Thread: What fantasy to read to help my writing?

I may be totally out in left-field here but reading someone else's idea of a fantasy may be good for enjoyment but isn't writing about creating your own ideas? I have read many fantasies, usually the old English ones, and I don't want to write like them. I want to write my own. I think children are the best story tellers because they haven't read that much. They only have their own imaginations and are not afraid of creating their own worlds.

Reading another's work can help and I believe that it won't be long before you borrow things in small doses. I read a lot of Anne Rice as a teenager and in doing so it helped me establish my love for vampires and their personal histories. She inspired me. After that I dabbled with the likes of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse Chronicles and Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D for not just enjoyment purposes but because I love reading about vampires.

Fantasy wise; I've recently finished Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer and have moved onto George R.R Martin's Game of Thrones. I want to read some Robin Hobb as well. These writers improve my knowledge of that genre but they do little to mold my technique. I find that I take something away with every book I read but I believe that technique is a personal gift, one that only you can pursue through commitment.

I'd say to read the Mistborn Trilogy, by Brandon Sanderson. This is a really great fantasy story with a rather unique approach to magic, and it is by far one of the best that I've ever read. It gave me a lot of inspiration to create a fantasy world with more unique and less overused forms of magic, as well as avoiding the common character cliches you see in a lot of fantasy. It even takes some of these cliches and puts a bit of a different twist on them.

I found Darren Shan to be a brilliant author when it comes to fantasy books, but a lot of his books also feature a substantial amount of horror and gore. If you are going for a teen audience, he might be an author whose work you would like to research

What sort of help are you looking for from your reading? If you're looking for inspiration for your story it's going to be difficult because you'll end up by unconsciously copying other people and your work will be flat, but I don't think you're after that are you? If you want to be inspired by good writing read widely and think about the books you've really enjoyed, asking yourself why you liked it so much, what was good and yes, you can copy elements of someone else's style if it works and suits you - I stopped using exclamation marks after realising one of my favourite author's never used them - and if the book has say, dialogue which you really admire look at it, see how it's phrased, how the author keeps on track as to who's saying what etc and use those lessons. You can get even more valuable lessons from studying a really bad book, seeing what's wrong and trying to make sure you don't do that yourself!

Piers Anthony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Anthony


INCARNATIONS OF IMMORTALITY 4 Wielding a Red Sword Del Rey hc 86 pb 87
(audio vol. 1-7 from Recorded Books) 5 Being a Green Mother Del Rey hc 87 pb 88
1 On a Pale Horse Del Rey hc 83, pb 84 6 For Love of Evil Morrow hc 88 pb 90
2 Bearing an Hourglass Del Rey hc 84 pb 85 7 And Eternity Morrow hc 90 pb 91
3 With a Tangled Skein Del Rey hc 85 pb 86 8 Under a Velvet Cloak Mundania hc, tpb, 2007

I would simply suggest reading any fantasy novels you can get a hold of. Fantasy is my favourite genre to read and write, and while I have come across some terrible novels, by reading them I know what to avoid when I write if i don't want to put a reader off. For example The Tamuli trilogy by David Eddings which has in my opinion an unlovable array of undefeatable, totally heroic and absolutely bland protaganists is probably one of the worst I have come across, but it still gave insights in how to create an interesting fantasy world and made me always make sure my characters are flawed and human.

Anyone interested in writing fantasy should familiarise themselves with the works of Douglas Adams. If you live in the UK you can get a five book box set from Banana Books for £3.50 the price in Easton's or Waterstones is £34.95!!!
The books are:
The Hitchhicker,s Guide to the Galaxy
Mostly Harmless
So Long,And Thanks for all the Fish
The Restaurant at the end of the Universe
Life,the Universe and Everything

I would everything from the bible to witchcraft and anyhting to do UFO all given ingreat details bu wiki.
fantasy/surreal does not get better then that.
you would be surprised of the stuff you would find.
I am on it all the time.

Originally Posted by saxguitar

I have begun to write fantasy, kind of, and know of some authors who I am going to reread and read for the first time to help out. These include J.K Rowling, R.A. Salvatore, J.R.R Tolkei., Raymond E. Feist, George R.R. Martin, and Robin Hobb. Any other authors or titles imparticular to expand my knowledge, especially specifics from the authors I said?

If you haven't already, I'd strongly suggest reading C.S. Lewis's space trilogy. I think the books are marketed as science fiction (given that interstellar travel is a core component of the stories), but the setting itself is more mythological. Also, his writing style is elegant and wonderfully profound. The first two books are quick reads (less than 350 pages combined), though the third is a bit harder to get through. Still, I highly recommend all three.

I would definitely recommend Jonathan Stroud's 'Bartimaeus' trilogy. The world he creates is both brilliant and involving; you start thinking in terms of the concepts in the book, because they are so easy to understand but intricate and complex when you apply them to the story.