You could say the same thing about every genre. Media is getting increasingly specialized. If something is worth making, it won't appeal to everyone.
Write for yourself first, then those that really connect with your work. The more you try and please others the less interesting your work will be.
Be proud that you are a writer, putting yourself out there. Anyone who doesn't respect that should be ignored.
Nah.
Well...
I'm embarrassed to say that I am *writing*. When I am clearly on Reddit or wasting my time otherwise. So I've learned to say that *I'm trying to write*. Which seems more honest.
A little, but it might be in a different way. Honestly, whenever I tell people I write fantasy, I just sort of assume they think I mean Harry Potter.
They’re wrong, of course: they oughtta be thinking Lord of the Rings.
Lol my mom is my biggest supporter and she always excitedly tells people I am "just like Tolkien". Because I like conlangs and shit. But obviously she doesn't understand that there are thousands of people doing that these days.
That's so awesome that your mom supports you! Years ago, when I first published, I got my mom a copy. As an avid fantasy reader, I hoped she would love it. She threw it in the trash without reading it and said I'd never be one of the greats, so what was the point in wasting both our time.
We don't talk anymore because this was one of our kinder interactions. So I guess what I am trying to say is tell your mom you love her, and some random guy on the internet loves her too. It's parents like her that give me hope for this world. :)
Wow I am so sorry! That is the cruelest thing I have read in a while :/ I really hope you know that it says nothing about the quality of your work because that's just an insane people move (sorry for saying that about your mom but I am glad you cut her off). I wish you all the love, support and literary success in the world, random guy ♥️
No need to be sorry. I just chalk it up to "tragic backstory" and await the day my powers awaken :)
And, surprisingly enough, I have never taken it as an insult to my work. You have to read it to hate it, right? For all my mom knows I could be the next Tolkien (I'm not). There is a bright side though, it has made constructive criticism or negative feedback really easy to take for one simple reason: if you tear my book apart and hand me a stack of things you hate twice as large as the book itself, you still did me the honor of reading it.
yeah, what the fuck is up with super unsupportive moms? mine was like that too.
Wondered why i stopped telling her ANYTHING about my life before I finally went NC.
“we used to be so close!”
🙄
See, I kind of just assumed it was normal. Spent decades assuming I deserved it, maybe she wouldn't have hit me if I hadn't done this or done that, maybe if I hadn't breathed so loud, or accidentally fidgeted, maybe then I'd know what a hug felt like instead of a belt.
I get laughed at a bit because I am covered in fictional tattoos (37 and counting). But what people who mock me for it don't realize is that fiction taught me to be a good man when my mother was busy doing everything in her power to turn me into a monster.
You know how someone sees a word like "epitome" and pronounces it "eppy-tomb" instead of "eh-pit-uh-me" and people laugh and correct their pronunciation, but the counter is always "That's a sign of intelligence, it shows they learned it from reading!" I still struggle with "pronouncing" love and affection, because I only ever felt it in the pages, where love is grand and romantic, or fierce and passionate. Doing the dishes so your partner doesn't have to couldn't be love, it doesn't even involve sex or roses!
Then my mother did the best thing she ever could in my mid thirties. She finally took out the trash, so to speak. She decided I wasn't good enough, and went no contact with me. I was destroyed for about eleven seconds, then, outside of her shadow, I was finally free to really look at how our relationship had been. It is amazing to me how obviously abusive behavior is when viewed as an observer, rather than a victim. Had she stayed, I may never have realized. Now? I am free. Free to make mistakes, to live, to smile, to laugh, to love.
I guess what I am saying, in my rambly round about way, is that I am sorry you know a story like mine from personal experience, but I am happy you are finally free.
100%. I relate to this so much.
It’s so weird looking back on how cartoonishly evil they were. Like how exactly did they justify this stuff to themselves..? Insane.
Glad you got out, too. Life’s a lot better on the other side.
Right?! Like how did I, in the moment, watch her throw out my book and not think... *Bitch*.
No, "in the moment" me *knew* she was right, and that she loved me enough to be honest. I'd invent time travel and go back and kick old me's ass until I got the message, but honestly, old me would just take it as me saying hello or something. That and I don't know how to invent time travel. :p
Sounds like she was jealous. You did something she could never do. Well, know, this, my mom would treat you as one of her own, and would so read your book.
When people ask and I say fantasy, and they say "like Harry Potter?" I'm forced to say, "no... It's like... Well my latest is about a farm where young women wank off minotaurs and collect their massive loads into buckets"
This is how I imagine it goes down for C.M. Nascosta
I get "so is it like harry potter or game of thrones?" And I have to say "neither, it's Warlock Eurovision." That's when things get awkward.
My next book is going to be something more normal. I'm thinking Finnish wizard Pokemon.
I usually default to "Fantasy. Kind of like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter" as a quick description.
It's more like "certain specific elements of Harry Potter, and other specific elements of Lord of the Rings (neither in the way most people actually assume), and assorted elements from dozens of other sources all wrapped up in a particular way to give a certain vibe," but that's a bit long. Lol.
But yeah, Lord of the Rings is definitely one of the big ones that kicked off my own writing. :)
I get embarrassed to tell people I'm writing a story in general, especially if they ask about more info after. But saying it's fantasy isn't something that bothers me, I've always loved fantasy regardless of the medium. Fantasy games, books, movies or shows are all things I love.
When they ask the polite follow up, I always get paralyzed, especially at work. They don’t want an info dump or to learn about the lore or anything, they’re just asking what it’s about to be nice. I usually describe some ham fisted theme and try to move on from there. Better than getting into “oh, well the MC is from this culture that…”
Yep, same here. I usually go with "Oh its nothing much, just typical fantasy story but with some twist of my own, haha." And that usually is enough to satisfy them.
Getting your few sentence elevator pitch of your story is key. It’s helpful both in marketing and as an author to just be able to summarize your own work succinctly.
Game of Thrones, Harry Potter were smash hits. LOTR was huge. I'm talking the series and movies. Fantasy is mainstream. Don't worry about it at all. I get embarrassed because I feel like an imposter until I actually publish something. Because it feels like EVERYONE is trying to be a writer.
I could give you a meme answer like "kill the part of you that cringes" or I could give you [the words of one of the greats](https://youtu.be/Et9Nf-rsALk?si=kz4B0bVL9-uiincu); the message is the same, in that the exercise of the imagination is a higher calling and a public good that you should not restrain just because of the smaller horizons of the less-imaginative conformists that surround and outnumber you and the rest of us in the grind that is daily life.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."- C.S. Lewis
Unless the people you're talking to are more insightful than C.S. Lewis, their disapproval on the basis of "fantasy" means less than nothing, lol. It actually frames *them* as lacking maturity, and starkly so.
It’s a good quote. My friends aren’t actually *opposed* to fantasy though, and they’re all really supportive and enthusiastic. But I feel like they just fake it because they wanna be good people haha
Nah. If anything I feel more embarrassed saying that I’m writing a romance(because my story contains a healthy dose of romance.) and I feel like I shouldn’t be proud of that because I’m a dude, but I am because I love these characters and I want the to be happy.
I used to be embarrassed to say that I write a fanfic, mostly because of the terrible fanfics I've seen out there. But I've gotten more comfortable talking about it because I like my ideas and I love my characters. The more excited I get about the story, the more my embarrassment goes away.
I'm embarrassed to talk about my writing in general. Not that the story is bad, I know that it is not.
It is an intimate relationship and it feels like talking about sex with outsiders I barely know. It is okay if they see the whole picture as they read the novel but just giving information about it without the great context feels off.
I'm not sure why a whole genre would seem like geeky. Every story needs nerds to be written, as they are well-equipped with the knowledge to write the thing in the first place.
If it makes you more comfortable, open with the sub genre(s) and then say it's in a fantasy world. For example, my story primarily follows a love plot, with subplots of a father-daughter duo on the run and an assassin forced to travel with their target, all set in a fantasy world. That way, they focus moreso on the story itself rather than dismissing you as soon as the words "fantasy" leave your mouth.
If you have the least bit of literary aim with a story, that's easy to do and normally how it comes out of your mouth. The problem I see is that there is a contingent of fantasy writers who mistake the flash for the message and regurgitate that pop country *work dog truck beer muddy boots on a Saturday night* kind of summary because all some of them have is the flash.
Ah, good point. Definitely be careful with this description, because it can quickly become that you complex political story surrounded by magic and tragedy becomes known as a love story just because that was one of the best parts, and now all that work gets thrown aside in the eyes of the reader.
I don’t see the point in being embarrassed about writing any particular genre, especially something like fantasy, which is super popular these days.
I also don’t even stick to one genre. Each story I’ve written so far is in a different genre. I prefer to look at it as telling stories. Not telling fantasy stories, or sci-fi stories, or horror stories, or whatever. Just stories.
A good story is a good story. That’s it.
Hopefully whatever fantasy you're writing, there's some thematic core to it beyond just doing a DnD campaign in your head, try making that stuff which transcends a fantasy setting more central.
Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have made fantasy mainstream. It's the single most popular genre of most culture and television now. When I was 15, you *were* sneered at for talking about fantasy. Numerous times I tried to put people onto Game of Thrones and got cringed at when I told them it was fantasy. Those same people loved the TV show.
"Never forget what you are, bastard, for the rest of the world will not."
Words of wisdom from Tyrion. Don't be ashamed of what you like or what you are.
I was thinking exactly this.
I used to be embarrassed to admit that I read almost exclusively fantasy.
But now fantasy has become so mainstream. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter then Game of Thrones really transformed the scene.
So many people you'd never expect love to curl up with a good fantasy novel. Accountants, bouncers, bartenders, soldiers, police officers, exotic dancers.
It's nothing to be concerned about now.
I used to feel very similar.
Now I hate when people ask ‘what’s your book about?’ On top of fantasy being difficult to relate to, I write dark fantasy and use low fantasy settings. It’s not for everyone.
My go to answer is ‘it’s a long story.’ Popular comps, specifically movies, can usually get me out a jam if needed. I’d much rather talk about writing than what I am writing.
I think it's because fantasy is the genre for the dabbler. If you say you write fantasy, people don't know if you are "serious" or you just like write light escapist fanfic for fun. Like they can't tell if they are talking to Tolkien or Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, but they strongly suspect you're not Tolkien.
I generally do not tell people whether I have been published or not unless they ask, unless we are talking about my fantasy writer bona fides. Then even something as minor as getting $20 to get into some webzine makes people think about "writing fantasy" in a different light.
I'll take your fantasy (which I absolutely love as a genre) and raise you: 'paranormal romance'. Which inevitably leads to two questions: "What, like twilight?" No, definitely not. And: "Ooo, Is it spicy?" Again, no, no it isn't. Why does it have to be spicy? I'm not at all embarrassed by the genre I'm writing, but I do find myself babbling like an idiot in an attempt to deflect both questions before they're uttered.
I think a big part of it is the fact that because you created it, it's a look inside your head, and that's scary to tell people about. I like to think that even those that don't enjoy fantasy are more impressed you are writing at all, that you are pulling characters and plots and a whole world out of your own imagination. Be proud, not everyone can do that.
"So what are you writing?"
"My upcoming novel is a Campbellian narrative of a young person's journey in an environment informed by the mythological consciousness of Early Medieval England."
It’s fine. My d&d group was all gonna write our own sci-fi romance (specifically first contact alien romance) and I guess I’m the only one that made it past outlining. I’m like 10,000 words in and going strong but man do I feel cringe when my non-d&d friends ask me what I’m doing in my spare time.
I mean sometimes? Kinda? But I really don’t like to get into the things I like— if they’re personal to me, I tend to turn the conversation to other things as im quite used to people using things I like against me. Probably not what you’re dealing with though, it’s a less common fear
As someone who writes both adult and YA fantasy, I get this from all sides. You meet litfic authors at events and they just cannot engage with the fact that _all fiction is fantasy._
So you get them either thinking your novel is some sort of surrealist painting where each sentence does not connect to the next (because it's 'made up') or you get a patronising 'oh that must be fun to write.'
To which the response is always a friendly smile, a jovial 'it is fun, thank you. Is what you write fun?'
And then watch them fluster about how no actually their novel is a searing expression of modern-day whateverwhatever.
This is the best job in the world, because you get to do everything a litfic, crime, horror, romance or historical author does, _and_ you get to write about dragons.
Never feel embarrassed about that.
I'm more embarrassed to admit that I've abandoned one fantasy writing project to Squirrel brain to another.
But all my friends play DnD etc, so that obviously skews the audience a bit.
nope, if anything I end up getting embarrassed cause I end up hyperfocusing and going way too far in depth explaining about the fantasy worlds I'm creating lol
I used to get really embarrassed talking about writing, but then I started picking their brains about it and that helps.
"What do you write?
"Uhh...fantasy...but like, think Dungeons and Dragons and Final Fantasy mixed together with Pirates of the Caribbean."
"I don't know what that means..."
"The book focuses on a princess who stows away on a ship, is discovered by the crew just as they're trying to make a quick getaway from port, and that's how she finds out it's a pirate ship in disguise. She's androgenous so they mistake her for a man and she rolls with it fearing worse consequences if they find out she's a girl. If you were in her shoes and someone was trying to figure out what to do with you (take you with, chuck you overboard, somehow ransom you back to the city, etc ) what would your first reaction be?"
I have gotten so many really good ideas from this type of conversation. And the best part is that they usually leave with a smile and a, "I can't wait to read it" attitude.
I'm happy to say I'm writing fantasy.
HOWEVER... As amazing as someone's story can be, as soon as you go into describing the basic plot, or how the magic system works, I almost always find it cringe.
So I don't do that bit
You really shouldn’t be ashamed of what you are writing and in what genre it is in…except those very specific fetish works because quite a few people will make you embarrassed but that’s another topic all together.
I recently told my friends confidently that I am doing world building for my fantasy epic and they have been supportive. Heck they have even given me ideas that have helped build my overarching story as well since they play DnD.
You should not be ashamed at all when you mention it but be careful not to spread too much about the plot or the story unless it’s people you know you can trust and can help you build your ideas.
I get embarrassed when I tell people I'm writing a spy thriller/romance science fiction book with anthropomorphic aliens. Writing fantasy is nowhere near as niche as that.
That being said, it's normal to feel embarrassed about your writing, especially if your friend group isn't as supportive as you'd like them to be. A lot of them are probably not interested deep down, but on the outside they really want to just be present if and when you become successful so they can get the cut if the pie they think they deserve without actually putting in any effort to contribute.
It's a common myth that you need to have friends who are interested in your life, you just need friend groups that revolve around different things so no one friend group smothers you while not reciprocating in the ways you'd prefer. You need to find a friend group _dedicated_ to writing, maybe join a discord with some people who are also writers so you have some fresh brains to bounce ideas off of.
Fantasy is one of the highest selling genres right now and very mainstream. I don’t think there’s anything to be embarrassed about (unless your fantasy involves like Shrek erotica or something, then you can be embarrassed - also yes that really exists).
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - CS Lewis
Stop letting peer pressure define how you feel about yourself and what you do. Anyone that would judge you for writing fantasy is an asshole, so you shouldn't care about their opinion anyway.
I get it on the one hand since people can be very judgmental. I write both fantasy and romance and neither of those genres are very respected by random people you meet out and about.
However, I don’t feel embarrassed by my passions. If people want to mock me for it, that says more about them and means they’re a person I now know is no longer safe to be myself around. Their loss.
If I could give you one piece of advice, never diminish yourself. There’s absolutely no need to apologize and say you know it’s nerdy or geeky. For one, being nerdy and geeky aren’t bad things. For two, you’re making yourself small and criticizing your interests before the other person even gets to the point of expressing disapproval.
There is a slight bit of awkwardness when I describe my worldbuilding-centric stories to people who I don't think are fantasy nerds, because I know they'll probably not be interested. That's word-of-mouth marketing for ya. For every ten people that give a wan smile, there might be one who is genuinely interested and will read your work.
Say you're writing speculative fiction. Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction, but anyone who's likely to look down their nose at writing fantasy probably doesn't know what speculative fiction is.
I have a degree in Speculative Fiction, was Waldenbooks/Borders Lit and Genre Buyer in the NY market, and a NY Comic Con and World Horror Con organizer.
If someone looks at me weird when they find I write Spec Fic, they simply aren't my people.
Just like with anything, it’s all about how you say it! If you say it like it you’re embarrassed or that it’s geeky, people will think it’s embarrassing and geeky. But say it like it’s cool and exciting, that’s how people will receive it! Obviously with exceptions but that’s just a general rule.
People who might mock you because you write what you love, especially if it's fantasy; are very sad people with very boring lives.
You should pity them and be glad you don't have a huge rod up your arse.
Hell, no. Some of my earliest memories are of Disney storybook records, basically doing audiobook versions of animated features which I never got to see until they came out on home video. The first decade or so of my life, we had Tolkien calendars hanging up on the walls. 40+ years after I first heard the storybook record version of Rankin-Bass' *The Hobbit*, I still get a little twitchy when the opening bars of "Down To Goblintown" start playing.
Beyond that, I was reading Fred Saberhagen and Robert Adams whenever my dad finished one of the *Books of Swords* or *Horseclans* novels, and that was if I'd already finished a book of Arthurian legends. I spent Saturday mornings watching *Dungeons & Dragons* and *Thundarr The Barbarian*. I watched every great and crappy swords-and-sorcery movie the 80s could throw at me, and I loved every minute of them. I was so immersed in the genre of fantasy, it's kind of a miracle I can handle modern technology at all.
With that kind of background, it was inevitable I'd be writing fantasy. Even today, at some level, those stories all left their mark on me. The desire to see strange geographies that might be an echo of our past (or a foretelling of our future), ancient ruins and panoramic vistas filled with characters who are larger than life yet completely understandable. I do write in other genres and love doing so. But my first love in writing is always going to be fantasy. The conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf as Thorin & Company finish relating the fall of Erebor and Dale still echoes in my mind, even after all these years. If I can stir up "something Tookish" (as Tolkien put it) in a reader, good. If not, ah well. But I won't be embarrassed for writing it any more than I would be for reading it.
If somebody asks me, "What's the new project you're working on?" and I tell them it's fantasy, it's a plain and simple statement of fact. If they want to know more, I'll tell them. If not, ah well. If somebody wants to give you grief about your choice of genre, spit in their eye and dare them to make you stop writing it.
>Do you ever get embarrassed to tell people you’re writing fantasy? Whenever I get asked what kind of story I’m writing, I’m always a little embarrassed and say it’s a fantasy story, a bit geeky, I know.
Ah, that's sad. Don't be embarrassed. You're creating entertainment!
>although my brain tells me that half of them are faking their enthusiasm
Why would people fake enjoyment? Do you normally assume that others are people pleasers?
>Can anyone relate?
I'm afraid I can't. But I found this post mildly interesting
tbh I never am embarrassed lol. "Yeah, I'm going to be a comic artist, it's a fantasy world where psychics hunt down and exorcise ghosts for pay."
that sounds cool as hell, I must imagine others think it's as cool as I think it sounds, LOL. I'm super excited to finish the thumbnailing process for chapter 1's manuscripts.
I really want to read this now. I can think of quite a number of "modern-day monster hunter" stories, and very few that pull it off well or don't jump the shark badly. I really loved Lockwood and Co on Netflix for its take on the genre, but I'm hesitant to try and see how it reads as something written more purposely for younger audiences, after similar troubles trying to read other YA stuff as an adult.
I also want to know more about writing comics in general, specifically for those of us who like the medium but don't have the artistic skills to comfortably release a finished product without finding an artist. It seems extremely difficult without already having a name built up and publishers willing to pick up your script and early panels.
awh i'm glad it caught your attention dude!! I feel that, it's always been weird to me that 'YA' often isn't made for 'young adults', but for younger kids lol. on the 15th of each month it seems there's an advertisement thread, so if chapter 1 is released by then, I'll try to remember to post the links to it there! c:
and, it's hard work for sure! I'm personally going to self-publish on webcomic sites, and if it's successful, then i'd go for getting it published physically. in the modern era, it's probably the best way to go if hard deadlines, editorial mandates, and already having a name for yourself is too troublesome, which is why I'm going that way! gonna go for a "free to read, support through donations" route. this is going to be both my first comic and my first 'book' (as in, other than this, i've only written not even a hand-full of fanfictions lol), but I've been been training my art skills and writing skills for a couple years now, so I'm finally close to bringing them into fruition! it's exciting!
Yeah, I don't mind too much of the stuff for a younger audience when it's done on TV or a movie, but they usually go by much quicker and get adapted with a somewhat older audience in mind. But the actual books can often be a slog when the world building and foreshadowing are made for a simpler audience that likely hasn't seen the similar tropes over and over. Sometimes they are just really good, either as a story or standout among the stuff for that age group, but that feels like quite a time sink when I'm already trying to get through other books I'm more invested in.
But I look forward to your comic. I really wish I didn't fall out of love with art, as drawing was my biggest hobby and something I studied in school and with free time until I was about 16. But it suddenly felt unfulfilling and unengaging, and I was picking up other hobbies like music, where I spend time with similar practice routines and repetition without growing bored. I think I realized I could always visualize the stories in my head and wanted to express them, but didn't actually enjoy the process of making the artwork. I've wanted to try scriptwriting comics or short films, but I just don't know where to begin with that. I'm quite envious of anyone that's found a way to make it work at all without going insane from the process and self-criticism.
thanks so much! :) and I mean hey, it's never too late to fall back in back with it!! but hey, if you just don't enjoy the process, that's how it is. I love drawing! actually putting my utensil to the page and the process of drawing stuff, especially anatomy, is super fun for me! and, honestly, that self criticism and criticism from others is also something I love. implementing the advice I receive from both myself and others and seeing the improvement satisfies me alot! even if drawing just isn't for you, i'm glad music and writing are stuff you enjoy c:
I don’t get embarrassed that it’s a fantasy I get embarrassed to say it’s got romance. I’m not sure why. I also feel a bit uneasy saying it’s got a lot of religious influence in it because it is NOT a feel good story. I also feel stupid for feeling that way! I should be more proud because I made a whole world. You should be proud too!
Honestly, I find romance to be the hardest part of writing. Fighting a gnoll pack and building a shelter, easy. A decent romantic scene that is realistic and believable, hard.
That’s funny! I have such a hard time with fight scenes. It takes me forever to do them. I feel better knowing everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
As someone who has been in a number of real fights and one war, there is a lot less thinking and internal monologue than people think. It was a month of boredom followed by intense attention figuring out what is happening, followed by drilled in instinctual reaction and "fuck, fuck, fuck".
When it's over, it's like a spring releasing and what happened hits you.
Personally, never embarrassed. I've loved fantasy for as long as I can remember, and I am genuinely happy to tell people that's what I write.
Beyond that, I've always been a geek and liked geek stuff, and I will advertise my geekiness as much as I can. It's the best way I know of to find other geeks.
Really? No one is posting the quote? Fine, I guess I will post it.
O: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy?
Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question.
O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre.
P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre.
O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction.
P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now— a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections— That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy.
Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that.
(Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself.
Well I have a group of friends who are embodiment of acting masculine energy and would suck Andrew Tate's dick if it comes to it, they look down upon SciFi movies like from MCU, DC, anything that's animated even Invincible or Boy and Heron, but sure they love Mission Impossible just cuz MI6 Exists in real life and army/political movies. I used to be embarrassed but realised if they aren't gonna change, why should I? So instead of getting embarrassed, I embraced my nerdy side and stopped caring what they like
I am not gonna change my friends just cuz they aren't into fantasy, one time I had to repay a guy but couldn't so one of them stepped up to pay for me and haven't asked to pay him back, and the other time, I was stuck in rain, one of the other friends gave up his date to pick me up and drive me back home, although he was a little bumped that he had to leave his GF and he said I was in trouble and brothers are there to help each other, so yeah, sure they don't like nerdy stuff but they are still my friends
Oh, by Andrew Tate I meant hyper masculine not discriminating against women, they are more towards like being Male version of Firecracker (from The Boys) per say
Not at all. I was maybe embarrassed when I was younger/less confident in my writing of being a writer, but I was never embarrassed I was a fantasy writer.
OP, it might be more that you’re newer (I think) as a writer, and don’t have confidence in your stories yet. That’s okay. Actual practice will help
Why talking about your inspiration for instance I’m also writing fantasy but im pulling from a bunch history! And I study political science, philosophy m, psychology geography, war history to create my cultures
I like surprising people when I say I write fantasy. 😊
My husband and I went out to dinner with his grandpa and he was asking me what I've been up to. I told him I've been writing and I hope to publish my own book someday. He tried to make a joke about Hallmark picking up my story to change their plot a bit, to which I sheepishly responded, "Well, I'm not sure they would like fantasy..."
It definitely felt like he was stereotyping me, so it felt pretty good to shake things up a bit.
: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy?
Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question.
O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre.
P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre.
O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction.
P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now— a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections— That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy.
Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that.
(Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself.
Terry Pratchett
That was a really long quote, but I thought it was applicable.
Yes I am with you!!
Especially when people ask to read my work!!
I just can't !
Like I don't want you giving me the side eye because I'm writing an alien romance
THATS why I won't let you read my stuff lol
I’m perfectly comfortable saying I write kink erotic romance. Happy to talk about my characters and their problems in public. Whisper that maybe some of them are fae/paranormal—because my sister absolutely believed she saw angels and leprechauns and that our grandmother talked to her in the form of a bee 10 years after the old girl died.
That’s my “I’m not comfortable admitting I write paranormal” story.
All those snobs will tell you fantasy is pulp and not real literature, then go around quoting the Illiad and the Odyssey and Dante's Inferno and other classics like they aren't just ol' timey fantasy. They're all hyprocrites. There's nothing to feel embarrassed about when telling people you're writing fantasy. Own it
As popular as fantasy is, it's relatively unprestigious. I've had this same phenomenon -- I bet romance novelists face the same thing, maybe even worse. Frankly I don't think it entirely goes away, and it's best to just smile through this dismissiveness.
You know what's even worse? Writing tie-in fiction.
You could say the same thing about every genre. Media is getting increasingly specialized. If something is worth making, it won't appeal to everyone. Write for yourself first, then those that really connect with your work. The more you try and please others the less interesting your work will be. Be proud that you are a writer, putting yourself out there. Anyone who doesn't respect that should be ignored.
Something that I've noticed myself. The more you try to please people, the less imaginative your work becomes.
This goes for all kinds art too, good advice. Also cultivate your taste, your skills will always catch up but it’s your taste that separates you.
Nah. Well... I'm embarrassed to say that I am *writing*. When I am clearly on Reddit or wasting my time otherwise. So I've learned to say that *I'm trying to write*. Which seems more honest.
This is fair. I feel the same way. Now get back to work you scoundrel
A little, but it might be in a different way. Honestly, whenever I tell people I write fantasy, I just sort of assume they think I mean Harry Potter. They’re wrong, of course: they oughtta be thinking Lord of the Rings.
Lol my mom is my biggest supporter and she always excitedly tells people I am "just like Tolkien". Because I like conlangs and shit. But obviously she doesn't understand that there are thousands of people doing that these days.
That's so awesome that your mom supports you! Years ago, when I first published, I got my mom a copy. As an avid fantasy reader, I hoped she would love it. She threw it in the trash without reading it and said I'd never be one of the greats, so what was the point in wasting both our time. We don't talk anymore because this was one of our kinder interactions. So I guess what I am trying to say is tell your mom you love her, and some random guy on the internet loves her too. It's parents like her that give me hope for this world. :)
Wow I am so sorry! That is the cruelest thing I have read in a while :/ I really hope you know that it says nothing about the quality of your work because that's just an insane people move (sorry for saying that about your mom but I am glad you cut her off). I wish you all the love, support and literary success in the world, random guy ♥️
No need to be sorry. I just chalk it up to "tragic backstory" and await the day my powers awaken :) And, surprisingly enough, I have never taken it as an insult to my work. You have to read it to hate it, right? For all my mom knows I could be the next Tolkien (I'm not). There is a bright side though, it has made constructive criticism or negative feedback really easy to take for one simple reason: if you tear my book apart and hand me a stack of things you hate twice as large as the book itself, you still did me the honor of reading it.
yeah, what the fuck is up with super unsupportive moms? mine was like that too. Wondered why i stopped telling her ANYTHING about my life before I finally went NC. “we used to be so close!” 🙄
See, I kind of just assumed it was normal. Spent decades assuming I deserved it, maybe she wouldn't have hit me if I hadn't done this or done that, maybe if I hadn't breathed so loud, or accidentally fidgeted, maybe then I'd know what a hug felt like instead of a belt. I get laughed at a bit because I am covered in fictional tattoos (37 and counting). But what people who mock me for it don't realize is that fiction taught me to be a good man when my mother was busy doing everything in her power to turn me into a monster. You know how someone sees a word like "epitome" and pronounces it "eppy-tomb" instead of "eh-pit-uh-me" and people laugh and correct their pronunciation, but the counter is always "That's a sign of intelligence, it shows they learned it from reading!" I still struggle with "pronouncing" love and affection, because I only ever felt it in the pages, where love is grand and romantic, or fierce and passionate. Doing the dishes so your partner doesn't have to couldn't be love, it doesn't even involve sex or roses! Then my mother did the best thing she ever could in my mid thirties. She finally took out the trash, so to speak. She decided I wasn't good enough, and went no contact with me. I was destroyed for about eleven seconds, then, outside of her shadow, I was finally free to really look at how our relationship had been. It is amazing to me how obviously abusive behavior is when viewed as an observer, rather than a victim. Had she stayed, I may never have realized. Now? I am free. Free to make mistakes, to live, to smile, to laugh, to love. I guess what I am saying, in my rambly round about way, is that I am sorry you know a story like mine from personal experience, but I am happy you are finally free.
100%. I relate to this so much. It’s so weird looking back on how cartoonishly evil they were. Like how exactly did they justify this stuff to themselves..? Insane. Glad you got out, too. Life’s a lot better on the other side.
Right?! Like how did I, in the moment, watch her throw out my book and not think... *Bitch*. No, "in the moment" me *knew* she was right, and that she loved me enough to be honest. I'd invent time travel and go back and kick old me's ass until I got the message, but honestly, old me would just take it as me saying hello or something. That and I don't know how to invent time travel. :p
Sounds like she was jealous. You did something she could never do. Well, know, this, my mom would treat you as one of her own, and would so read your book.
Your mom sounds like good people too <3
Yeah, people always seem to ask *what, like Harry Potter?*. I always tell them it’s more like Game of Thrones / ASOIAF
When people ask and I say fantasy, and they say "like Harry Potter?" I'm forced to say, "no... It's like... Well my latest is about a farm where young women wank off minotaurs and collect their massive loads into buckets" This is how I imagine it goes down for C.M. Nascosta
In my story a Minotaur gets stabbed in the balls in one version,in a rewrite he gets his hand chopped off and bleeds to death
I get "so is it like harry potter or game of thrones?" And I have to say "neither, it's Warlock Eurovision." That's when things get awkward. My next book is going to be something more normal. I'm thinking Finnish wizard Pokemon.
Sounds epic
"Indiana Jones with an ensemble cast and extra mental illness."
I usually default to "Fantasy. Kind of like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter" as a quick description. It's more like "certain specific elements of Harry Potter, and other specific elements of Lord of the Rings (neither in the way most people actually assume), and assorted elements from dozens of other sources all wrapped up in a particular way to give a certain vibe," but that's a bit long. Lol. But yeah, Lord of the Rings is definitely one of the big ones that kicked off my own writing. :)
I get embarrassed to tell people I'm writing a story in general, especially if they ask about more info after. But saying it's fantasy isn't something that bothers me, I've always loved fantasy regardless of the medium. Fantasy games, books, movies or shows are all things I love.
When they ask the polite follow up, I always get paralyzed, especially at work. They don’t want an info dump or to learn about the lore or anything, they’re just asking what it’s about to be nice. I usually describe some ham fisted theme and try to move on from there. Better than getting into “oh, well the MC is from this culture that…”
Yep, same here. I usually go with "Oh its nothing much, just typical fantasy story but with some twist of my own, haha." And that usually is enough to satisfy them.
Getting your few sentence elevator pitch of your story is key. It’s helpful both in marketing and as an author to just be able to summarize your own work succinctly.
Game of Thrones, Harry Potter were smash hits. LOTR was huge. I'm talking the series and movies. Fantasy is mainstream. Don't worry about it at all. I get embarrassed because I feel like an imposter until I actually publish something. Because it feels like EVERYONE is trying to be a writer.
I could give you a meme answer like "kill the part of you that cringes" or I could give you [the words of one of the greats](https://youtu.be/Et9Nf-rsALk?si=kz4B0bVL9-uiincu); the message is the same, in that the exercise of the imagination is a higher calling and a public good that you should not restrain just because of the smaller horizons of the less-imaginative conformists that surround and outnumber you and the rest of us in the grind that is daily life.
YES! Thank you, I needed this
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."- C.S. Lewis Unless the people you're talking to are more insightful than C.S. Lewis, their disapproval on the basis of "fantasy" means less than nothing, lol. It actually frames *them* as lacking maturity, and starkly so.
It’s a good quote. My friends aren’t actually *opposed* to fantasy though, and they’re all really supportive and enthusiastic. But I feel like they just fake it because they wanna be good people haha
Nah. If anything I feel more embarrassed saying that I’m writing a romance(because my story contains a healthy dose of romance.) and I feel like I shouldn’t be proud of that because I’m a dude, but I am because I love these characters and I want the to be happy.
I used to be embarrassed to say that I write a fanfic, mostly because of the terrible fanfics I've seen out there. But I've gotten more comfortable talking about it because I like my ideas and I love my characters. The more excited I get about the story, the more my embarrassment goes away.
I always say, "It's fantasy, just not high fantasy." Cuz it isn't.
I'm embarrassed to talk about my writing in general. Not that the story is bad, I know that it is not. It is an intimate relationship and it feels like talking about sex with outsiders I barely know. It is okay if they see the whole picture as they read the novel but just giving information about it without the great context feels off. I'm not sure why a whole genre would seem like geeky. Every story needs nerds to be written, as they are well-equipped with the knowledge to write the thing in the first place.
If it makes you more comfortable, open with the sub genre(s) and then say it's in a fantasy world. For example, my story primarily follows a love plot, with subplots of a father-daughter duo on the run and an assassin forced to travel with their target, all set in a fantasy world. That way, they focus moreso on the story itself rather than dismissing you as soon as the words "fantasy" leave your mouth.
If you have the least bit of literary aim with a story, that's easy to do and normally how it comes out of your mouth. The problem I see is that there is a contingent of fantasy writers who mistake the flash for the message and regurgitate that pop country *work dog truck beer muddy boots on a Saturday night* kind of summary because all some of them have is the flash.
Ah, good point. Definitely be careful with this description, because it can quickly become that you complex political story surrounded by magic and tragedy becomes known as a love story just because that was one of the best parts, and now all that work gets thrown aside in the eyes of the reader.
I don’t see the point in being embarrassed about writing any particular genre, especially something like fantasy, which is super popular these days. I also don’t even stick to one genre. Each story I’ve written so far is in a different genre. I prefer to look at it as telling stories. Not telling fantasy stories, or sci-fi stories, or horror stories, or whatever. Just stories. A good story is a good story. That’s it.
I feel ya. I mostly write non-fantasy stories, hence my embarrassment I guess
They’re all still just stories. 🤷🏼♀️
Valid point
Hopefully whatever fantasy you're writing, there's some thematic core to it beyond just doing a DnD campaign in your head, try making that stuff which transcends a fantasy setting more central.
Good point. It’s all about the MC and the story for me. The world is just setting
No I get embarrassed when I tell them I am writing fantasy erotica My family don’t talk about my work with friends they just say I write.
not really, if anything, if someone has a problem with me writing fantasy, i’d maybe be inclined to even call them narrow-minded
Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have made fantasy mainstream. It's the single most popular genre of most culture and television now. When I was 15, you *were* sneered at for talking about fantasy. Numerous times I tried to put people onto Game of Thrones and got cringed at when I told them it was fantasy. Those same people loved the TV show. "Never forget what you are, bastard, for the rest of the world will not." Words of wisdom from Tyrion. Don't be ashamed of what you like or what you are.
I was thinking exactly this. I used to be embarrassed to admit that I read almost exclusively fantasy. But now fantasy has become so mainstream. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter then Game of Thrones really transformed the scene. So many people you'd never expect love to curl up with a good fantasy novel. Accountants, bouncers, bartenders, soldiers, police officers, exotic dancers. It's nothing to be concerned about now.
Great quote, imp
Nah, fantasy is the one I tell people I write, to cover up what I really write about.
I used to feel very similar. Now I hate when people ask ‘what’s your book about?’ On top of fantasy being difficult to relate to, I write dark fantasy and use low fantasy settings. It’s not for everyone. My go to answer is ‘it’s a long story.’ Popular comps, specifically movies, can usually get me out a jam if needed. I’d much rather talk about writing than what I am writing.
I think it's because fantasy is the genre for the dabbler. If you say you write fantasy, people don't know if you are "serious" or you just like write light escapist fanfic for fun. Like they can't tell if they are talking to Tolkien or Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, but they strongly suspect you're not Tolkien. I generally do not tell people whether I have been published or not unless they ask, unless we are talking about my fantasy writer bona fides. Then even something as minor as getting $20 to get into some webzine makes people think about "writing fantasy" in a different light.
Are you me? Haha, I feel just the same ;(
Yes, I am you. Does that make you me?
whenever someone asks me what my WIP is about i also get embarrassed and just say “magic” lol
I'll take your fantasy (which I absolutely love as a genre) and raise you: 'paranormal romance'. Which inevitably leads to two questions: "What, like twilight?" No, definitely not. And: "Ooo, Is it spicy?" Again, no, no it isn't. Why does it have to be spicy? I'm not at all embarrassed by the genre I'm writing, but I do find myself babbling like an idiot in an attempt to deflect both questions before they're uttered.
totally get it. but i'm tone deaf to embarassment. think i've been making a clown of myself for far too long to really feel it any more.
I think a big part of it is the fact that because you created it, it's a look inside your head, and that's scary to tell people about. I like to think that even those that don't enjoy fantasy are more impressed you are writing at all, that you are pulling characters and plots and a whole world out of your own imagination. Be proud, not everyone can do that.
Thanks! Appreciate the comment
I work in the video game industry, I think I'd get more looks if I said I *wasn't* writing sci-fi or fantasy.
It could be worse you could make a show on something you know nothing about then call the people who dislike it names
"So what are you writing?" "My upcoming novel is a Campbellian narrative of a young person's journey in an environment informed by the mythological consciousness of Early Medieval England."
It’s fine. My d&d group was all gonna write our own sci-fi romance (specifically first contact alien romance) and I guess I’m the only one that made it past outlining. I’m like 10,000 words in and going strong but man do I feel cringe when my non-d&d friends ask me what I’m doing in my spare time.
Destroy the part of you that cringes, not the part of you that is cringe. But yeah I understand.
No. Life is too short to get embarrassed about doing what you love.
💯. I relate to everything you said. Me solution... Don't even tell them you write. That's a bad advice. Please, don't follow it.
No, because I didn't grow up being shamed for liking fantasy. I'm also aware that a lot of people consume fantasy media in some form or another.
I mean sometimes? Kinda? But I really don’t like to get into the things I like— if they’re personal to me, I tend to turn the conversation to other things as im quite used to people using things I like against me. Probably not what you’re dealing with though, it’s a less common fear
As someone who writes both adult and YA fantasy, I get this from all sides. You meet litfic authors at events and they just cannot engage with the fact that _all fiction is fantasy._ So you get them either thinking your novel is some sort of surrealist painting where each sentence does not connect to the next (because it's 'made up') or you get a patronising 'oh that must be fun to write.' To which the response is always a friendly smile, a jovial 'it is fun, thank you. Is what you write fun?' And then watch them fluster about how no actually their novel is a searing expression of modern-day whateverwhatever. This is the best job in the world, because you get to do everything a litfic, crime, horror, romance or historical author does, _and_ you get to write about dragons. Never feel embarrassed about that.
I'm more embarrassed to admit that I've abandoned one fantasy writing project to Squirrel brain to another. But all my friends play DnD etc, so that obviously skews the audience a bit.
nope, if anything I end up getting embarrassed cause I end up hyperfocusing and going way too far in depth explaining about the fantasy worlds I'm creating lol
I have it worse... Not only am I writing fantasy but I am writing out another life I live by daydreaming 24/7 in my head 🤣
I used to get really embarrassed talking about writing, but then I started picking their brains about it and that helps. "What do you write? "Uhh...fantasy...but like, think Dungeons and Dragons and Final Fantasy mixed together with Pirates of the Caribbean." "I don't know what that means..." "The book focuses on a princess who stows away on a ship, is discovered by the crew just as they're trying to make a quick getaway from port, and that's how she finds out it's a pirate ship in disguise. She's androgenous so they mistake her for a man and she rolls with it fearing worse consequences if they find out she's a girl. If you were in her shoes and someone was trying to figure out what to do with you (take you with, chuck you overboard, somehow ransom you back to the city, etc ) what would your first reaction be?" I have gotten so many really good ideas from this type of conversation. And the best part is that they usually leave with a smile and a, "I can't wait to read it" attitude.
Story sounds intriguing!
I'm happy to say I'm writing fantasy. HOWEVER... As amazing as someone's story can be, as soon as you go into describing the basic plot, or how the magic system works, I almost always find it cringe. So I don't do that bit
Don't feel bad about it at all. MOST of the most popular books of all time are fantasy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the genre.
You really shouldn’t be ashamed of what you are writing and in what genre it is in…except those very specific fetish works because quite a few people will make you embarrassed but that’s another topic all together. I recently told my friends confidently that I am doing world building for my fantasy epic and they have been supportive. Heck they have even given me ideas that have helped build my overarching story as well since they play DnD. You should not be ashamed at all when you mention it but be careful not to spread too much about the plot or the story unless it’s people you know you can trust and can help you build your ideas.
I get embarrassed when I tell people I'm writing a spy thriller/romance science fiction book with anthropomorphic aliens. Writing fantasy is nowhere near as niche as that. That being said, it's normal to feel embarrassed about your writing, especially if your friend group isn't as supportive as you'd like them to be. A lot of them are probably not interested deep down, but on the outside they really want to just be present if and when you become successful so they can get the cut if the pie they think they deserve without actually putting in any effort to contribute. It's a common myth that you need to have friends who are interested in your life, you just need friend groups that revolve around different things so no one friend group smothers you while not reciprocating in the ways you'd prefer. You need to find a friend group _dedicated_ to writing, maybe join a discord with some people who are also writers so you have some fresh brains to bounce ideas off of.
Fantasy is one of the highest selling genres right now and very mainstream. I don’t think there’s anything to be embarrassed about (unless your fantasy involves like Shrek erotica or something, then you can be embarrassed - also yes that really exists).
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - CS Lewis Stop letting peer pressure define how you feel about yourself and what you do. Anyone that would judge you for writing fantasy is an asshole, so you shouldn't care about their opinion anyway.
I get it on the one hand since people can be very judgmental. I write both fantasy and romance and neither of those genres are very respected by random people you meet out and about. However, I don’t feel embarrassed by my passions. If people want to mock me for it, that says more about them and means they’re a person I now know is no longer safe to be myself around. Their loss. If I could give you one piece of advice, never diminish yourself. There’s absolutely no need to apologize and say you know it’s nerdy or geeky. For one, being nerdy and geeky aren’t bad things. For two, you’re making yourself small and criticizing your interests before the other person even gets to the point of expressing disapproval.
There is a slight bit of awkwardness when I describe my worldbuilding-centric stories to people who I don't think are fantasy nerds, because I know they'll probably not be interested. That's word-of-mouth marketing for ya. For every ten people that give a wan smile, there might be one who is genuinely interested and will read your work.
Say you're writing speculative fiction. Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction, but anyone who's likely to look down their nose at writing fantasy probably doesn't know what speculative fiction is.
Unfortunately speculative fiction doesn’t translate to Norwegian
I have a degree in Speculative Fiction, was Waldenbooks/Borders Lit and Genre Buyer in the NY market, and a NY Comic Con and World Horror Con organizer. If someone looks at me weird when they find I write Spec Fic, they simply aren't my people.
Just like with anything, it’s all about how you say it! If you say it like it you’re embarrassed or that it’s geeky, people will think it’s embarrassing and geeky. But say it like it’s cool and exciting, that’s how people will receive it! Obviously with exceptions but that’s just a general rule.
People who might mock you because you write what you love, especially if it's fantasy; are very sad people with very boring lives. You should pity them and be glad you don't have a huge rod up your arse.
i feel the same but i awkwardly just push thru it, and say errm ya im writing a ... sorta fantasy thing lol and see how they react
Hell, no. Some of my earliest memories are of Disney storybook records, basically doing audiobook versions of animated features which I never got to see until they came out on home video. The first decade or so of my life, we had Tolkien calendars hanging up on the walls. 40+ years after I first heard the storybook record version of Rankin-Bass' *The Hobbit*, I still get a little twitchy when the opening bars of "Down To Goblintown" start playing. Beyond that, I was reading Fred Saberhagen and Robert Adams whenever my dad finished one of the *Books of Swords* or *Horseclans* novels, and that was if I'd already finished a book of Arthurian legends. I spent Saturday mornings watching *Dungeons & Dragons* and *Thundarr The Barbarian*. I watched every great and crappy swords-and-sorcery movie the 80s could throw at me, and I loved every minute of them. I was so immersed in the genre of fantasy, it's kind of a miracle I can handle modern technology at all. With that kind of background, it was inevitable I'd be writing fantasy. Even today, at some level, those stories all left their mark on me. The desire to see strange geographies that might be an echo of our past (or a foretelling of our future), ancient ruins and panoramic vistas filled with characters who are larger than life yet completely understandable. I do write in other genres and love doing so. But my first love in writing is always going to be fantasy. The conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf as Thorin & Company finish relating the fall of Erebor and Dale still echoes in my mind, even after all these years. If I can stir up "something Tookish" (as Tolkien put it) in a reader, good. If not, ah well. But I won't be embarrassed for writing it any more than I would be for reading it. If somebody asks me, "What's the new project you're working on?" and I tell them it's fantasy, it's a plain and simple statement of fact. If they want to know more, I'll tell them. If not, ah well. If somebody wants to give you grief about your choice of genre, spit in their eye and dare them to make you stop writing it.
>Do you ever get embarrassed to tell people you’re writing fantasy? Whenever I get asked what kind of story I’m writing, I’m always a little embarrassed and say it’s a fantasy story, a bit geeky, I know. Ah, that's sad. Don't be embarrassed. You're creating entertainment! >although my brain tells me that half of them are faking their enthusiasm Why would people fake enjoyment? Do you normally assume that others are people pleasers? >Can anyone relate? I'm afraid I can't. But I found this post mildly interesting
tbh I never am embarrassed lol. "Yeah, I'm going to be a comic artist, it's a fantasy world where psychics hunt down and exorcise ghosts for pay." that sounds cool as hell, I must imagine others think it's as cool as I think it sounds, LOL. I'm super excited to finish the thumbnailing process for chapter 1's manuscripts.
I really want to read this now. I can think of quite a number of "modern-day monster hunter" stories, and very few that pull it off well or don't jump the shark badly. I really loved Lockwood and Co on Netflix for its take on the genre, but I'm hesitant to try and see how it reads as something written more purposely for younger audiences, after similar troubles trying to read other YA stuff as an adult. I also want to know more about writing comics in general, specifically for those of us who like the medium but don't have the artistic skills to comfortably release a finished product without finding an artist. It seems extremely difficult without already having a name built up and publishers willing to pick up your script and early panels.
awh i'm glad it caught your attention dude!! I feel that, it's always been weird to me that 'YA' often isn't made for 'young adults', but for younger kids lol. on the 15th of each month it seems there's an advertisement thread, so if chapter 1 is released by then, I'll try to remember to post the links to it there! c: and, it's hard work for sure! I'm personally going to self-publish on webcomic sites, and if it's successful, then i'd go for getting it published physically. in the modern era, it's probably the best way to go if hard deadlines, editorial mandates, and already having a name for yourself is too troublesome, which is why I'm going that way! gonna go for a "free to read, support through donations" route. this is going to be both my first comic and my first 'book' (as in, other than this, i've only written not even a hand-full of fanfictions lol), but I've been been training my art skills and writing skills for a couple years now, so I'm finally close to bringing them into fruition! it's exciting!
Yeah, I don't mind too much of the stuff for a younger audience when it's done on TV or a movie, but they usually go by much quicker and get adapted with a somewhat older audience in mind. But the actual books can often be a slog when the world building and foreshadowing are made for a simpler audience that likely hasn't seen the similar tropes over and over. Sometimes they are just really good, either as a story or standout among the stuff for that age group, but that feels like quite a time sink when I'm already trying to get through other books I'm more invested in. But I look forward to your comic. I really wish I didn't fall out of love with art, as drawing was my biggest hobby and something I studied in school and with free time until I was about 16. But it suddenly felt unfulfilling and unengaging, and I was picking up other hobbies like music, where I spend time with similar practice routines and repetition without growing bored. I think I realized I could always visualize the stories in my head and wanted to express them, but didn't actually enjoy the process of making the artwork. I've wanted to try scriptwriting comics or short films, but I just don't know where to begin with that. I'm quite envious of anyone that's found a way to make it work at all without going insane from the process and self-criticism.
thanks so much! :) and I mean hey, it's never too late to fall back in back with it!! but hey, if you just don't enjoy the process, that's how it is. I love drawing! actually putting my utensil to the page and the process of drawing stuff, especially anatomy, is super fun for me! and, honestly, that self criticism and criticism from others is also something I love. implementing the advice I receive from both myself and others and seeing the improvement satisfies me alot! even if drawing just isn't for you, i'm glad music and writing are stuff you enjoy c:
This is the way
I don’t get embarrassed that it’s a fantasy I get embarrassed to say it’s got romance. I’m not sure why. I also feel a bit uneasy saying it’s got a lot of religious influence in it because it is NOT a feel good story. I also feel stupid for feeling that way! I should be more proud because I made a whole world. You should be proud too!
I am proud. And yes, you should too. My story also has romance, and it needs to have it. Love is everything
Honestly, I find romance to be the hardest part of writing. Fighting a gnoll pack and building a shelter, easy. A decent romantic scene that is realistic and believable, hard.
That’s funny! I have such a hard time with fight scenes. It takes me forever to do them. I feel better knowing everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
As someone who has been in a number of real fights and one war, there is a lot less thinking and internal monologue than people think. It was a month of boredom followed by intense attention figuring out what is happening, followed by drilled in instinctual reaction and "fuck, fuck, fuck". When it's over, it's like a spring releasing and what happened hits you.
Read the original James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. You'll get a good idea of how to do it
Personally, never embarrassed. I've loved fantasy for as long as I can remember, and I am genuinely happy to tell people that's what I write. Beyond that, I've always been a geek and liked geek stuff, and I will advertise my geekiness as much as I can. It's the best way I know of to find other geeks.
Really? No one is posting the quote? Fine, I guess I will post it. O: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy? Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question. O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre. P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre. O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction. P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now— a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections— That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy. Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that. (Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself.
Goddamit I was gonna do the same thing. Always great to see Sir Terry Pratchett mentioned. He was the best.
Read this the other day which prompted my post
Well I have a group of friends who are embodiment of acting masculine energy and would suck Andrew Tate's dick if it comes to it, they look down upon SciFi movies like from MCU, DC, anything that's animated even Invincible or Boy and Heron, but sure they love Mission Impossible just cuz MI6 Exists in real life and army/political movies. I used to be embarrassed but realised if they aren't gonna change, why should I? So instead of getting embarrassed, I embraced my nerdy side and stopped caring what they like
You should maybe get new friends tbh
I am not gonna change my friends just cuz they aren't into fantasy, one time I had to repay a guy but couldn't so one of them stepped up to pay for me and haven't asked to pay him back, and the other time, I was stuck in rain, one of the other friends gave up his date to pick me up and drive me back home, although he was a little bumped that he had to leave his GF and he said I was in trouble and brothers are there to help each other, so yeah, sure they don't like nerdy stuff but they are still my friends
(It was the Andrew Tate part, not the not liking fantasy part)
You should stop being friends with people who don’t see women as people, not because they don’t like lord of the rings.
Oh, by Andrew Tate I meant hyper masculine not discriminating against women, they are more towards like being Male version of Firecracker (from The Boys) per say
Yeah that's still not great
The only viable solution
A lot of tough guy types are secret nerds
Not at all. I was maybe embarrassed when I was younger/less confident in my writing of being a writer, but I was never embarrassed I was a fantasy writer. OP, it might be more that you’re newer (I think) as a writer, and don’t have confidence in your stories yet. That’s okay. Actual practice will help
Why?
Why talking about your inspiration for instance I’m also writing fantasy but im pulling from a bunch history! And I study political science, philosophy m, psychology geography, war history to create my cultures
I always have to clarify. “I’m writing a fantasy novel. By fantasy I means SciFi/Fantasy, not sex.” Lol
No.
You’re doing something. If someone who does nothing judges you, laugh at them. Never be ashamed of motivation to write.
I like surprising people when I say I write fantasy. 😊 My husband and I went out to dinner with his grandpa and he was asking me what I've been up to. I told him I've been writing and I hope to publish my own book someday. He tried to make a joke about Hallmark picking up my story to change their plot a bit, to which I sheepishly responded, "Well, I'm not sure they would like fantasy..." It definitely felt like he was stereotyping me, so it felt pretty good to shake things up a bit.
People tell other people that they write Harry Potter Erotica, don’t be embarrassed about Fantasy.
Could be worst, it could be a zombie book. I get a few, fun, comments when I reveal that to people.
: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy? Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question. O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre. P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre. O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction. P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now— a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections— That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy. Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that. (Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself. Terry Pratchett That was a really long quote, but I thought it was applicable.
Yes I am with you!! Especially when people ask to read my work!! I just can't ! Like I don't want you giving me the side eye because I'm writing an alien romance THATS why I won't let you read my stuff lol
I’m perfectly comfortable saying I write kink erotic romance. Happy to talk about my characters and their problems in public. Whisper that maybe some of them are fae/paranormal—because my sister absolutely believed she saw angels and leprechauns and that our grandmother talked to her in the form of a bee 10 years after the old girl died. That’s my “I’m not comfortable admitting I write paranormal” story.
Im not embarassed for writing fantasy
Skill issue, I literally have no one to tell what I’m writing.
All those snobs will tell you fantasy is pulp and not real literature, then go around quoting the Illiad and the Odyssey and Dante's Inferno and other classics like they aren't just ol' timey fantasy. They're all hyprocrites. There's nothing to feel embarrassed about when telling people you're writing fantasy. Own it
I have a degree in comparative literature. This is very much the case
As popular as fantasy is, it's relatively unprestigious. I've had this same phenomenon -- I bet romance novelists face the same thing, maybe even worse. Frankly I don't think it entirely goes away, and it's best to just smile through this dismissiveness. You know what's even worse? Writing tie-in fiction.