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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Who writes the best fantasy?

02 Jul

I’ve wandered through a hundred books, searching for a good tale. What is it I am looking for in a story? More than entertainment (or I’d just switch on the TV). I want to have my reality replaced, redrawn. Reinvented. I want that sense of discovery. I want to become someone new. And so I search, for a touch of mystery, an edge of danger, a spark of intrigue and that doorway into the world beyond this world. I have yet to find all the elements I love in one book … which is probably why I’m a fantasy author myself. I write, to answer the need — to find the perfect fantasy story.

Along the way, I’ve come across some shining examples of fantasy. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Fantasy Book Reviews, Lifesong, Writing Fantasy

 

How to make magic happen

25 Jun

The hunger for magic is universal, most people have it in some way or another. People pray, hoping their thoughts will influence reality (or hoping that God will intervene on their behalf, which is kind of the same thing, except that someone else performs the magic). The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne) was enormously successful, which mostly proves that people wanted to hear its message. It made over 1 million sales soon after the DVD was released, and its primary message is ‘what you think creates the world you live in’, in other words: your success is dependant on your visualisation of that success.

This is magic. There isn’t much science to back these assertions up. Yet people believe. Why is there such a hunger and need to believe? Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Writing Fantasy

 

The real magic of fantasy writing

22 Jun

When I was thirteen, I went to the College of Magic, to learn all I could. It was kind of a Harry Potter school for stage magicians – there are rabbits coming out of hats, white doves flapping about and silk scarves that turned into ropes. I sat down eagerly to my first class, apprentice wizard that I was. I was told there is no magic. I was told it is all illusion, all trickery, all a sham. I couldn’t have been more disappointed.

What followed were three years of interesting sleight of hand techniques, visual effects and misdirection. They were right; there was no magic in it. They only used clever dyes, trick card decks and boxes with false bottoms. But I did not believe them that there was no magic at all. It was just that they had no magic to offer.

I believe in magic, and so I found a way to work with it, or rather, it found me.
Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Writing Fantasy