Ok, I have always heard “Write about what you know”. And to some extent, that is good advice. I mean, when you are writing about science or history, you will show yourself a fool if you don’t know your subject before you start.
But I am a FANTASY writer. I get told a lot “This just isn’t realistic.”
I want to say “Duh, that because it’s fiction!” I mean who really KNOWS elves, or how to make dragon-tack, or whether or not female centaurs wear clothes? Nobody I know has ever swam with mermaids, or talked to a gryphon, or gone partying with fawns. The stories are meant to be reflections of reality, that exaggerate some aspect in order to prove a point. When people start getting picking about whether or not pixies and fairies are the same thing, or how dragons make fire, I just want to throw the pen at them and tell THEM to write the story if the know it all.
Now, I know not everyone is going to like what I write, that’s fine. But please, stop tackling me about being “unrealistic” when you don’t know anymore about it than I do!
Besides, if I fill my stories with needless details, I feel like it takes away from the main point. Now, I know J. K. Rowling and others, have made a lot of money from filling their books with lots of details. And that’s fine. I prefer getting to the point. Disguising bad plot with colorful side-observations wastes time and is a sorry way to do things. Ultimately, we need to appreciate what others see, and how well they handle fantasy, when it is truly a subject no one knows for sure. If fantasy was precise, we wouldn’t want it anymore. It would lose it shine and be like any other dull, pre-defined subject.
So, please, try not to be quite so harsh. Objective criticism is great, but let’s keep it objective, ok?
