I should have considered earlier that if you want someone to read your work, you need to be able to describe something about it to them. I define my novel as ‘Fantasy’, but ‘Fantasy’ is a very broad term, potentially including everything from Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, to Star Wars and other Sci-Fi, even Superman.

Wikipedia describes the different sub-genres of Fantasyfairly well. However, if you read through that you’ll find that many of the sub-genres overlap, or may seem to be the same. I tried displaying the differences in a table, but that didn’t work out so well. So instead I compiled a sentence for each of the more common sub-genres of Fantasy.

• Alternate History. It’s just like the history books say, but with unicorns
• Comic Fantasy. It’s fantasy, but with sarcasm and wit.
• Contemporary Fantasy.It’s the world as we know it (more or less), but sometimes fantastic creatures/beings waltz through it.
• Dark Fantasy. It’s fantasy, and horror.
• Fairytale Fantasy. Pretty much what it sounds like.
• Heroic Fantasy. There’s a hero, a quest and probably a magical item.
• High Fantasy. There’s good, there’s evil and an epic battle between them in a world not recognisable as yoru own.
• Historical Fantasy. It’s history, with fantastic creatures/beings/things, but the world isn’t quite our own. Kinda confusing with ‘alternate history’. This can include steampunk, medieval history and so on.
• Juvenile Fantasy. Written for you to read to your kids. Probably no buxom heroines here.
• Low Fantasy. This genre tries to be cynical, down to earth and not over-emphasise the fantastic elements of the story.
• Fantasy of Manners. Politics.
• Romantic Fantasy. The romance is the key storyline here, not the dragons.
• Science Fantasy. It has some magic or fantasy elements (like the Force in Star Wars), but also Science Fiction elements (like the lasers in Star Wars)
• Superhero Fantasy. Today’s world with a superhero. I bet you can name at least five examples.
• Sword And Sorcery. A fantasy world, but more concerned with tomorrows meal than any noble goal, quest, or epic battle. Read the rest of this entry »

 I think it’s a common mistake of younger female writers (who may be slightly inclined to like horses) to write these creatures as being much more wonderful than they actually are. On the page these beasts transform into witty, cunning, mischievous, intelligent, beautiful, flawless (poop-less), wonderful creatures. Somehow these animals develop as much personality as the human characters.

Typically if this is badly done, then it is by the horse “Giving so-and-so a look that said…” which is a phrase that means absolutely nothing. Horses don’t give looks that say things. They can still have empathic gestures, but be reasonable with it. Read the rest of this entry »

Since getting myself an iPod for Christmas I’ve managed to put together a few mini-playlists that remind me of my characters.

 Previously I would listen passively to the radio and whenever one of these songs came on I would have to scribble down any idea I happened to have- which isn’t really convenient on the highway. Now I can find them whenever I want them, and they can inspire me as needed.

Music, however, isn’t perfect for characterisation. Every song has its own mood, and you can’t expect a character to be in the same mood through the whole book. As such I find myself writing along to the playlist for one character and suddenly skipping songs that are too happy/moody or just wrong for the scene. It’s not perfect, and I’m not going to make thirty different sub-playlists like “Jesse-happy, Jesse-sad, Jesse-angry etc”. That would be obsessive.

But if I had to pick one song to represent my characters through most of the book, these would be it:

• Jesse - “Suddenly I see” KT Tunstall
• Detra - “Mad World” Gary Jules & Michael Andrews
• Trill - “Sweet about me” Gabriella Cilmi
• Veltra -”Boulevard of Broken Dreams” Green Day

Mind you, there is a lot of overlap between characters and songs. Viva la Vida can make me thing of any of these four characters, though less so with Trill.

So, writers, any songs you play to get ‘into character’?