Alpha Readers : Forum : Curiousity killed the cat


Curiousity killed the cat

9 Years Ago


I noticed that most of the members of this group tend to write fantasy tales.
My preference for reading is not generally that genre, I have wended my way through the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, the Hunger Games series, and the five Game of Thrones books so far. (Aside; George R R Martin I am waiting for book six. Just saying!)
Having said that, Mila, Cher, Richard and JJW have managed to keep me interested enough to read and review the WIPs shared here.

So the questions are What is the reason for writing fantasy/alternate worlds stories?
Why not real world tales, such as Jennie's university story?"

Is it because of the success of the Twilight, Harry Potter, Gof T etc?

Just curious.

Re: Curiousity killed the cat

9 Years Ago


Well I can't speak for everyone (not until I'm supreme overlord at least :P), but just for me I would say that I've always loved fantasy and, for a long time, it's been a sort of escape for me. And also most of the themes and story lines in my fantasy stories started off as real-world, but weaving it all together without my full interpretation of EVERYTHING was hard, so I decided to just make it happen in my own world.

Also because, eventually, I want there to be dragons. :D

Re: Curiousity killed the cat

9 Years Ago


This is a great question. For me, I have always been nerdy for SciFi and fantasy. I find that I love finding new worlds that are constructs of the imagination where the possibilities are virtually endless. It's like being born anew and seeing the world with new eyes again. Everything is magical once again just as our world is (until we take it for granted). From a writing stand point, since I've been an avid fan of that type of story, I naturally fell into that kind of writing. I love making my own rules and imagining things that don't exsist. However, I like telling different types of stories. One of my nanowrimo projects is not SciFi or Fantasy. Its office fiction about a struggling software company. So, Noel, look forward to that ;)

Re: Curiousity killed the cat

9 Years Ago


I'm not a fan of non-fiction. I don't read it and I don't write it.

I read to escape reality, and I write for the same reason. If I want reality, I can just ask someone at work how their day is. I'm sure they're dealing with drama, who isn't? But it's not going to be true life and death drama.

To me, good fantasy is all about characters thrust into amazing situations and how they cope. Do they break, or turn into diamonds. Sure, you can do that in modern, non-fantastic settings, but what's the fun of that?

Re: Curiousity killed the cat

9 Years Ago


I know this did not include me as it was posted before I was part of this group. But, I'd like to add my two cents worth. For me, fantasy fiction is a genre that lets me explore all the darkest aspects of my past and of myself from the safety of being removed from the reality of that darkness. I think it give a chance to examine in great honesty the darkness  we all struggle against in a way that gives us an outside perspective we might not otherwise be able to take up.