This week: The Person in Charge Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
Today's ramble is on the topic of politics, I mean people who are in charge. This can be everything from the King and Queen to the innkeeper and his wife. A variety of hierarchy levels exist in fantasy, which gives me the opportunity to ask questions. |
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A dwarf walks into a bar and after over an hour before anyone is willing to look down in order to notice their presence, he huffs out a demand. "I want to speak to your manager."
There are many different levels and types of characters who can be "in charge" when it coms to fantasy or science fiction. A space ship might have a captain. The country might be rules by a queen. Even the innkeeper is technically in a minor position of power because they decide who gets a room and they have to manage any staff or whoever works there.
How does a person end up in charge in the world of your story?
Born that way, aka birthright
This is the common one in particular for royalty or particular types of government where the person in charge was born to take the position. It could also be a prophet type situation but more often than not, the person's family is in control and so they were set to take over due to lineage. Also works in some different settings because it isn't uncommon for someone to inherit a business. Essentially, the character was born that way and expected to lead. Some might consider the ability to lead is a trait someone can be born with or it might be necessary to train but particular characters have that opportunity. They could be arrogant about the fact they were born in the family or with the designated title. It is also possible that they don’t want the position. Choices!
Hostile takeover
Can be business related or military, but this probably involved some force used in order to claim the position of person in charge. The basics in this one tend to focus around someone in charge that is considered weak, unfitting the role or just not well liked. Someone decides to take it on themselves to force a change. Once they are in charge, it is follow the commands they make or face consequences. Okay… it doesn’t have to be a hostile takeover. It is possible for a business buyout or a change in management where those involved are on board with the change. Just sounds more dramatic for it to be hostile. Like when pirates take over the air ship. That sounds more dramatic than a fair trade.
Work the way up into the position
Then there is the more common business approach. Maybe they started as a sweeper or took care of the horses outside the Inn before eventually working up to the point of taking over. We may not get as much detail during a story with this option unless it is part of the main conflict or even a side plot. It might be something mentioned in passing through dialogue or some aspects are shown to let the reader know the person worked hard to get to where they stand in the world of power. Basics stand that there isn’t a blood or birthright protocol for the position in control and instead it takes other actions or traits for the characters to become the ones in charge.
The why of control and power might be relevant to the plot of the story or for character development or it might not. However, it is still something you could consider as part of the process in world building for speculative fiction.
When it comes to writing these genres, we have many options to consider while developing worlds, characters and stories. The manager, innkeeper, general, king, etc are all types of characters that may or may not be important to the story. The main character might even be someone who holds a position of power or control. Or it may be a secondary character, like the mentor. So many options and so little time to write them all. Take the topic into consideration when looking at your story. Doesn't matter if the person in power is a hero or a villain, there probably is a reason or a path that got them there. How did that character get placed in charge? Figure that out and have fun writing.
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How does the person in charge get that role?
Last month, I discussed the use of different titles or terms for those who can do magic and how it may or may not relate to sex or gender identity. Had a particular focus on the term Witch. Here is one comment sent in for that topic:
Comment by brom21  :
To your point, we can use the physical form of Sauron, the witch king of Angmar from Lord of the Rings. It ascribes the word "witch" with the masculine" "king."
Thanks for answering my reply too! Great NL!
- Interesting idea. Though in the drag world a King is a woman performing as a man. So, there are some different ways to even interpret that. Thanks for the response to my newsletter.
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Fantasy: May 15, 2024 Issue [#12549]
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