Choosing A Fantasy Genre Part 1
When putting together a book proposal, pertinent
details include providing the publisher with genre. If
your novel is fantasy--they'll want to know what kind of
fantasy. As publishers consider their editorial calendar,
they want specifics. Is it High Fantasy or Epic Fantasy?
What's the difference?
When an editor's guidelines say they want strong
fantasy,
magic realism, or genre-bending stories that don't
quite fit a specific style, it helps to know how to
identify fantasy sub-genres to sell your idea. Sub-genres
overlap. More than may be represented in your manuscript.
An adventure story line like Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade has an Arthurian thread. Yet when presenting it to
a publisher, a storyline like this would fall under
Action/Adventure Fantasy. Following the historical
Arthurian plot thread to find the Holy Grail will interest
those who enjoy that genre, but the real plot moves
through a World War II setting loaded with action.
Epic Fantasy
The overall theme of Epic Fantasy is good vs. evil. The
protagonist tends to be a person of no importance,
influence, or power who unexpectedly finds themselves
thrown into the mist of a battle to uphold what is right.
The reluctant hero/protagonist experiences personal growth
as they journey to learn not only about the fantasy world
but also about themselves. In Donna Sundblad's
Windwalker, the young Manelin learns lessons in
forgiveness before the magic of The Land works for him.
The scope of the epic fantasy world is large. Characters
travel great distances looking for answers, which often
involve a quest to find a missing magical piece to solve
the plot puzzle. This magic often has ties to mythology
and has limitations when it comes to solving the
protagonist's dilemma. This missing piece will offer the
magic necessary to rescue a heroine or free a down-trodden
or enslaved people.
High Fantasy
High Fantasy can also fall under the Epic Fantasy
category. Lords and ladies sporting medieval styles grace
the pages and plots of High Fantasy. Here too, you'll find
dragons, knights, castles and kingdoms. The theme of High
Fantasy often focuses on good vs. evil and is rooted in
medieval European legends or mythology.
Adventure Fantasy
Adventure Fantasy takes characters beyond their current
reality, and into a new dimension where the rules of
reality shift carrying characters on a roller coaster of
adventure in a world where magical realism rules.
In the screenplay Mimzy, two siblings develop special
talents after finding a mysterious box of toys. Soon the
kids, their parents, and teacher are drawn into a strange
and sometimes terrifying world. It's their new
adventure-filled reality.
Comedy Fantasy
As you work down this list, you'll see that the fantasy
genre has something for everyone. A storyline like Ghost
has elements of comedy as Whoopi Goldberg takes on
murdered Patrick Swazy's spirit so that he can make things
right on earth. A thread of romance also runs through this
thriller. So although it could be listed as a thriller, it
is also comedy. As a writer, you'd present it as both in
your proposal or pitch.
Fantasy novels like Return to UKOO by Don Hurst are
another form of Comedy Fantasy known as satire. Return
to UKOO's 40-year-old homicide detective Dale Hern is
drawn into an alternate world to discover who and what he
really is as he survives such obstacles as the stink of
Poo Pool. Hurst's use of irony, sarcasm, and ridicule
allow the reader to smile at human vice and folly.
Heroic Fantasy Magic is an accepted part of the
culture in Heroic Fantasy. Usually written in a pre-modern
fantasy world with almost a medieval flavor, Heroic
Fantasy includes traditional magical characters like
wizards, soothsayers, or oracles who wield magical powers
for or against a hero as the plot works out in a fantastic
world where creatures like dragons, ogres, unicorns,
griffins, and other traditional fantasy animals roam.
Heroes traditionally are males out to rescue a damsel in
distress.
Urban Fantasy In Urban Fantasy, magic invades
modern times . One of two scenarios plays out. Either
characters stay the same while the world changes, or
characters change and the world stays the same. In both, a
magical agent of change introduces the magic that makes
the storyline possible. Often characters learn a life
lesson that changes how they think when they return to
their "real world" lives at the end of the story. In Back
to the Future, the protagonist, Marty, returns to his real
life with a new respect for his parents
