CashewElliot Quote: “As the professor said, gently, that first day, “The reason some people don’t allow genre fiction is because it tends to be more plot focused, neglecting heavy character development.”

This reminded me of why, as a writer, I refused to enter an MFA program, and am seeking a degree in History instead.

To equate all writing with Writing Deep Characters is flawed and unnecessarily narrows the purpose of prose. Certain genres do not ask what does it mean to be Mr. Joe Specific Brown, but rather, what does it mean to be human? This is no less deep a question, but it is tackled in a completely different form, disguised, perhaps as, wolf-men scaling cliffs, or hobbits destroying a magic ring.

Both methods of inquiry are beneficial, I think. I admit, it took me a long time to appreciate the value of literary fiction, perhaps because, as a lover of epic fantasies and sf, I was so defensive against attitudes like those in MFA programs, I adopted preemptive contempt.

This was my loss. There are, I now believe, certain themes, certain perspectives, which do require a literary approach. Deep character development may be one (although I believe not even all literary is focused only on Character stories).

Btw, I’m always curious to know if those who hate Tolkien also hate Beowulf or the Illiad or the Mahabharata, which, to me, would be the pre-modern equivalents — or perhaps those avoid reading Tolkien also don’t read such things. Personally, I love reading old legends and sagas and myths, and when I read a fantasy, the way I determine if it is successful is whether it gives me the same chill I get when I read old epic — an encounter with utter strangeness coupled eerily with recognition.

Lady Glamis: “Something about imagining myself in another world that’s not MY world here just turns me off. I have no idea why.”

I find this fascinating, actually, because it feeds a theory I’ve been nursing about that one of the primary rewards of fantasy is the same reward we get when we travel to a new and totally strange culture. In other words, it’s a whole genre devoted to Culture Shock.

There’s an old saying attributed to some Great One in The Field that “the Golden Age of Science Fiction is ten to twelve.”

Many more people read fantasy and science when they are young than latter in life. This has always puzzled (and annoyed) writers in the genre, who obviously represent the few social nimwits who didn’t outgrow the phase.