Now that I have introduced the characters in my story, I will begin speaking about my philosophies on storytelling and what I believe makes a great story. This is admittedly a very broad subject that I could make many postings about, as there are a whole host of elements that go into making a good story and therefore many angles in which to look at this question from.
In my first post on such matters, I will speak very much in generalities. There are, after all, so many great stories written and many different kinds of stories. Due to there being a wide variety of tales written, and because no two stories are completely the same, I think that no two stories can be judged in the same manner. We have tales of good and evil, and we have stores where good and evil are blurred. There are fairy tales, adventure tales, romance, fantasy, science fiction, and all sorts of other genres. And of course, some stories out there can fall into more than just one category.
What I will give here is an overview of my philosophy when making a story. I begin my commentary by stating the reason why I believe we enjoy fictional stories as we do and why we will often turn to them. Stories of course can serve many purposes, from being en enjoyable pastime, to teaching certain morals, giving inspiration to the reader, and much more.
But the ultimate reason we turn to stories I believe, and I am certainly not the first to think this, is for escapism, which I consider to be the very heart of stories. All stories provide some form of escapism, even ones that take place in the modern world, so long as the reader is taken somewhere that is different from their real life. Some stories though I think are more escapist than others, and the genre of fantasy in particular, in which I write, I believe is the most escapist of all, as the realm of fantasy is the least similar to that of the real world.
Escapism is defined as ‘the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.’
The term can admittedly be viewed with contempt by some, who believe it could lead readers to abandoning and forgetting their affairs in real life if they are not careful. Of course, we must not lose sight of such things. However, escaping from real life for just small amounts of time when reading a story can give someone a needed break from real life, and often when taking such a break, just as we might take breaks from work, they can return more focused than when first escaping. Thus, escapism serves an arguably necessary purpose to all people.
Now to make a good fantasy story, there are some that will argue that it must be as realistic as possible, so that the reader is able to better understand and ground themselves into that world. The belief is that the closer the fantasy is to real life, the more the reader can relate to that world, as well as the characters in it. I would not say that I quite agree with such assertions.
My belief is that fantasy, by its very definition, is not the same as real life, and that fiction by its very definition is not real life either. There are of course realistic things that are universal across worlds both real and fantastical, things like human emotions of joy, love, sadness, and anger. And then there are things like life and death, the natures of men and women, necessities for survival like food and water, and so forth. Such traits are similar in both real life and in fantasy, and I do believe that these things are necessary in any kind of story, even one in a fantastical world, in order o help the reader connect to the characters there.
However, there are certain elements of the real world, particularly commentaries both political and social, that I do not believe in putting into a fantasy story. My belief on this matter is that we do not search for the real when we wander willingly into the fantastical, but rather that we go there to escape from the real and find something that is different. And because of this, my belief is that placing such commentaries into a story will only diminish the escapism, the very reason why we go to stories in the first place. If one wanted to see problems of the real world, they would have no need to escape into stories.
In addition to being escapist, I believe that a story must be fun and enjoyable to the reader. Because we turn to stories as a means to escape from the real world, I believe that the place we go to must be enjoyable to live in and escape to. If the world the reader is carried off to is not an enjoyable one, then there would be little reason for them to want to escape to that world in the first place. As I state, escapism I believe is the very heart of stories, especially in fantasy, as we go to such stories to step out of reality and into a world much more imaginary. At the same time, I also believe that escapism and enjoyment can go hand in hand, as the reader would not want to get lost in a fantastical world if there was nothing to enjoy there.
On this matter, my belief is that it is vital that a fantastical world has wonders and imagination to it. There must be evil in that world also, as well as danger and conflict, that way there is a basis for a story. However, I do not think that a world should consist only of evil and danger, just to heighten tension. A story must have tension and conflict of course, as well as places and characters that are evil and dangerous, but I caution against having all places being perilous and all characters being evil or untrustworthy. The risk in tipping the scale too far in such a direction I believe is that without places filled with wonder, and without characters that are good, the world in that story might become a place that the reader does not wish to escape to and stay in. If the scale tips too far the other way, where all places are wondrous and all characters are good, and there is little evil or conflict, then there is no story. And so, I believe that a balance is needed.
Then through the story’s conflict, whatever it might be, the reader can find deeper themes such as courage, selflessness, heroism, and things of the sort. This is where stories can serve a great purpose to the reader when they return to the real world, as the reader can take inspiration from a fictional story and then carry that back with them. In a certain way, while the characters in fictional stories are just that, fictional, they can still have a good effect upon those that read their story, and this effect can be carried by the reader back over into the real world. And through this, the fictional character in a way becomes real.
That would about sum up my general view on what a story’s purpose is. It must be enjoyable and escapist. While the realistic elements that are universal in worlds both real and fantastical I believe are necessary, a fantasy must not be too realistic and close in its problems to the real world, or else the fantasy element becomes diminished. Conflict and danger are needed for a story, but a story also needs to have wonder and imagination to it, in order to make it a world the reader would love to escape to. In the conflict, we might find inspiration when following the characters as they face great trials and overcome them. And such inspiration can be taken by the reader back into the real world, and upon returning there, the reader can be more ready for what trials or problems await them.
I will stop here. There are all kinds of aspects of stories to speak about, like the types of villians, types of plots, and much more. However, I cannot hope to speak on all of them in a single post. But I will talk in greater detail on such aspects in the future. Until then, however, farewell and take care.