Tag Archives | Literary Genres

A Non-Nerd Primer to Fantasy & Science Fiction

With the new Star Wars movie hitting big, people unfamiliar with fantasy and science fiction may feel out of their depth.  For you normal folks, I offer a short introduction – a non-nerd primer so to speak – of accessible examples from fantasy and science fiction in four different media. Movie:  Star Wars Recently my […]

primer
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Science Fantasy? What Hybrid Is That?

I’ve been blogging about science fantasy for a time now but have never sat down with you and defined what science fantasy is.  Hold onto your hat, here we go: Science fantasy is a work of fiction that has elements of science fiction mixed with fantasy. O, now that helpful, wasn’t it? I think not.  […]

science fantasy
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Romance in Fantasy and Science Fiction

Face it:  As genres go, fantasy and science fiction do not lend themselves well to romance. Now before you protest by citing examples of book covers, let me say that romance is more than a buxom vixen next to a muscle man riding a dragon.  That’s not romance; that’s just sex. Sex is not romance.  […]

romance
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The Pill to Swallow in Fantasy and Science Fiction

In any fantasy or science fiction story, whether literature or film, there’s always at least one premise… One pill to swallow, if you will. Too many pills forced down the reader’s throat and they’ll choke. A person can take one, maybe three, premises, but too much more than that and the story simply gets silly. […]

Premises
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5 Essential Traits of Fantasy Heroes and Heroines… Or… How to Relate to Us Simple Humans

We fantasy readers want a champion we can root for, suffer with, struggle alongside, and ultimately cheer on.  If our fantasy heroes too wondrous, too cold, or too inhuman, we are apt to quickly lose interest.  And when you don’t care what happens to a story’s characters, the story’s sunk. Here are five traits with examples […]

Fantasy Hero
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7 Classic Fantasy Novels, Whether You Agree or Not

This is my list of essential fantasy novels.  Don’t like it – make your own list or leave a comment.  I like to hear from you and discuss the wonderful world of fantasy. Here we go: 1.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe This book is the classic definition of fantasy.  It takes the […]

Classic Fantasy Drew Ellenwood
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