My natural tendency is to go off half-cocked and just start writing some fantasy or another. Then I usually run out of ideas about 50 pages in, and I fumble around and sometimes I keep going, somewhat lamely, and other times I quit, but if I keep going I realize I haven't thought it through and that the world-building is insufficient and that I'll have to go back and redo the whole damn thing but it is so easy to just start writing these things and I love fantasy so much and I seem to have no end of these kinds of stories in my head or at least the beginnings of such stories so whenever I don't have another project in hand I just go off and start writing about dragons and such.
But when I have a real idea, it is usually something other than fantasy, and that focuses my mind, and the results are usually much better. The more I get the story in the first draft, the better the book.
Somehow, when I write horror or thrillers my mind is much more
concentrated on plot and characterization, instead of the fantasy "feel"
that leads me astray. Written in a real world I can concentrate on
story instead of world-building, and I'm pretty good at pulling elements
of history or culture into my stories.
Anytime I tell myself I can go back and "fix" it, is usually a disaster.
The exception to my fantasy block are my "Tales of the Thirteen
Principalities." They
are novellas, and thus don't require huge world building. In fact, over
the course of the three and half stories I've written, each story has
contributed to the world-building and someday I can go back and try to
make them cohesive.
I've told myself that someday I'll do a proper world-building, have a good strong plot and idea in mind before I start, and write my fantasy trilogy. Someday.
Anyway, I'm writing one of my off-the-cuff fantasies right now. It has a certain appeal. It's fast moving. I love the "feel" of fantasy, but as usual, I started struggling about 50 pages in.
I think I've had about 10 of these projects over the years. I've finished a couple of them and they are in my "book vault" and will probably never be published.
Someday, though.
I'm a writer because of Lord of the Rings. I wanted so much more of that and at the time, there was nothing out there, so my mind turned to creating stories like it.
Once I started writing stories, I ventured off from fantasy, writing weird westerns and thrillers and horror, and I'm really glad I did, but someday, by God, I'm going to write that epic fantasy trilogy.
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I would posit that whatever plot you dream for any non-fantasy story could be overlaid atop your fantasies.
DFR - what if the MC actually could turn into a Sasquatch, and had to protect his enclave from a techno-wizard hellbent on destroying all fantasy creatures.
TO - a family of dwarves, kicked out of their land by men, decide to takeover man's monument to human heroes...
Snaked - The serpent has been hunted to near extinction and vows revenge, little does it know that its venom can cure human illness and but the wizards who profit from human suffering plot to destroy the last of the serpent's kind.
Now, just flip those over.
Funny. That's sort of what I've been doing. Any story can be made with a supernatural slant, and not only that, it almost always makes it more interesting to write and I hope to read.
When I thought of Blood of the Succubus, the plot originally was about a female serial kller who led men into the mountains and then abandoned them to die.
The plot to The Last Fedora was originally a sort of Luca Brasi (only unlike the Godfather chump who sleeps with fishes, this guy is really is unstoppable.) Asked myself what the supernatural version of that is and came up with a Golem.
And so on.
The thrillers were written because it's been made clear to me that most mainstream publishers will not even look at horror novels unless your name is King or Koontz. A big time agent told me, "The publishers you are currently dealing with are doing the best job of that, but for most publishers, there isn't enough money in it."
The publisher who wrote to me about Led to the Slaughter loved the book but wanted a non-supernatural version of it. So I've been trying to write a thriller for that editor, without any feedback so far. (No rejection, just no answer....eventually, I suppose, no answer IS an answer...)
...eventually, I suppose, no answer IS an answer.
Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right. I'd never thought of it like that but, true dat.
Like RUSH: If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.
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