Lessons from Magic Beyond Words.

I wrote this some time ago, but felt like posting it now:

I have just finished watching Magic Beyond words and found it to be a truly touching movie. Inspiring and well, amazing. And, let's be honest here, it spoke to me. As both an avid Harry Potter fan and an aspiring fiction writing myself, I understand that hesitancy, that reluctance. I almost cried while watching the movie, only saving myself from hysterics from the mere fact that the rest of my family was there, and none of them were crying.

None of them, however, are writers. My brother the aspiring computer programer, my mother the sales woman, and my father the project manager. All very practical professions. And me, getting my English degree, trying to make a living as a freelance writer while also trying to get that damnedable novel out of my head and onto a piece of paper and making any sense.

One of the biggest points of the movie that I loved, and that really struck a chord with me is the idea that the story has to become real to the writer. It's true, it really really is. A story is just a story until it comes to life. I've talked to other writer friends of mine and when they really get a story going, it isn't until it comes to life. Usually it starts with the characters. The character comes to life, sits on your shoulder and comments on everything you do and say.

I have one character like that. Just one. Adrienne. She sits on my shoulder and tells me how SHE'D react in the situations I was in, what HER favourite colour is. I don't even ask, she just tells me. When I begin to write her, she takes control of what she does. When I created her, I wanted her to be a bit of a brat, but evolve into a proper heroine. That has yet to happen. In fact, she has shown such a disregard for heroics she can barely even be labeled as an anti-hero. And I love her for it.

The Cliche in Fantasy

Fantasy, particularly High Fantasy and Medieval Fantasy, is one of the most prevalent genres. Aside from Romance, the fantasy genre probably has the largest collection of novels. Though they're not standard, the ones that become the most popular seem the have certain cliches. Elves, magic without consequences, and epic 'save the world' questlines. Usually consisting of a character that finds out that they are destined to save the world, their parents aren't their real parents or they're part of a near extinct race.

So while novel writing classes and avid fantasy literature fans will tell you to avoid these cliches, why is it that we still largely see these sort of stories on the shelves of popular book stores?

The simple answer is because they work. Most writers predict that their readers are male, so they write a male character, with female characters fitting in with the traditional mold of deferring to the male lead. Even if they are otherwise capable, they still are usually second in command after the male character, often times even falling in love with the male.


The five most common fantasy cliches and why some of them will survive (or won't):

• The Male Hero. The hero is a man of various backgrounds who saves damsels in distress and shows how they can overcome anything. They always get the girl in the end.
• Verdict: It will stick around, as this is going to be a very hard theme to shake off, but it's also not going to stay on top. With more and more books coming out with female protagonists, and feminism becoming a common thing, the typical male hero will start to fade a bit.
• The Prophesied Hero. Whether male or female, this is pretty common as well. This hero's birth was prophesied in some way. Whether they were secretly adopted or a part of a race that was wiped out (sometimes because of the prophecy), they have a humble start before they find out their purpose. 
• Verdict: It works, and it's going to stay. No matter how cliche it is, it gets people interested. Everyone wants to be in this hero's shoes. They want to escape their mundane lives for a little adventure.
• A Band of Heroes Save The World because it is their Duty. Somehow, when a band of friends (or strangers) are faced with the task of saving the world, a town, a race or some other cause, they chose to do it for the greater good. Not revenge, not personal gain, not even fame or reward.
• Verdict: It's already started to fade. With the popularity of anti-heroes on the rise, people are writing more characters who have their personal gain in mind. While so far it's usually a side character, there a few main character that adopt this idea. 
• Elves are helpful, Orcs are evil. This is a theme that a lot of people hate, as it is indictive of racism. Certain races are good, others are bad. While the 'racism' claim is a bit silly if you look at the mythological backgrounds of these creatures. It is when people view these creatures as humans that the racism emerges. 
• Verdict: It will stay, but it will also evolve. They are stories of 'evil' races being good, such as RA Salvatore's Drizzt stories, and just as the anti-hero is becoming popular, so is the evil race anti-hero.
• European Setting. Even if it isn't precisely Europe, medieval or otherwise, most fantasy worlds resemble medieval Europe. European mythology, terminology and speech. European Dragons, weaponry and architecture. All of them, European.
• Verdict: It'll stick around, but with the growing knowledge of the common writer of Asian culture as well, there are more Samurai based stories. There aren't a lot of Indian, South American, African or any other medieval cultures. They'll come with time, however.

 So how will fantasy novels start changing? What are some new themes that we can see in fantasy coming into their popularity?