I'm afraid that today was another forgetting-it-was-Monday day! It's the May Day Bank Holiday, meaning I'm off work so naturally, I've been spending the entire day thinking it was Sunday. So I've had to quickly put together my notes for this blog, which is all about the Mentor Character in a middle grade novel. But first... What is the Mentor Character? This character's primary job is to teach and guide the protagonist until the time comes when they can stand on their own two feet. This could involve teaching them magical abilities, or lending a listening ear when it's needed. It could be a family member, or a friend of the family's, or a guide to another land... The possibilities are endless (just be aware of stranger danger!) Do all Middle Grade Books Need a Mentor Character? No, not at all. But, if you have a bunch of kids running around on adventures, the authorities are going to start asking questions sooner or later. A mentor offers the opportunity...
I could write for ages and ages about fantasy. It was the first genre I wrote, and I'm talking about being very much younger! It was also the first genre I loved to read. As I've grown older, I've realised that most fantasy authors try to instil a shock factor into their audience. I realised early on that, while I enjoyed middle grade fantasy, adult fantasy was often a bit too much for me. But, seeing as this is Middle Grade Monday, that's ok!
What is fantasy?
Fantasy are things that can't happen. Remember that Science Fiction (here) was things that can't happen yet. For fantasy, we just remove the 'yet'.
Fantasy could, but doesn't have to, include magic, other worlds, parallel worlds, strange creatures, other humanoid races... the great thing with fantasy is that you can go wild! You want more stories about garden gnomes trying to rid the world of evil? You can write that!
The Need for Rules
Yes, you can make up the rules. But you do need to have rules. Otherwise, you risk making things too easy for your characters. This is particularly important when you're dealing with magic. There has to be some rules to stop the characters from ending the story with a snap of their fingers. Before your start writing, make a list of rules for your world, or magic system, that you will have to follow in your story.
Magic
Firstly, fantasy doesn't need magic. I just prefer it when it does. A magic system requires a lot of planning and this needs to be done before you start writing. Ask yourself questions such as...
- How does someone wield magic? Do they need a special object like an amulet or a wand? Do they have to say magic words?
- What is the price for magic? Is there one?
- Is everyone able to use magic? Do you have to be born with the ability?
- What can magic not do?
- How do people in your world react to others with magic? It wasn't that long ago that people in this country were killed because the community suspected them of witchcraft.
- How do people learn magic? Even if someone is born with it, they need to hone it somehow.
There's a few questions to start you off on your magical journey!
Map Building
While I have always enjoyed creating maps for my fantasy worlds, I am certainly no expert! There are strong communities out there of people who have made it their life's work to understand the geology and geography involved. My tip is to read what they have available.
My Love of Parallel Worlds!
My interest in this really comes about from the possibility of having characters from this world, people who we are more likely to relate to, experiencing new worlds at the same time as the reader. The first novel I finished, which is unpublished, was set in a parallel world with both goodies and baddies from this world. In my first published novel, Taking Wing, there isn't a different world exactly, but a hidden world within ours. It was great fun writing Freya's reaction to this hidden world, trying to make it as relatable as possible.
I know it's only a start, but I hope I've managed to persuade someone to give fantasy a try!
What's New With Crowvus?
The countdown is on! It is a week until World Curlew Day, which means it's a week until our next book launch: Sir Louis Curlewy by Susan Crow. This brilliant picture book in rhyme gives children a broad understanding of one of our endangered species, the curlew!
Today, we have been hard at work creating the read-aloud version of the book. This version, unlisted on Youtube, is viewable to anyone who buys a paperback or an ebook from Amazon, preorder available here.
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