There are many tropes in fantasy writing, themes so common that they pervade the genre, making it seem limited and stifling at times. The Dark Overlord bent on conquering the world, even if it means being ruler of nothing more than a pile of ashes. The bumbling old wizard who knows more than he lets on as he guides the heroes on their journey. A boy who thinks himself common, only to find he has royalty/magic in his bloodline due to some illicit tryst by his mother that was kept secret to preserve her honor. You get the idea.
It’s believed by many that one of these tropes is starting a book with the main character as a child living on a farm or in a rural setting. To the point where some readers and reviewers roll their eyes the moment they open a new fantasy novel and see the young protagonist milking a cow or sowing a field. “I’ve read this book before,” they say to themselves. “Can’t the author do something original?”
When I set out to write The Painted Man, I intentionally gathered together as many of these tropes as I could and threw them in the garbage. There is no Dark Overlord, no bumbling wizard. No elves. No swords. No orphans with parents cloaked in mystery. But there were quite a few things that, on reflection, I realized were not tropes at all, but solid and time-tested techniques to aid in creating a compelling experience for the reader. One of these is starting with a young character on a farm. I considered this opening very carefully before using it, and went with it because there’s a good reason why the approach works from a storytelling perspective, and why almost every bestselling fantasy author uses this theme, or one of the variations I list below, to begin their stories.
I guess this theme started, as most things fantasy, with Tolkien and the Shire. Despite the massive commercialization of his work to the point of overload, Tolkien continues to capture the imagination of new generations because he understood compelling writing that draws the reader in and makes them feel comfortable. The hobbits live in an idyllic setting, innocent to the goings on of the wider world, and thus, when the story is told through their POV, the reader begins at a comfortable place that is easily understood, and both reader and protagonist can learn simultaneously about the fantastic elements of the world, its politics, system of magic, creatures, geography, etc., as the characters journey further and further away from their comfortable starting point.
Also, by watching the protagonist grow up physically and/or emotionally, the reader is given a deep insight into their experience and motivation, so that when they come into their own, you feel you know them personally and understand why they make the decisions they do. It is showing, rather than telling, which is something you hear writing instructors talk about all the time, and the most important thing you should take away from any book or class on writing technique.
Straight fantasy writing of the sort I always wanted to do is by its nature set in a low-technology environment. Sure, you can have Science Fantasy, ala Star Wars (which starts on a farm, I might add), or Urban Fantasy, ala Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which begins in the most mundane and relatable part of the modern world: high school), but while I enjoy both of those genres, neither appeals to me much as a writer. I like to strip away modern convenience from my characters in order to test them on every level, and for that, the best option is the quasi-medieval setting.
In this setting, where society is feudal and agrarian, there are only so many options for where to begin, and frankly, all of them have been used hundreds of times. Most of the land will be farms or pasture; small rural villages whose produce supports the larger duchy or kingdom, which is run out of a few major port cities/centers of trade. If you go with the rural route, your characters are likely to be farmers, shepherds, or related laborers like millers, thatchers, butchers, etc. All of these occupations have been used over and over in fantasy.
If you put your character in a more urban setting, you are looking at a lord’s keep, or a medieval city. Again, these options have been used many times, from the common stable boy growing up in the castle to the royal child trying to to find their destiny and right to rule. The barmaid or street urchin who becomes something more. Don’t kid youself. None of it is new.
And it’s okay. A compelling story doesn’t come from the originality of its setting, it comes from the characters themselves, and whether the reader can relate to them and empathize with the trials they undergo. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you start on a farm, or have elves, or a bumbling wizard. All that really matters is that the readers care about your characters and want to know what happens to them. That’s the cake. The rest is just icing.
Posted on September 14, 2008 at 9:47 am by PeatB
Filed under Craft, Musings, Writing
3 Comments »
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