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It
is a guilty pleasure for a genre; and sometimes people are embarrassed
to admit that they read these kinds of books. It is often dismissed
as escapist fantasy and just a way to pass the time.
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- We live in a mysterious world full of questions and wonder. And since the beginning of time humans have marveled at this mystery and have proposed ideas about it. This is what epic fantasy does. It looks at the mystery of our world and the struggle that we as humans undergo and it proposes answers. Answers
to questions we as individuals face As we are traveling on this road we call life we are hopefully growing in stages toward whatever is meant for us and the epic fantasy story parallels this adventure. Our hero or heroine grows through stages toward enlightenment. Upon first glance the main point of epic fantasy seems to be the grand adventure, but that's not true at all -it is much more. The most important aspect of epic fantasy is the sequence of growth that the main character undergoes. Our hero often starts as a farm boy or a blacksmith apprentice and through trials, tests, travels, and obstacles, he grows into a person of extraordinary capability and wisdom. This process of growth has been carefully examined and explained by Joseph Campbell in his work "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" Where the main character, or hero, must go through twelve steps on his way to enlightenment. But it also gives us answers to the questions that we as a human race are faced with Epic Fantasy has also changed with the changing needs of humanity. As we as a race have changed in this reality and we have moved through stages of development from hunter/gatherer through agrarian and then the various stages of civilization so has our epic fantasy changed to reflect our changing view point about life and our changing views on the meaning of life. Karen Armstrong, in her book A Short History of Myth, has carefully definied the six major stages in human development over time and how our myths have changed to reflect these stages.
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- My Writing on Epic Fantasy
My Guides To Epic Fantasy:
Do YOU write Fantasy or Epic Fantasy? Essays, articles, tutorials and other materials that will help you with your writing. Fantasy Writing - Resources on other websites |
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Cold Hearted Son of a Witch - The New Novel from M.R. Mathias
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