Name of the Game: What's in a Genre?

“I admire those authors whose plots are charted from the first chapter, and whose characters do just what they tell them to. My characters know who is boss. Them.  I just watch, chronicle, and occasionally go back and rewrite after they’ve made a hash of my carefully laid plot plans.”  Lauren Willig

“Honesty is definitely the best policy when there is no danger of being taken seriously.” Lauren Willig

Really, there is nothing like one of my favorite authors to clunk me over the head with facts like that.
Thanks Lauren.

So this is me being honest. Again.

I hate writing fantasy with "magic-based" magic systems. And yes, part of it is pure laziness on my part because I hate coming up with rules and I hate outlining and developing magic-based magic systems has a lot to do with outlining and rules(kill me).

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against magical fantasy when done well, but let's face it, there are only a few authors who can do it right. The rest use seem to use magic as a cop out("hey, there's magic in my story, so it's fantasy"--BLEH!!!).

Looking back, the second reason for my not wanting to write "magic-based" magic systems in fantasy might have to do with some of my favorite fairy tales.

First Case in Point: Maid Maleen by the Brother’s Grimm

This is a fairy tale very few people know about, unless you’ve read Shannon Hale’s adaption, Book of A Thousand Days. Briefly, it’s the story of a maid named Maleen, who is also a princess. She refuses to marry the man of her father’s choosing, and so the king locks her and her servants up in a tower for seven years. When the food runs out after seven years, the princess and her entourage escape and run to the kingdom of Maleen’s love. The prince has been betrothed to another princess, who—on the night of their wedding—become so terrified that she sends Maleen in her place. After the marriage, the prince’s actual betrothed sends as an assassin to kill Maleen and the prince follows.  In true fairy tale fashion, he shows up in time to save her and they live happily ever after.

Magic? No.

One of my favorite fantasy stories? Yes.

Second Case in Point: Tathea by Anne Perry

Disclaimer: This book and it’s sequel are like fifteen thousand pages long and took me five tries to actually get through them.

However, it’s a brilliant piece of work. Written in multiple POV the story is initially hard to follow, but the basic plot concerns an exiled Queen, Tathea, and her search for the meaning of life.—complete with references to Judeo-Christian mythology and teachings(several of which made this little LDS[Mormon] girl very very happy!). Once again, there is no magic, there are no elves, dwarves, or regular staples of fantasy; yet it is still a fantasy.

Third Case in Point: The Knight’s Tale I and II  by Chaucer

I love the Canterbury Tales—even the dirty ones. They are delightful ways to while away time when all you want is a piece of lit fluff. The two Knight’s Tales are my particular favorites. One everyone already knows thanks to the Health Ledger movie. You know, the one about the peasant squire who masquerades as a noble knight and it turns out he is one?

The other Knight’s Tale isn’t one that many people—short of British History/English Lit majors—are familiar with.  It’s set in the time of King Theseus and concerns two childhood friends—Palamon and Arcite—who are knights and fall in love with the same woman, the king’s sister Emeyle. The king declares that they joust for the right to marry his sister and in the end Arcite dies and Palamon marries Emeyle at Arcite’s command. Which turns this little romantic into goo.

The original genre definition of a fantasy work deals with folklore and mythology. Fantasy doesn’t have to be about wands, wizards, elves, dragons and the like. Not everything has to be LOTR or Harry Potter to be great fantasy. Heck, not everything has to be Robert Jordan or George RR Martin or Brandon Sanderson either.

Which is awesome for someone like me.