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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Inspirations of Fantasy


We can say that all writers collect the seeds acquired from an assortment of influences and plant them in their gardens of literary creativity. Not only that, but there are the nuggets of life’s experiences and the flow of imagination that fuels the drive of the writer’s story. Fantasy fiction is that one facet of speculative fiction where not only the fantastic is given liberty to reign, but an author can interject a riot of influences in a pliable universe.

Religion and mythology inspired ancient epics like Gilgamesh, The Odyssey and Beowulf. Fairy tales sprouted from the folklore of legends and imaginative narratives of morals, humor and fears. Without these foundations, modern fantasy would not exist.

The titan of modern fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, poured all of his inspirations, passions and experiences into his creation. The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and all other Middle-earth companion books, would not have existed if it weren’t for the intelligence, knowledge, faith and experiences of Tolkien bleeding into his work as he spent years building a world that would dominate the genre for decades. It wasn’t only mythology and early works of fantasy that inspired Tolkien’s epic, but it was his knowledge of history, language, culture, as well as his service in World War I. These motivations, joined with masterful storytelling, are what produced the saga adored by millions today.

I think what gives George R.R. Martin’s work of A Song of Ice and Fire such great intrigue and grandeur is Martin’s inspiration from historical events like the War of the Roses, and the historical fiction of French author Maurice Druon. Nothing is more fascinating than the accounts of history—true stories of real people and momentous events of the past. That’s what I’ve come to enjoy in fantasy—books that have some sort of inspiration from history and/or real life situations, making for a more believable fictional world.

Similar to the ancient epics, modern fantasy continues to be inspired by the faith and beliefs of authors. C.S. Lewis’ Christianity was a key influence on his Chronicles of Narnia; with the result of a messianic lion (Aslan). Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials produced a work of fiction that drew upon John Milton’s Paradise Lost to tell a story with Atheist overtones. Likewise, Brandon Sanderson’s many works of fantasy show reflections of Mormon ideas, such as mortals attaining divinity; and it continues in his largest epic yet—The Stormlight Archive.

Sometimes it’s simply just the activities and occupations of a writer’s life that sparks an imaginative epic. Though the love of fantasy fiction altogether can be the basis of inspiration for all fantasy authors, nothing forms the author’s story like that in which he/she is familiar with. Patrick Rothfuss’ life and experiences in college clearly comes through, masterfully, in his Kingkiller Chronicle, giving readers more than just a heroic adventure story. Before writing fulltime, the late Sara Douglass was a registered nurse, which gave her the ability to write some pretty graphic scenes of brutal childbirth and what happens to the human body in certain conditions. Playing role-playing games like AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) set the creative wheels spinning for Steven Erikson. He and a friend simply wanted to build a better and stronger role-playing universe, and thus the Malazan Empire was created, along with a whole cast of characters and histories, which would evolve into the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

Obviously, fantasy stories can come from a vast pool of inspirations; however, it seems too often that writers draw their inspirations from the same sources. It can be nice seeing different renderings of similar settings and ideas in the genre, but it can get stale after awhile. We are definitely in a new age where most readers are anticipating something “original” in fantasy. If writers are dipping into the same limited reservoir of ideas, then you tend to have a stagnant genre. Yet when writers venture out a little and wade in a pool of fresh concepts—marrying it with exceptional storytelling—then the fantasy genre, once again, can celebrate another landmark in its great frontier.

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