A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #10: Enrichment

Enrichment is the grand, all-inclusive term for education, the arts, and entertainment. This can be a subjective topic, and it most certainly relates to culture when you consider the fantastical world you’ve created. Where to begin?

Education
In Medieval times, education was not for everyone. You had to be wealthy if you were to be trained in the way of nobility. Boys would begin as pages, then squires, and the end result would be to become a knight (which was rather expensive!). Wealthy girls shadowed noblewomen. Often you were born into your line of work, and your education was delivered through an apprenticeship (also expensive!) where you served a master craftsman to learn his trade. And even when you had a proper education, you must remember that people then had simpler concepts of medicine, astronomy, and other sciences than they do today. Religion and superstition were the foundation of many educational principles. What lengths of schooling, if any, did your character endure? At what age did he/she begin this venture? What is this education for? Just some questions to consider.

The Arts
Now we’re talking music, painting, poetry, dancing, and literature. Are all of these present in the culture you have created? Are these concepts valued, or are they considered frivolous---even dangerous? Research some archaic instruments, and you’ll be surprised at the differences and similarities to what we have now. Painting was not as simple as going to the store, buying paint and canvas, and slapping color down in any fashion. There were schools of art based upon different techniques and beliefs. Brushes and paint were expensive (there’s that word again). Dancing in the Middle Ages was precise, with specific movements. Literature was for those who could read (a minority of people), and books were (guess!): Expensive! Mostly because they were copied by hand.

Entertainment
Closely related to art, entertainment can include dance, theatre, music, and the like. But entertainment can also be the court jester, children’s games, activities at a fair (knife-throwing contests, for example), jousting, and gladiatorial-style combat. The element of danger and violence was certainly considered entertainment value by many. Public executions drew crowds! The Middle Ages were a brutal time, they were also burgeoning in the arts. Does your world harbor these contradictions? What new games or spectacles of entertainment can you design?

Enrichment is hardly a necessity for survival, but it is a greater appreciation of what the mind can create and find intriguing. Is your character talented in the arts or well-educated? Or does he/she simply appreciate these concepts? Details like this can enhance your characters and the world in which they live. It’s fun to read about characters in a moment of “down time,” when you can see where personalities gravitate. Competition, sentimentality, aggression, excitement---what better way to spice up a good fantasy tale?

This concludes (finally, right?) the 10 points to a believable fantasy. Hopefully there have been some ideas of value you can expand upon in your writing/reading adventure. Writing a believable fantasy is a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge that for me, has helped me grow to be a better writer. Cheers!

-Stefanie

Kindle or Kindling?

Yes, we own a Kindle. (Rather, I own a Kindle. Stef refuses to look at it.) No doubt almost everyone has heard about this amazing device by now. In this technologically infused age it only makes sense that Amazon’s Kindle is paving the way for the future of reading. Electronic book readers, or “e-book” for short, are not a new concept, though they have only recently begun to catch on in popularity. However, as it is with anything new and trendy that attempts to build upon the seemingly perfect, e-books are bound to meet with resistance. Is this resistance necessary, or can both paper and plastic coexist?

Our bookshelves are lined with hundreds of books, covering everything from Fantasy/Sci-fi, to butterfly field guides. We love our books, though we have far too many to display and keep at our fingertips. The more books we accumulate, the more we have to reorganize. Reference books must always stay out, so there goes fifty percent of our space. But what about those fiction titles? Classics books are right up there with reference guides, but those impulse buys have to go into storage…or to Half Price Books. But what happens when there’s still no space and new titles are squeezed into ever-tightening slots?

Abracadabra! Amazon’s Kindle!

(Insert infomercial here.) Seriously, Kindle to the rescue…for me, at least. What’s not to love? The device—which is in its 2nd incarnation—can hold 1,500 e-books, downloads e-books wirelessly anywhere, and weighs as much as a paperback. The screen looks just like paper and won’t irritate your eyes, and the device just looks cool. And if that isn’t enough to persuade people, then it should be known that over a quarter million titles are already available for $10 or less. That includes #1 best-sellers as well as titles only available on Kindle. There are also plenty of FREE, yes free, e-books there for the taking. And last, but certainly not least, self-published authors—like ourselves—can sell their expensive novels for as low as 99 cents. Kindle is becoming so popular that there is talk of it replacing traditional books.

But that won’t ever happen.

There is still something to be said for holding and physically turning the pages of a hardback/paperback book. The feel of the paper’s grain and the telltale scent of vintage paper lend to the experience of reading. Books are definitely more durable and assume a certain characteristic quality as they age. That spaghetti sauce stain might be a reminder of when your father picked up your novel to admire it. Sauce stains on Kindle will probably short circuit it. Also, Kindle e-books feel cold and aren’t always inviting to the old fashioned, avid reader.

Paper vs. plastic will always be a topic of discussion, though one thing is clear: e-books aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Does that mean it’s time for a bonfire? Absolutely not! Do what feels right. I still prefer the feel of a real book compared to a hunk of plastic, but my eyes have been opened to the future. And if there is one thing that is certain, it is that the future of books is bright.

-Matt