For many people, especially the younger generations today, have trouble writing, unfortunately. Much of this is because younger generations are more focused on playing video games and watching TV, rather than reading books, newspapers, magazines, even the comic strips in the sunday paper. It's rather disturbing, that our parents would let us become couch potatoes; in the long run, you might as well say Armaggedon is coming faster than ever before.
Because of this, few of us have the required skills to pass school requirements. Notice how many people have difficulty reading out loud, or, even at my age of 14, have the hand writing of a 5 year old? It's shamefull. I hope to try to change that, so I have been writing a lot lately. There are, in fact, many difficulties if you wish to be an excellent writer, depending on what form of writing you are utilizing. I will be focusing on the difficulties of fantasy writing.
One of the most important points is debatable for the unwise.
"It's fantasy, so I can do whatever I want."
This is a common error in fantasy writings, which makes many fantasy works dull reading. True, in fantasy you can do many things that are unreal, but that is no excuse to have a unicorn and a dragon that looks like barnie strolling through an enchated forest. Unless you have an argument as to why barnie would be strolling about, then that's fine. It must make sense, however. "Because I can" is not an exuse at all, but a fools response.
When you right fantasy, you must be sure that what you right makes sense and has limitations, such as following the laws of physics, etc. When you have a dragon in your story, well, ok, its a dragon, big whoop. Now, emphasize this dragon.
50 feet tall, a wingspan of 360 feet, weighs around a ton and a half, with red scales and a soft tan underbelly. The claws are extremely sharp, and hard as diamonds, and the teeth are even worse. The slited eyes are a burning crimson red that speak of pride and honor and intellect. The Fire in it's breath is as hot as the largest forgery, and though its speed in flight is somewhat slow, it makes it up for its mobility in the air.
That description made the dragon sound more real by far, didn't it? Now you know that the dragon is something important, and not just a part of the background. Notice also that it followed the laws of physics. It weighs a ton and a half, so it naturally will flly somewhat slower. Perhaps if I said it's bones were hollow, like a birds, then perhaps it could fly faster. also, in order to carry that much weight, it must have a large wingspan; the longer and larger the area of the wingspan, the higher, faster, and longer it can stay in flight and support the weight And 50 feet tall isn't that tall for a fully grown dragon, now is it?
By describing things with detail, and done correctly, unlike mine, which was buched together at once, you can piece together an argumant as to why that is there, without having to point it out. If you have read The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien, you would know that the great Wyrm, or the dragon, Smaug was created for the purpose of keeping the 14 of reaching the treasure that was rightfully theirs. It never said that specifically, or that would ruin the exitement.
This leads to another concept of writing: description, or lack thereof. When you are writing, it is important to have a lot of detail, especially of the surroundings and any actions being performed by the main character/s. Details are what make the read more interesting and real. Like the example above, by describing the dragon, it made it seem more real. I could go on an describe its personality, its hobbies, its history, if it has one, anything. Of course, you do not want to go full out on descriptions, for that would bore the reader. If you take it slow, describing things bit by bit, it makes the reader more curious, whether it be about the person/s, or about that particular place, etc. If you've read any of the great fantasy works, by Tolkien, Robert Jordan, C. S. Lewis, Terry Brooks, Paolini, J.K. Rowling, you would know what I mean.
Another difficult assignment, especially if you are me: originality. All fantasy works have their similarities, some more similar than others, but the uniqueness of them outweigh those same concepts over and over again. Sometimes the similarities themselves are different in small ways, separating them. Many fantasy works have Elves, correct? All of them have pointy ears, speak that awesome language, and have mad skills with a bow. But there are differences; some are tall, others are short. Some are good, some are bad. some are fair in appearance, while others look like us. By these differences, the appearance of stealing ideas all over the place is reduced. Originality is what makes the read interesting. Aftere a while, you get tired of reading the same things over and over again, except described a little bit differently. If you have something that is different, say, a walking, talking mushroom, well, it's sort of lame, but it for some reason got your attention, did it not? So instead of having a gnome come at you with a little knife, have a giant mushroom come at you with several hundred tiny teath and sharp nails. Again, rediculous, but original. You might not want to actually USE that idea, but you understand what I mean.
With all of this, it is absolutely neccesary to have a broad vocabulary. The more words you can use and understand, the more open your options are, especially with descriptions. If you know a word, but don't remember the meaning, a dictionary is always handy. With the internet so profound in our lives, I would recamend the website www.dictionary.reference.com. I use it all the time, and so far it has not let me down. If you need a word, but you know the meaning, simply ask around, especially older people. Your're parents are always a good option, or your grandparents, siblings, gaurdians, teachers; anyone with knowledge. If you have some special access to the president, I don't care; it's a sourse of knowledge.
With a good vocabulary, good grammar is needed as well. You may very well have the largest dictionary in your head, but it's no use without proper grammar. Use punctuation when needed, and that is often. Watch out for run-on sentences, or odd endings. If something doesn't seem right, then there probably is. Fix it if you can, and ask for help; don't be afraid of that either.
I'll edit this post when new concepts come to mind.
 b10n1cl3k1n6 · Thu Jun 19, 2008 @ 12:00am · 3 Comments |
