A few thoughts on natural settings in SF and Fantasy
by robinhobb on Apr.28, 2010, under Robin Hobb and Sara Creasy
I think that using the natural world as a jumping off point for fantasy or science fiction is a way of lowering the threshold of disbelief and inviting readers into the story. Despite the fact that most readers live in urban environments now, I think forests and other natural landscapes are very inviting to almost everyone.
Cities and other man-made environments always seem a bit foreign to me, even when I’m traveling in the US. “Oh, so that’s how they do it here,” I think, and try to adapt to the customs. But put me in a natural landscape, be it France or Australia or Japan, and I immediately feel more at home. Things make sense there on that primary biological level.
And that, I think, is one of the reasons why beginning with a natural setting can be so powerful. A writer can use it to chum the reader in; he will think that a tree is a tree, and a spring is a spring, right up to the moment that the oracle speaks to the protagonist or the tree whacks him with a branch. The very familiarity of such settings can be powerful tools for making people feel the strangeness of a fantastic or futuristic setting.
One technique that I use when I am writing is to employ familiar things to not only make the reader feel at home in my setting, but to convince the reader that I know what I’m talking about. If my character mentions in passing that a late frost has claimed the blossoms from the trees and there may be little fruit as a result, most readers will nod and say, “Oh, yes, that would be so.” And the more familiar cause-and-effect that I employ, the more familiar the world is, the more comfortable the reader feels. He relaxes into trusting me. Thus, when I introduce my fantastic element, being it a creature or a system of magic, I’ve already won the reader over into believing that not only do I know what I’m talking about, but that everything I say is true.
If what I’m writing about horses is correct and matches the reader’s experience,then he may more easily accept what I tell him about dragons.
Related posts:
- Our settings, our selves? Hi Sara (and everyone else!) I had a curious thought (I know, sometimes it’s curious that I have thoughts at all, but still . . . ) I’m wondering how significant a writer’s home ’setting’ is to what he/she writes. I do a lot of foresty backdrops, and a lot...
- Greetings from Robin Hobb Hi! This is my test post to see if I can make all this work. It’s not too different from my own website, robinhobb.com which is also a wordpress one. I’m Robin Hobb, and I’ve been a fantasy novelist for 28 years now. Well, a published novelist for 28 years....
- A twist in the familiar Writers of science fiction often create alien worlds, sometimes natural and sometimes not. Whether it’s landscapes or creatures, I think it’s better to include at least some familiar features like the ones Robin has talked about – then give them a twist. To me, the monster from the Alien movies...
- Compare & contrast As Robin mentioned in her introductory post (hi, Robin!), one of the major things she and Sara Creasy (hi, Sara!) have in common is an affinity for lush, rainforest-esque settings, much like the Pacific Northwest. One major difference between Robin & Sara’s novels, though, is how they get to those...
April 28th, 2010 on 4:29 pm
Ecology definitely affects the rest of the world around an area too. It defines trade, insofar as what a specific culture has to trade with, and what they trade those things for, and a clever writer can use those things to create or stoke tension, which leads to conflict, which leads to the DARK SIDE.
It’s also a nice way to slip some character development under the door. A person raised in the woods might not really think about the dew on the brambles or budding acorns, because they’re so familiar, but when he or she gets to a city they might gaze about in wonder about how alien it is.
And from there, it’s not hard to construct mythologies and stories about the landscape, deifying certain aspects of it and demonizing others, etc.
It was surprising to me how much depth I got out of stories when the setting was strong in my head.
April 29th, 2010 on 9:37 am
Hmm, great point. I never thought about using natural settings or cause-and-effect statements like that to convince the reader of a world’s authenticity.
April 29th, 2010 on 9:45 pm
Good point about relating with what the reader knows and then we are more apt to believe the created things of, like dragons.
I think if you use things we are custom to it leaves more room to work on other great ideas being created, the characters, and the plot.
November 26th, 2010 on 4:35 am
Willkommen und Hallo in unseren Sextalk.
Dieser Sextalk gibt dir die Alternative heiße girls und natürlich vieles mehr,wie erotische Rollenspiele
Hier im besten Sextalk findest du heiße girls Sexgeschichten
Eventuel suchst du Live Dates , sicher bist du hier genau richtig.Also,worauf wartest du?
Flirt und Sextalk kostenlose aktsexy ,schnell anmelden .
Du suchst jemand aus St.Gallen, in Duisburg, oder aus deutschland , oder von Solothurn, oder Ternitz? Sicher kein Problem.!
September 30th, 2011 on 2:28 pm
I love Blizzard games, I have been playing around 5 years now, I like your post, need to read more about it to put a better opinion about it. I have found this place too nice and ordered info too. the best class in wow
October 30th, 2011 on 10:42 pm
I am new to Joomla and don’t know how to add a link from a Joomla website to mine. I looged into administrator section and can’t find any that will let me put my link in the footer of the pages..
November 12th, 2011 on 5:10 am
tsumura disinter spear ziggy meri meniscus herkulesfurdoi usherette thessalonians d8cd98f0
November 12th, 2011 on 6:02 am
magnificent points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What would you recommend in regards to your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?