Movies vs. Books

Does any one notice that all of the most popular series through time (and I mean all) are fantasy?

Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson…what else?

The thing is, fantasy books seem to win every time over other genres, but when it comes to movies, people aren’t so dedicated to the plots.

I think that when you’re reading a book, everything is in your mind. You imagine it exactly the way you want it to be, and when it comes to fantasy, you certainly don’t want things to be too odd. When you imagine it yourself it seems realistic.

But when you see it, you realize how unrealistic it is and sometimes that makes it hard to get through a movie.

Also, fantasy movies almost always need to use animation, which I think ruins practically every live-motion picture that they try to hide it in.

Nevertheless, I always choose to watch the movies of my favorite books, even if they are not exactly what I want. I just can’t not know what its all like when you can be seeing it. Maybe thats all they really want. For you to appreciate the magic of taking something distant, and bringing it right into your living room.

Don’t forget to look at the contest page above the Submissions Call post

Conquering World-Building

World-Building is one the hardest things for me to write. Sometimes I will get an idea for a wonderful fantasy story and by the time I have finished designing the world (from schools, to maps, to celebrities and more) I have lost inspiration and I end up stuck with a pile of papers about a world I can do nothing with.

Now, not every good writer is a world-builder, take Mark Twain for instance. Huck Finn is the most dialogue-driven book out there and also one of the most famous.

But, Mark Twain wrote quite a long time ago and also wasn’t a fantasy writer.

If you look at the best fantasy series of all time, from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson to the Hunger Games, all of our beloved authors are masters at world-building. So I decided in order to one day become as well-known and successful as them I must learn to create an imaginary yet believable culture.

What I have learned is that (if you are lucky enough to not loose your inspiration within a few hours of getting it) creating a world on paper is not only fun but works well.

I would suggest starting with a map, then moving to the laws and government. Include details about living in this world, like transportation (a Nimbus 2000 perhaps), food, popular books, popular fashion, current events and so on.

Most importantly you need to live in this world in your mind. You need to think about it all the time, imagine it in your head, immerse yourself into it until you know all the laws and trends by hand.

This is a hard thing to do. You need to have an incredible attention span to accomplish it. But it works. On Harry Potter’s 20th Birthday this summer J. K. Rowling admitted that she did live in the Wizarding World by herself for a while. She knew it by heart and was part of it in her mind. It wasn’t until she managed to write her books that she shared it with the world.

I hope this helped and that you all take my advice because I do feel like it works. Have a good day and don’t forget to take a look at the Fall writing contest!