Fantasy story, what do you call stuff?

[Jorunn]

It was jarring and unnecessary. If someone talks about a journey of a thousand miles, they're not talking about precisely 1,609 kilometres from start to end. A tower across the river - a hundred yards away - and the POV character can conveniently measure both its height and the width of the river to within a centimetre?

I just can't imagine what was going through the writer's head to decide to do that.

Typical “ye olde distance” was measured in days. Of course a day meant different things.

 

[Britva415]

The genre is called Fantasy. It's meant to be unrealistic

So, 13 inches rather than 6?

 

[Britva415]

Yah, generally jarring the reader is in bad form, but there certainly are exceptions out there. Everything from jumpscares to the oriental baddie in Raiders of the Lost Ark putting his coathanger together, to the slurping noises after "fava beans and a nice chianti", all are effective jolts that help build momentum (terror? humor? yes?) within their tales.

Well, jarring people out of the story is the concern.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

So, 13 inches rather than 6?

Are we talking about magical dick or monster dick? Either way, it can get longer...

 

[Britva415]

Are we talking about magical dick or monster dick? Either way, it can get longer...

Well, neither of those are "realistic" already, so

 

[TheRedChamber]

For the record, I got it as well and was vaguely wondering if it was intentional while reading the rest of the thread.

 

[Statius]

So, when writing in a fantasy setting, that is at least pseudo medieval at which point do you try to use old terms for things, like a breast band instead of a sports bra, and at which point do you use a term that feels more authentic, verses one that was more authentic, like towel vs drying cloth?

Or are you the type to just say, "Fuck it! It's fantasy in an alternate reality, I call em what I want."

Did you disappear? What happened to your thread?!

 

[NuclearFairy]

Did you disappear? What happened to your thread?!

I suffer a wee bit from social anxieties and don't always know what to say in an open thread. Even one I start myself.

It's a failing of mine, I'm better at overcoming it some days than others. ^_^;

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

Things should be called things with no vowels, several apostrophes and mid-word capitalization in fantasy stories.

At least, you’d think so

Nothing will put me off a story faster than that shit. Drives me crazy.

 

[Statius]

I suffer a wee bit from social anxieties and don't always know what to say in an open thread. Even one I start myself.

It's a failing of mine, I'm better at overcoming it some days than others. ^_^;

All good. Not a failing. I know multiple people with social anxiety. It's a part of who you are, that's not bad. Like my ADHD, the good and bad of it is who I am. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not. It's helpful, it gets in the way. In fact, I'd bet it's part of what makes you creative.

And one last thing before I go. It's not about overcoming it, it's about harnessing it, controlling it in the sense that you focus it to your advantage. If that makes any sense.

Peace, Nuc!

 

[AwkwardMD]

Being brave doesn't mean not being afraid.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

Neither of the two genres are rigidly defined. There are shades which range all the way from hard Science Fiction, through Science Fantasy to Soft Fantasy. Write whatever you want, but bear in mind that to really become absorbed in a world requires the reader to suspend disbelief. A sudden appearance of a unicorn in hard SF is going to throw things unless there's a very quick rational explanation of the underlying biology. Conversely, if it trots into a Soft Fantasy scene all the author might need to disclose is its name.

Good, literate writing helps things flow and consistency isn't just about the actions of the characters, it can also be keeping transitions smooth. Don't jump from a harsh, dry desert to fertile farmland within five miles. Avoid 'it was raining on planet Mong again'; unless it's monsoon season that won't work for an area larger than about 10,000 square miles. As previously mentioned, keep measurements related to parts of the body or the daily activities of tribes and their animals. An acre is 220 yards (large paces or centre of chest to fingertips) by 22 and was considered the average plot that an ox pair could plough in an autumn day (11 to 12 hours). A good day's march over irregular terrain by fit soldiers would be under 25 miles; along a reasonably maintained paved road that could maybe be pushed beyond 30. Don't imagine that ancient roads were like that. A document preserved at the Roman settlement of Vindolanda includes a storekeeper complaining about late deliveries due to carts stuck because 'via male sunt' - loosely 'the roads are bloody awful'.

Apart from those guides, just write. Then write some more. Get honest friends (or even random Lit editors) to read and give genuine feedback. Then write some more. Most of all, enjoy yourself. If it starts to feel like a chore, take a break. (Then write some more. )

 

[StillStunned]

Good, literate writing helps things flow and consistency isn't just about the actions of the characters, it can also be keeping transitions smooth. Don't jump from a harsh, dry desert to fertile farmland within five miles.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but there are always exceptions. For instance the Nile valley: farmland to desert within a single step. Climate and geology are complex things, and when humans impose themselves on the landscape it becomes even more complex.

A sudden appearance of a unicorn in hard SF is going to throw things unless there's a very quick rational explanation of the underlying biology. Conversely, if it trots into a Soft Fantasy scene all the author might need to disclose is its name.

I read a book back in the 1980s about a time traveller from the distant future who was sent back on expeditions to retrieve animals that had gone extinct. The problem was that he only had vague descriptions. The other problem was that his time machine kept sending him into fantasy or literature versions of the world. So he ended up with a unicorn instead of a horse ("the book hadn't mentioned a horn, but it seemed a close enough match") and Moby Dick and things like that.

 

[onehitwanda]

You myopic manatee

I am dying. Shire-raq. Omg.

 

[Nightaelf]

I’ve got a story pending right now. My first fantasy piece. I really wrestled with that dilemma. I went for a middle ground: some parts are pure invention, others recognizable, because otherwise I had no idea how to keep the story vivid and understandable. Writing fantasy is way outside my comfort zone, but I did find it liberating. In the end, what matters is whether the story grips you…

 

[sirhugs]

So far that's not been an issue for me in the faux-medieval story settings.

Closest anachronism I've come to was deciding whether or not to refer to the evil witch's latex catsuit as latex; instead I went with "a shiny and skin-tight leather-material".

And strap-ons would be composed of either polished wood, ivory or some magical energy.

gotta love that magical energy