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| Author M.L. Hamilton. Read on for her advice on writing fantasy! |
Good question. I think it's the same thing that makes fantasy appealing -- the chance to escape into a new world with different creatures and yet still find that thread of humanity in them that we can identify. If you can see elements of your personality in a creature of mystery and magic, that's pretty amazing. I will never forget being in the theatre and weeping when Dobby from Harry Potter died, then realizing it was a CGI creation, yet I still felt devastated. Another time I felt this was in Avatar when they destroyed the Tree of Souls. I watched that scene with a hand over my mouth and tears in my eyes. When Frodo throws the ring of power into Mount Doom, you fight that struggle with him. He isn't a Hobbit, he's someone you know and love. That is power and the author is holding that bag of emotional magic.
How to make fantasy stories believable?
I try to have a "logical" explanation for everything that happens in my world and I stick to that. If you create laws for that world, first you have to remember what those laws are and you can't just "work around" them as a plot device. I think fantasy becomes unbelievable if you set rigid rules for your world, then ignore them willy nilly just to advance the story. Readers, especially fantasy readers, will immediately pick up on the contradiction. For example, early drafts ofEmerald had the characters drinking coffee. Everyone who read the drafts kept getting hung up on the coffee and feeling it wasn't in keeping with the world I created. In the beginning I was adamant that I had to have my coffee, but I finally gave it up. It was too big a distraction for people and didn't allow them to enjoy the story. It was an inconsistency that they couldn't accept, and boy did they tell me about it.
How to bring a fantasy world to life?
Keep to the basics. I know that sounds strange when one is writing fantasy, but you still have to try to make the people and the environment reasonable. People have to recognize enough in your world to accept it. Then you can bring in fantastical elements, but you have to ground your reader first. Humans are creatures of customs and rituals. No matter how strange the customs and rituals may be in a fantasy world, you have to have them because it's those things that bring our own worlds alive. Most of my fantasy books start slow because I take the time to orient the reader in my world and my customs before I turn it on its ear.
And I suppose you are curious about what her book is about?
The Star of Eldon is the book #3 in the World of Samar series, so lets get to know the 1st two below first:
The First Novel in the World of Samar Series - #1 Emerald
In one terrible instant, Kai is thrown from his comfortable life and plunged into a conflict that began before he was born. Worse yet, he learns that the one man who can help him is his enemy.
Kiameron is the crown prince of DiNolfol. He is torn between two destinies -- taking the crown upon his father's death or answering the call of his non-Human-like traits, traits associated with the mysterious Stravad.
The decision is made with the destruction of everything he holds dear. Armed with his strange powers and a mysterious talisman he doesn't know how to use, Kai decides to attack Gava, the despot who destroyed his life.
Crippled by self-doubt and fear, he falters in his quest, until he meets a man who forces him to take action. However, his new ally is hiding secrets, secrets that will rob Kai of everything he held sacred.
The Second Novel in the World of Samar Series - #2 The Heirs of Eldon
Tav and Tash might have been born twins, but they both want something different from life. Tav would love to study with the great scholars in Voltarian, while Tash wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming a hero. Neither is prepared for what fate has in store for them.
With Loden once more facing war, an upstart king decides he has the answer. Unite the seven protectorates under one flag. Can he accomplish his dream? Can the sons of Kiameron keep him alive long enough to find out?
Finally the book of our interest-
The Third Novel in the World of Samar Series - #3 The Star of Eldon
The Seven Protectorates have enjoyed years of peace under Tav’s leadership, but a growing worry has surfaced. What about the land beyond Loden’s border? Where once there had been overtures of trade, now there is nothing. Tav decides to send a diplomatic expedition to re-establish contact, but who should go?
Adventure runs in the blood of Tash’s children, especially in his head-strong daughter, Shara. Shara wants nothing more than to be part of the expedition to Nevaisser, but her father will never agree. He fears for her safety, but a rash decision on his part takes the choice out of his hands and sets up a chain of events that will have far reaching consequences.
Nevaisser is a land teeming with conflict and at the heart of it is a mysterious stranger, hiding secrets that will test the alliance of the Seven Protectorates. A journey begun to protect Loden may result in tearing it apart.
Continue the adventure with the third installment in the World of Samar series.
