Thinking about going on a trip?
Posted in writing on June 16th, 2009 by andrew mackay – 2 CommentsI greatly enjoyed this blogpost by Brandon Sanderson about the function of a journey in fantasy writing.
My favorite part:
Oddly, when I first tried to write fantasy books, during my unpublished days, I found myself bored by the concept of yet another book that took place mostly in the wilderness or on a roadway visiting little towns along the way toward a destination. I wanted to write stories that took place AT the destination. That was what excited me.
I know exactly how he feels. I have felt that way about various “classic” fantasy plot traditions. For example, in my current story, it would’ve been easy to make the main character’s parents antagonize him. Simple. Too simple. It would’ve given him an easy motivator to push for change. It would’ve given him something to push against.
The thing is, the vast majority of times in the real world, parents are not their children’s primary antagonists. What’s more, I don’t want to communicate to my young adult readers that they can expect their parents to antagonize them.
So, some of those “classic” plot points are good to throw to the wayside. Also, by reading this post, you waive your rights to quote it when I do write a story with evil, aggravating parents.
