 Fantasy: August 15, 2007 Issue [#1886] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Feywriter  
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"Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one’" ~ C.S. Lewis
The world needs fantasy. It can be an escape from daily life, a means for finding the hero within, a landscape to inspire the imagination. Enter the world of Fantasy. In my newsletters you can expect thorough looks at different aspects of fantasy writing, and a publisher spotlight.
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There are multiple fantasy writing groups here on Writing.com. But did you know that famous fantasy writers were part of a writing group? The Inklings was a group of literary enthusiasts who encouraged writing fantasy. The four most prominent members were C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield. Other frequent members included Tolkien's son Christopher, C.S. Lewis' older brother Warren, Roger Lancelyn Green, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, Robert Havard, J.A.W. Barnett, Lord David Cecil, and Nevill Coghill. Warren Lewis described the group as "…neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections."
Who are these people?
C.S. Lewis is most known for the Narnia Chronicles.
J.R.R. Tolkien is known for the epic Lord of the Rings.
Charles Williams wrote a total of seven novels, including "War in Heaven" and "All Hallow's Eve".
Owen Barfield mainly wrote philosophy, on topics such as the evolution of human consciousness. He did write one fairy tale, "The Silver Trumpet."
The Inklings usually met at Lewis' college rooms or at the Eagle and Child pub (popularly called the Bird and Baby) in Oxford England. Meetings took place on Thursday evenings. They would read and talk about each other's works in progress, discuss fantasy and philosophy, and enjoy the company of friends. The pub meetings were more for fun; they wouldn't read manuscripts, but sometimes read bad poetry to see how long they could last before laughing.
The group started in 1933 and met regularly for the next 15 years. Everyone benefited. Tolkien continued to work on Lord of the Rings at the encouragement of C.S. Lewis. Each writer improved their work from suggestions by other members. Their discussions led to essays, lectures, and other works in the attempt to legitimize fantasy and fairy tales as more than children's stories, to be seen as liable literary pieces.
Writers can find similar benefits in today's writing groups, whether you join an existing one or create your own, online or in person. Friendships can be made when you find someone with similar interests. Sharing work will improve your writing and critiquing skills. Or perhaps you only want to discuss fantasy literature. The Inklings showed that a writers group doesn't have to always be serious, or have any sort of leadership. All it takes is a group of people with something in common.
A fun, related bit of trivia:
Lord of the Rings Online is an online multiplayer game based on Tolkien's Middle Earth. While my husband and I were playing, we came across an interesting quest chain from a hobbit named Ronald Dwale. At one point you have to fetch his lost paper. The sheet of paper starts out: "In a hole there once lived a boar. No, wait, that's not right." The second 'R' in J.R.R. stands for Ronald. And his story "The Hobbit" happens to start very similarly to this paper: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
The final part of the quest chain is Missing the Meeting. If you own the game, I encourage you to go experience the quest yourself, but the basics is that Ronald Dwale is unable to attend the next meeting of his writing society. You have to deliver his message to The Bird and Baby Inn. "With the return of my lost paper, I really should get started on my new book, but I haven't an inkling how I should reach my friends in time to tell them of my absence."
When you visit the Bird and Baby Inn, you see the following "Inklings" in the back room:
Jack Lewisdon ((C.S. "Jack" Lewis))
Carlo Williams ((Charles Williams))
Owen Farfield ((Owen Barfield))
So if you ever happen upon this quest in game, enjoy the developers tribute to the Inklings.
** Image ID #1092573 Unavailable **
 Publisher Spotlight
Publisher: Fivestar Press/Tekno Books
Location: USA
Website: http://www.gale.com/fivestar/index.htm
About: (from website) Five Star has hundreds of books in print in the Western, Romance, Mystery and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres, and we publish almost 150 books a year. Our books are frequently reviewed in well-known publications such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist.
Guidelines:
 Any subgenres of fantasy/sci-fi are welcome. list subgenre on cover letter
 queries and submissions should be directed to:
John Helfers
Tekno Books
P.O. Box 8296
Green Bay, WI 54308
tekno@new.rr.com
 Submission should include a synopsis, cover letter, and at least first three chapters or entire manuscript. Cover letter should list subgenre, bio, and publishing history.
 They prefer to receive electronic submissions. Attach the manuscript in one file, Microsoft Word or RTF.
 They do not accept simultaneous submissions.
Length: 65,000 to 95,000 words
Payscale:semi-pro advance, 15% and up for royalties
To see previously featured publishers, go to "Invalid Item" .
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WDC Fantasy groups:
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A group for those dedicated to writing and reviewing speculative fiction.
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Are you part of a writing or book group, or been in one? What is/was your experience?
Reader Comments
From collins96:
I just wanted to say that I completely enjoyed your piece on mirrors.
Thanks! I enjoyed writing it. 
From dizzyduck:
Fascinating NL on mirrors. I hadn't realized they played such a huge role in fiction, and especially fantasy. Wherever did you get such an inspiration, anyway? I never would have thought of mirrors as a topic. Great job! 
I was actually having a really hard time deciding on a newsletter topic the week before it was due. When my husband started reading aloud one of the stories in Margaret Weis's Testament of the Dragon, he got about a paragraph into it when it mentioned seeing the Master in the mirror and the idea hit me to do a whole newsletter on mirrors. I rushed over to my desk to write the idea down. 
From Izkata :
Just want to include a humorous Mirror example I ran across recently - in the Slayers anime, in one of the movies, Lina and Naga are hunting down someone who had discovered an ancient, magical mirror. The mirror is supposed to make an exact duplicate of the person who looks into it, except with their personalities reversed. The theory was to create duplicates of all your enemies that were on your side... And after all, isn't a duplicate of you, except with the exact opposite personality one of the scariest things in the world?
Naga fainted every time she looked at her duplicate, and Lina ran away and banged her head into a wall - multiple times. Of course, Lina Inverse, being who she was, appealed to a different part of her personality in her copy, and got both the copies to join them!
 Thanks for sharing that! I'll have to move Slayers up on my list of "to-watch" anime.
Thank you for all the comments. Remember to leave feedback or ideas for future newsletters.
We editors love to hear from you!
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