This week: Low, High, Grimdark and more Edited by: Annette  
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Low, High, Grimdark and more
The most common subgenre that comes to mind when discussing fantasy is high or epic fantasy. These are the tales with complex magic systems and extensive world building. They can include made up languages, cults, a full history going back thousands of years, or political systems. They tend to be long with a large cast of characters that tries to accomplish or thwart a quest.
Stories that play out in a real-world setting with fantasy elements showing up in places are called low fantasy. In recent years, this subgenre has also been dubbed urban fantasy because a lot of it plays out in cities. The story's main protagonist discovers a magical (or otherwise fantastical) event or item right in her/his regular surroundings.
Blending romance and low fantasy is called paranormal romance. A human character meets a supernatural character and sparks fly. The character from the real world discovers the hidden realm of the fairies, vampires, or other. Most have a happy ending as romances tend to play out like that.
What if a human meets a supernatural character in an epic fantasy world? It's called fantasy romance. This one can also have zero humans as this one will be entirely set in an unreal setting. Readers who like fantasy and accept romance, but don't want romance to be at the forefront would like this one better. Fantasy is the main genre with romance thrown in for good measure.
Aimed at younger readers are young adult or juvenile fantasy. Young adult (YA) usually has teenage characters. This subgenre has been heavily infiltrated by paranormal romance and fantasy romance. It is, however, possible to write YA fantasy without letting it become all angsty and schmalzy. Juvenile fantasy has children characters. The tone, pacing, and plot elements have to be appropriate for readers of that age.
Easily recognizable by familiar characters are fairy tale retellings. Building on an existing folktale, they corrupt a part of the story with a twist. Rapunzel shaves her hair off. Sleeping Beauty sleepwalks. The angry dragon has a toothache.
Mixing historical fiction with fantasy gives us historical fantasy. Some event from real history is used as a jumping off point to tell a story as if it had included magic, trolls, and goats. Writing in this genre requires some attention to detail so that the parts of the story that aren't clearly altered by fiction hold up in accordance with recorded history.
You were waiting to find out about grimdark fantasy since reading the title. In this subgenre, you can do away with uptight knights in shining armor. Here, give the anti-hero a chance to shine. Subvert the expected tropes of fantasy by letting characters with questionable morals drive the story forward.
Dark and gritty, mixing fantasy with horror by chilling the reader to the bones with horrifying creatures is dark fantasy.
As a fantasy writer, you don't have to stick to princesses and frogs for your stories. But you can.
Which of the Fantasy subgenres are you familiar with?
And which one is new to you and you want to write or read in? |
| | | Castle (E)
A silly poem about living in a house made of rocks.
#2313967 by Mikibits  |
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#2298559 by Not Available. |
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#2314108 by Not Available. |
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Replies to my last Fantasy Newsletter "Not Science Fiction or Horror" that asked Do you know examples of Fantasy & Science Fiction or Fantasy & Horror?
Beholden  wrote: Thank you very much for including my short story, That Christmas Spirit, among the list of Editor's Picks.
Santeven Quokklaus  wrote: An example of fantasy-scifi is my favourite trilogy (yes, I like it more than LotR): Harry Harrison's West of Eden trilogy. The fantasy comes from humans interacting with creatures that they should not have come across and some of the technology of the creatures; the scifi comes from the "what if...?" scenario of dinosaurs not becoming extinct. I thought it was scifi, but it is marketed as both, so that would be my example. Fantasy-horror? Maybe some Howard's darker Kull or Solomon Kane tales.
Oh! That sounds interesting. I will put it on my list of books to check out.
dragonwoman wrote: Thanks so much for including my flash 'In The Dark" as an editors pick.
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Fantasy: February 28, 2024 Issue [#12419]
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