 Fantasy: January 29, 2025 Issue [#12952] |
This week: Ensemble Edited by: Annette  
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| "Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them." ~ Joubert Botha |
| ASIN: 1945043032 |
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Ensemble
In French, "ensemble" means "together." In the English language, "ensemble" refers to a cast of fictional characters who work together towards a common goal. They may not always see eye to eye. They may even come across as rivals, but they still have one common goal or all fight the same enemy.
Looking at many fantasy stories, there is often one character who stands out. The popular children's and young adult fiction hero Harry Potter gets to have his name on all of his books. However, he's clearly never alone. As soon as he gets on the train, we take part in the assembly of his crew. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger become his immediate and loyal to the end co-workers. The cast of people rooting for Harry and working with him only gets bigger as the books progress. Even one person who seems to be an antagonist from the first time they meet ends up being part of Harry's ensemble. Professor Snape works as a sleeper agent for the dark side while also doing his best to present himself as a despicable antagonist to Harry and all students. Even the most hated Professor Umbridge, the one who loves pink kitten plates, is in the end an opponent of the one who must not be named.
Short stories tend to be more understandable when the cast is kept small. Novels can have a larger cast because there is more time to flesh each character out and make them memorable. It takes a dedicated fandom to keep track of huge casts with several dozen important characters, but it's entirely possible.
As a writer, when you work out a fantasy story or novel, you have to assemble the cast. Remember that not everyone who has the same goal as your most prominent hero has the same methods. Maybe they even work against each other for a while until they realize they are stalling each other out. Or you use the mentor figure, represented by Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books to create one person who pulls everyone's strings. Although it's a common trope that the mentor character dies, it's not a fixed rule. You can keep the mentor alive.
Do you have an example of a fantasy story with a protagonist who acts alone? |
| | | The Amulet (E)
Yasmin a young girl receives an Amulet from a dying sorceror Chapters 1-4
#2331639 by Dragonbane  |
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Replies to my last Fantasy newsletter "Wish-Fulfillment" that asked What is the most realistic fantasy you've read or written?
Twinflame8  wrote: I agree with Tolkien. I, too, prefer peace, abundance, and joy—that's definitely my go-to choice when it comes to writing. I want to write stories that inspire those types of feelings without the drama that usually accompanies the antagonist-protagonist stuff. I feel life can be antagonistic enough. I don't want it in my fantasies.
That's a great way to look at it!
dragonwoman  wrote: Thanks for making The Big Gift one of your picks
Thank you for writing it! |
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