Literary Fantasy

Without intenting to, I think this is what my NaNo-07 turned out to be! It's not heavy on the fantasy. Some of my characters have inate magical ability. None of the elves, trolls, dragons, etc. of high fantasy. It did turn out heavy on the literary, though, probably from years of writing short stories.

Because I'm the first to reply to your post, I suspect this isn't a very common area of writing. That's good! Not as much competition!

Kat

I believe that this is what my '07 NaNo is also. No "elves, trolls, dragons, etc." but my characters do have magical-type abilities. Just finished the rough draft on 1/31 and will begin the read-through/remove-chunks later this month. Then one to more editing.

Wow, nice to hear from others here regarding this.

I have been trying to get a feel for what others may be doing with this combo.

I'm writing a story which might be literary and might be fantasy, I'm not sure about both. But the MC is seriously messed up, and most of the plot is about his thoughts and feelings etc. The fantasy elements are the setting - it's something like early victorian, but more of a fantasy setting becuase It's not correct. There's no magic, but it's first person and my MC thinks the wind and the sea talk to him, which can be seen as magic. And he builds ships, those ships sort of 'live'. Not really, but he thinks they do and it's first person.
So. I guess it's literary fantasy:p

Hi EeM! I just read your excerpt. Nice!
I think I would *look* for your writing/book in a fantasy section.
But IMHO it is the best fantasy because it grapples with symbolism and levels of consciousness.
So, if there were a category for shelving books called Literary Fantasy, I would shelve yours there too!
Keep writing!!!

Hi, also, Eefje Magicstudy. I like the chapter you posted. Your images are good, and I love the part where he dives into the dark next to the path and ends up where he wanted to be.

RootyToo, the idea of freshwater mer-folk is great! Cat Canary Fish and her dog Martha Stewart are totally destined to give Flute oo problems.

Allsun, it must be hard to write a non-human POV! I have the idea that Fred West is a dog (I think I got that from other posts, or possibly I just imagined it) but how 'bout his friend Nibbled Face? You did a good job of presenting everyday things from a different perspective.

From our profiles, three of us are Pratchett fans. Literary fantasy - Pratchett - coincidence? So, Allsun, have you read Terry Pratchett but just don't list him because he's not a favorite?

During November I had posted bits of my NaNo but took them down. The story takes place on an Earth-like world during the stone age. Some people have magical-like abilities (genetic) and are the 'shaman' of the groups. My MC is a young girl who is being trained to use the powers she has as the group (hunter/ gatherers) is moving toward their winter camp. Upon reading the whole thing through in January I realized it was so literary I didn't have a plot! Now I'm searching for a plot that won't involve tossing too much of what I already wrote.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Kat

Hi All!

Thanks for the comments, Kat, and for taking the time to read everyone's excerpts!

I would love to read yours if it is anywhere, or if you want to send it privately too.

I think fantasy elements offer opportunities for symbolism to get richer and show up, on different levels, both of the multi-faceted human psyche and the alternate/magical reality. I find it very interesting where the boundaries are and where they intersect realities.

Dreams continue to fascinate me, so a storyline of going into a dream -on a quest- is something I find especially to be provocative territory.

In the darkness, in the otherworld, in the dream, in the waters of consciousness
are places where shapeshifting, transformation is inevitable and treasures too.

And here, where one explores the mystery of their path, their psyche, their journey, internally or externally, and better yet, both, is where fantasy can elicit the poetic and become, IMHO, literary fiction.

Terry Pratchett, of course, uses the good medicine of humor as he dances us through the absurdity of the constructs we are trying to maneuver in. He is such a delight!!!

Gladdened to see there are some of us still corresponding on these ghostly forums. I so appreciate the connections here in NaNoWriMo land!!!

Best!!!
-RT

O, RootyToo, Ignore that message I sent you, I already know why you adeed me:p
That thing in my excerpt isn't from the story I was talking about by the way:p There are some things the same, the fantasy also is in the MC's head for example, but the MC in my excerpt is a kid, and the fantasy world is his dream. So it's a bit different :p And that story got stuck... *points at blue bar*. Maybe I'll finish it someday:p

Actually, this is what I love. My novel series is set in a "fantasy" world (no magic except how the MC got there and the occasional god or goddess). But many of the themes are strongly literary. Maybe my creative writing college education is beginning to rub off on me where they frown upon genre fiction, but I think that there can be a good combination of literary and fantasy...though in the end it will still be classified as fantasy.

I don't find the combo difficult at all. I think treating the characters as people rather than a means to an end helps. I regard them as I do with my literary works, just telling their story, their lives and how they struggle/succeed and everything in between. They just happen to be not from this time period (or this world). Perhaps I do not clearly define literary from genre. But I think the depth of character is a major component of literary fiction. To me, that is essential above all else. And I guess that's why my fantasy novels just happen to also be literary.

Yes, I agree. My novels are probably classifiable as "fantasy" but they are more about how one can live a magical, mythic life
here and now. Magic and myth are more of a symbolic and spiritual support system and a roadmap for living and moving through transitions.

Yeah, no classical fantasy elements here either; just a lot of unexplained scientific impossibilities (regarding the world building) and allusions to something that may or may not be religion. It's kind of fun doing something that you know is impossible. Dave Duncan is completely responsible for this.

I like the term "magical realism" better, and one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, uses this concept very well in almost all his novels (and a good amount of his short stories as well). My 06 NaNo was a magical realist literary novel, though it was pretty weak (was my first attempt at NaNo). Last year I tried to write another similar type of story for NaNo, but got bored 8K words in and stopped. I ended with the first three chapters, which is now a short story (as I don't expect I want to continue it). This year I will again go down this route, but have already started planning. Like its two predecessors, this new story will be very light on the fantastical, and will probably end up being more philosophical than anything else. Set in the modern day, the story centers around a guy who meets a girl who says she's an angel from heaven, but won't prove it. There will, however, be odd occurrences around this girl not readily explained by conventional means which will make the MMC (and the reader too I hope) wonder what what's really going on with this girl.

Racquelin, Juhachi,
Can you recommend some books from these authors that others reading this thread can look for?
That would be very nice!