SFGirl
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Opinions
Do you think that, in a fantasy story, it's okay if character development is subjugated to plot? In other words, if story is the main thing and character change less relevant or not really present at all?
I really have problems accepting that a story that doesn't do both is somehow lacking. This is an issue in the story I'm working on.
Thoughts?
Sherry
--- Reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Writing: short story: Of Snow-Jewelled Hills and Ice
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4/4/2005, 3:18 pm
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Riane
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Re: Opinions
As long as the character still comes across as believable, I don't think it's a problem. I suppose the question to ask is: If I were going through what this character is going through, would I change? If yes, then you can still include that without having to go into copious detail about someone's thought processes etc.
I like to use the M.I.C.E. quotient as a guideline for what a story will focus on. (If you don't know what that is, I'll have to put up some more info, eh?)
--- Reading: Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
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4/7/2005, 12:31 am
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Firlefanz
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Re: Opinions
I'd say it depends on what you want. If the punchline of the story is what matters, if you want to get that across, then the character's development can take second place.
I also like Riane's take - see if you would change in those circumstances, and weave that in to keep it believable.
--- - Firlefanz
Reading: "Verkaufende auf Risa" by Gundhild Dreher
Writing: "Winter Song" - short story
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4/7/2005, 3:21 am
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SFGirl
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Re: Opinions
Thanks, ladies! Yes, I like the MICE quotient, myself, but it seems to have been subjugated lately to this overriding need to see character change. Personally, I think that's a bit of a trend and that there's still a place for a good event or idea story. My character is solving a problem for some other folks, and I just don't think that her character will change very much. We'll see what happens, anyway.
Sherry
--- Reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Writing: short story: Of Snow-Jewelled Hills and Ice
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4/7/2005, 9:21 pm
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David Meadows
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Re: Opinions
If you had said "science fiction story", I would have said YES. That's the kind of story I grew up on, from writers like Asimov and Clarke, where the idea is more important than the people.
I'm not sure why it should be any different for a fantasy. I think it is different, but I'm not sure why...
--- Reading without thinking will confuse you.
Thinking without reading will place you in danger.
-- Confucius, Spring and Autumn Period
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4/10/2005, 4:38 am
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SFGirl
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Re: Opinions
Hmmm...so do you think that fantasy needs a stronger character element because it's missing the "gosh wow" factor of SF?
Sherry
--- Reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Writing: short story: Of Snow-Jewelled Hills and Ice
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4/11/2005, 1:15 pm
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David Meadows
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Re: Opinions
I hadn't really thought about it like that... but yes, I think that's right. A clever idea in an SF story can keep my mind occupied long after I've finished the story, even if the storytelling itself has been substandard. But I can't recall a "world element" in a fantasy book (whether a magic system, a race, a creature, or some other fantasy world staple) ever making me sit up and go WOW the way that, for example, the concept of a ringworld did. So I enjoy fantasy, but it's probably got to have more than just a good idea to keep my attention.
But presumably that's just to do with my personal interests, and other people might get that "gosh wow" factor out of a fantasy world.
Last edited by David Meadows, 4/12/2005, 5:45 pm
--- Reading without thinking will confuse you.
Thinking without reading will place you in danger.
-- Confucius, Spring and Autumn Period
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4/12/2005, 5:44 pm
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Riane
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Re: Opinions
I found the 'gosh wow' factor with Robin Hobb's 'Liveship Traders' trilogy. Her idea of the link between serpents and dragons was... well, fascinating.
Then again, that might just be my personal interes...
I don't think the matter of the amount of time spent on character is as important as the quality of said character - some authors can paint a real, live character in a few paragraphs or even words. Others don't seem to be able to do it when they have a whole book...
--- Reading: Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
My writing blog
The Fantasy Writers' Library
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4/13/2005, 4:34 am
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SFGirl
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Re: Opinions
Turned out my character did end up discovering something about herself anyway. I just didn't know she was going to until it happened.
Sherry
--- Reading: Low Port ed. by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Rewriting: short story: The Price of Roses
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5/8/2005, 10:01 am
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JessieLong
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Re: Opinions
Look at detective novels: 90% of them has no evolution for the main character. When ever did Poirot or Miss Marple changed or showed us a new face? Never. We love them anyway.
I think in fantasy there can be books done well without dragging the main hero through emotional whirlpools. So go ahed and see how it work out.
--- Reading: Mostly comic books...
Writing : Electric Ladythief
Backburner: Scion and Ratface; The Rose and the Sword (books); Seekers (comic book series)
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4/4/2006, 5:59 am
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