Amazon, authors, Books, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, Joe Konrath, novels, publishing, publishing houses, Self-publishing, steven zacharius, writers, writing | 2 Comments
As I’ve said before, being a novel-writer is a lot like pushing Sisyphus’ stone. We work for months or years on each draft, spend serious cash seeking help to perfect it, and then repeat that process until we believe that manuscript is perfect. Most do this for the hope of becoming paid, full-time authors.
But intermittently, we writers are smacked with the reality that we’ve been digging in the mines for years… for nothing. Playing the odds, the vast majority of us will either make a pittance (more…)
January 20, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: agents, authors, Books, fantasy, fiction, horror, marketing, novels, publishing, publishing houses, Self-publishing, stories, writer, writers, writing | 8 Comments
So true.
It feels so good to “actually be ‘writing’” the story. Although it may sound strange, a danger is hiding here, for the emotional highs we get from “finishing” sections/chapters/books can sometimes hinder the creative process. We have to be careful to consistently step back, get to the window and stare.
We should repeat this practice throughout the entirety of our projects. Milling over our stories before, during and after the keyboarding is vital to writing a great novel. Keep musing, charting, planning, critiquing and, of course, typing. Novel writing is the sum of those parts.
~Daniel
January 14, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Book, creativity, fantasy, fiction, horror, musing, novel, story, writer, writers, writing | 9 Comments
When we love a story, when a book stays with us for days (or decades) we know that it “works.” What we mean by that is that the story fulfilled specific desires (based on the genre/tone of that novel). But how does one story work and another fail?
Of course there’s always some subjectivity on the matter, but overall we do seem to share a “communal objectivity” about a tale either soaring or flopping. Tastes vary, but we still recognize the difference (more…)
January 8, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: art, artists, author, Book, fantasy, fiction, horror, Larry Brooks, novel, story, story engineering, story planning, structure, writer, writing | 4 Comments
An excellent list from Jacqui Murray for writers to keep in mind. (Actually, the whole site contains great advice for us.)
~Daniel
January 6, 2014 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: advice, art, Books, craft of writing, editing, fantasy, fiction, Jacqui Murray, novels, publication, writers, writing | 1 Comment
Graeme Brown is a Fantasy author in Canada, and he asked about my life as a writer. If your boredom has reached Mount Everest proportions, go check it out HERE.
Thanks,
~Daniel
January 2, 2014 | Categories: ►After Life (novel), ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: After Life, art, author, Book, Christianity, Daniel Ionson, dark fantasy, fantasy, Graeme Brown, horror, interview, novel, publishing, writer, writing | 3 Comments
Want to get rich quick? Be famous with a life of ease? Then being an author is a terrible move for you.
~~What the outsiders think the writer’s life is like…
Virtually all of the money which makes it into a writer’s pocket goes to a tiny fraction of the authors. For every Stephen King and John Grisham out there, there are thousands of (more…)
December 27, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: author, authors, fantasy, fiction, novel, novel writing, published, publishing, time, writer, writers, writing | 7 Comments
I have only posted about Self-pubbing once, wherein I talk about the downside to the “Revolution.” This post by Kristen Lamb is well-considered and well-written. I encourage all Indie-pubbers out here to read it.
~Daniel
December 18, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Books, editing, fantasy, fiction, novel, publishing, Self-publishing, writer, writers, writing | 6 Comments
After I have done all that I listed here I finally get to sit down at the keyboard and start typing it.
1) I am sure to have a “sacred space” for my writing without distractions. I write in my basement where there is (by design) no Network connection. (I even went out a few years ago and bought a used laptop with a broken wireless adapter for this purpose.) I also set the mood for my writing.
2) I lay out my scene list from my pre-drafting work and start typing. I have a master folder on each computer wherein I put a folder for that day’s work. I make a different Word doc for each chapter. (more…)
December 16, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Arts, Book, draft, editing, fantasy, fiction, novel, process, Proofreading, publishing, revision, Slush pile, writer, writers, writing | 7 Comments
We all have a method to our novel-writing (even if we’ve never charted it out). These are the 7 steps I go through before I begin Draft One.
[Note: I have no illusions that this is my creation. I simply absorbed the ideas of multiple veteran writers and synthesized them into a working model for myself.]
1) Pure Musing
- After getting the seminal idea for the story, I spend time concentrating on it, but (more…)
December 11, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Arts, author, charting, craft of writing, draft, Enneagram, fantasy, fantasy books, fantasy novels, fantasy writing, Fiction writing, Larry Brooks, novel, story, Subconscious, Subconscious Programming, writer, Writer Resources, writers | 11 Comments
Thanks to the folks at There and Draft Again for giving away critique prizes. I won a First 5K word critique by K.L. Schwengel.
She wrote, and I love that she asked how brutally honest I wanted her to be. I told her to unload both barrels. This is what helps us grow as writers, hearing unveiled honesty from those in the know.
~Daniel
December 8, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: author, Books, critique, editing, fantasy, feedback, K.L. Schwengel, novel, writer, Writers Resources, writing | 6 Comments
My experience with authors is that story-telling has been part of their lives for as far back as they can recall. It’s true of me as well. Authors I have spoken with express the same joy (and need) of writing. But why are most novels so humdrum? How is it that we (the authors) can be so exuberant about our stories and yet leave so many who read our stories so lukewarm? The primary problem, I think, is that we don’t take the writing craft seriously.
When I began my first novel I had a premise which I (and others) fell in love with. And so I sat down and started writing it. I was educated, had been writing for school for years, was well-read, etc.. But between the completion of Draft 1 and Draft 2, I did the best thing possible for my writing—I schooled myself.
(more…)
December 5, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Art of Fiction, Arts, author, authors, Book, craft of writing, fiction, learning, novels, Online Writing, story structure, Storytelling, writers, Writers Resources | 1 Comment
(Part 1 of this topic is Here.)
It’s because we have to live with ourselves, day-in/day-out, month following month, year stacking on year, that we cannot see our potential. We all feel that we “know ourselves”—our habits, our patterns, moods. But we’re wrong about a great number of things. Being so buried in our subjectivity, we cannot see that so many of the things we don’t like about ourselves/our lives are changeable.
A core, governing element of changing is Willpower.
[4 links for you: McGonical (book) and lecture, Baumeister (book) and QnA.]
The quickie-version: Willpower is not a static limitation; it is a muscle that we can build. We can become, with time, people with strong wills, people who are highly disciplined. And this means that we can become vastly superior artists (either in word, canvas, etc.) than we have been in the past.
(more…)
December 3, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: change, discipline, guilt, habits, kelly mcgonigal, psychology, roy baumeister, Self-control, time management, willpower, writing | 1 Comment
In 1890 William James (philosopher/psychologist) posited that our thoughts and experiences shape our brains. Of course, we didn’t even have the equipment to verify that on a cadaver’s brain, let alone on a living one. But we finally do, and this research on our brains has yielded extraordinary findings.
~ Jill B Taylor ~
Neuroscientists have dubbed this ‘Neuroplasticity’ (and the subsequent “Self-Directed Neuroplasticity” or “SDN”). The quickie version on SDN: Humans can volitionally rewire their brains to help change thought/behavior patterns, even decades-long such patterns (bad habits, OCD, addiction, crippling depression), and even the most profound of changes as in the extraordinary stroke-recovery case of Jill B Taylor.
(more…)
November 29, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: addiction, author, brain, change, conditioning, creativity, habits, happiness, Jill Bolte Taylor, mind, MRI, neuroplasticity, neuroscience, OCD, patterns, psychology, SDN, self-directed neuroplasticity, thought, willpower, writing | 7 Comments
So much of the advice we all see about novel-writing is, “Just get your ass in the chair and start writing it!”
Nope.
OK, I’m being flippant. What I mean is, “No. Don’t.”
There are two polar opposite camps regarding the novel-writing process: Planners and Pantsers (the former is obvious, the latter comes from the notion of “writing by the seat of your pants”). But no one is truly at either extreme of those ends. All die-hard Planners still discover and change elements of their tale as they write, and all Pantsers are planning some of the story (in their heads, even if they refuse to write down those plans).
~~ And, now what? ~~
I try to stay as far in the Planning camp as possible, for I am convinced that we save ourselves not just hours, but months (and years?) of frustration and pain by spending the time charting our story before we sit down to type our manuscripts. What contractor do you know who just “starts building” a house without planning out every minute detail? Why would we, (more…)
November 25, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: creativity, editing, novel writing, novels, pantsing, planning, revision, stories, story structure, world building, writing | 18 Comments
Have you ever watched pre-edited footage of a movie scene? The characters are moving about, the scenery pans, etc., but something feels “off.” All of the belief that we suspend is chucked right out of the window. We’re aware that this is just a staged scene in a movie. Why? There are small changes between these shot scenes and what we see in Post, the primary one being the audio (we can hear their lines, but the audio sync hasn’t been applied) and, far more powerfully, there is no music being played.
For whatever host of reasons, it seems universally true that thematic music is a major contributor to the movie experience. I’m convinced that this also applies to novels. (more…)
November 21, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: ambiance, author, authorship, Music, novel writing, novels, reading, Soundtrack, thematic music, writing | 10 Comments
Over the past couple of years the talk of the “Self-publishing revolution” has spread into all corners of the Interwebs. Writers are 
celebrating that we are now no longer at the mercy of literary agents or publishing houses (who sometimes seem to make their publishing choices by shaking a Magic 8 Ball). We also know that nepotism, cronyism and all kinds of other unfair –isms are pushing people up into the “legitimately” published sphere. The traditional publishing houses used to be indispensable, unless you happened to have a spare $100K lying around to publish and market your book. Even in the Internet’s early days, the “Vanity publishers” realized that they could buy book-pressers and print for desperate authors. And now the internet is so powerful that the traditional marketing they used is stuck in the back seat (if not the trunk). The monopoly is broken.
But here comes the other side… (more…)
November 19, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: Amazon, author, authors, Book, craft, discipline, editing, novel writing, novels, paradigm shift, patience, publish, publishing, publishing houses, Self-publishing, the arts, traditional publishing houses, Vanity press, writers, Writers Resources, writing | 12 Comments
I’m an IT professional for a University… and daily am tempted to become a Luddite. Why? The mountain of evidence showing us that the 21st century has created a world filled with addiction to our devices. That unrelenting use is continuing to damage our attention spans and general ability to calmly ponder complex issues. [I’ll here stop myself from writing an academic piece since hundreds have already done that work for us. You can Google as well as I can, but I will give you just a few (in case you’re feeling lazy). ]: NPR, NYer, NYT, NW.
Aside from what is a crime against our minds (and ‘souls’ if I’m feeling bold [and antiquated]), I think it’s especially damaging for the work of creative endeavors. As I am charting a 7-novel series, I require many hours of uninterrupted musing. Daydreaming is not just nice, it’s essential. The power of our brains at work when in a steady, relaxed state is vital to the outpouring of a deep story. (Again, Google away, but here.)
Our addiction to being perpetually connected to the internet/playing with our gadgets robs us of this deep flow, which means that what artists produce lacks the depth and richness they may otherwise have had. The useful tools that are our many computing devices have the clear and likely danger of becoming mental termites.
(more…)
November 18, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: addiction, art, attention span, brain, calm, computers, concentration, creativity, distraction, focus, Luddite, novel writing, the arts, web surfing, writing | 2 Comments
As it relates to my last post, I wanted to share this video. I find it powerful in its understatedness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk
(more…)
November 15, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: art, discipline, hours, life, meaning, meaningful, time, wasted time | 3 Comments
As I preached about in my first post, the artist’s life requires discipline in order to produce quality work. This means that our time must be dedicated to our craft–a task which seems exceedingly difficult in the 21st century. The first obstacle is for us to discover exactly where all of our time goes. This generation, worse than any other, is inundated with distraction. 
So I created this spreadsheet for myself in order to track what was happening with all of my time, and I am sharing this with you.
Download this and open it (it requires Excel, and should work on the OSX Excel as well). It will offer for you to sign up for Box. You can ignore it and just choose Download at the top. https://app.box.com/s/hyzw3yr0wyoer9muqx6q
(more…)
November 13, 2013 | Categories: ►The Craft of Writing | Tags: art, discipline, novel, planning, the arts, time, time management, writing | 7 Comments
Daniel Ionson 