The house was packed last night for NYCC ’s fantasy writers panel , where lover favorites like Naomi Novik and Jim Butcher speak about their influences , and whether fantasy writers are still knocking off Tolkien .
The crowd at the fantasy writer panel was far too bragging for the outer space dole out . That ’s not surprising , considering that Jim Butcher ( The Dresden Files ) , Brandon Sanderson ( The mode of Kings ) , and Naomi Novik ( His Majesty ’s Dragon ) where all speak , along with Joe Abercrombie ( Best Served Cold ) , Peter V. Brett ( The Warded Man ) , and debut generator Deborah Harkness ( A Discovery of Witches ) .
The panel began with a question from Joe Abercrombie , about whether fantasy novelist are still “ tap off Tolkien with both hands . ” Answering his own query , he said :
The exemplar I always utilize is Unforgiven , the Clint Eastwood film . It ’s a Western , but it has something to say about Westerns generally , as a abrupt , more realistic , more morally equivocal rendering . But ultimately it ’s just a great westerly . I endeavor to do the same thing with fantasy : pay homage to the history , but endeavor to work something new , something a flake more realistic . And maybe make a minute of a scuttlebutt at the same time .
Brandon Sanderson made the distinction between copying and modeling the grandfather of fantasy :
We can look at Tolkien and say , “ What did he do ? How did he utilize mythology ? How did he combine it with his tale ? How did he actually do this ? ” Without taking his mythology , the way he did it , and doing stories like that . And i think we ’re getting good and better at that .
They also discussed “ fantasy penning in the historic period of World of Warcraft , ” or how MMRPGs affect their relationships with fans and fans ’ relationships with their world . Jim Butcher apprize that it gives him more way to interact with fan :
It ’s create a more liquid port , where you are able to actually get out and talk to rooter and cope with people and so on , and that ’s never a bad thing .
And Naomi Novik tot that it helps people get in to the idea of high fantasy :
I do think that what those games have done is really make you start to think about swallow up yourself in a phantasy universe of discourse . They facilitate masses get over that suspension of unbelief , and they make people want to enter and be affect in the Earth they enjoy .
When time came to discuss their influences , George R.R. Martin got a large cry - out from Joe Abercrombie . Peter V. Brett chime in to say that :
George RR Martin really made fantasy , in a lot of ways , uprise up . Brought a level of reality into the storytelling where you realized that the effective guys do n’t always win , and anyone can pop off , because that ’s how life works . You really get gift in what happens to mass because you lie with that this source is an exorbitant son of a bitch who can kill off anybody he feels [ like ] .
Sanderson cited Robert Jordan and Brett credited Terry Brooks , while Butcher flummox to the classic : C.S. Lewis , Lloyd Alexander , and Tolkien . Harkness , on the other hired man , referenced Mists of Avalon and Anne Rice ’s The Witching Hour , and Novik call out Patrick O’Brien and Anne McCaffrey .
We also discover that the majority of the venire ( Jim Butcher , Joe Abercrombie , Peter Brett , and Brandon Sanderson ) are thoroughgoing planners , who hold in their type ’ every moves . Jim Butcher explained :
My characters work for me . And if they ’re not doing what I need them to do , I ’m God , so I go in the past times and exchange it around so they do the job I require them to do . The thing is , if you provide your case with enough motivation , you’re able to get them to do whatever you need them to do for the purposes of your plot .
But Naomi Novik and Deborah Harkness work more organically . Novik said :
I generally tend to have it off the very canonic skeleton . But , for instance , the last scheme that I wrote — under duress — was two Sir Frederick Handley Page , and that was enough . I do n’t really want to know that much in advance , because then I get bored . I want to be excited , I want to be discover what ’s going on with the characters . So I have conception set , and I have the skeleton of the plot bent , but I do tend to invent as I write .
And how do they actuate themselves ? The most concrete productiveness tip come from Naomi Novik , who recommends “ Write or Die , ” while Harkness recommends staying off the Internet until you ’ve made progress for the day . Joe Abercrombie says to “ do hooey that ’s rubbish , ” because you might find that when you return the next day , you may elaborate the rubbish into something unspoiled .
Brandon Sanderson , on the other hand , had this to say :
I imagine this phantom stall chasing me . And if catches me , I ’ll have to be an insurance actuary or something . That really scares me — I do n’t want to do that . I ’ve wanted to be a author since I pick up my first fantasy novel . Ever since then I said , this is what I require to do . I am terrible and I ’m hold up to be terrible at anything else , and if I do n’t make it at this I ’m rifle to be a stern on the side of the route . And then I consecrate everything I had to doing that .
And he reason by saying : “ You ’ve got to want it . ”
And if you ’re looking for recommendations , each panellist took a bit to highlight something they ’ve been record lately . Naomi Novik is enjoying N.K. Jemisin ’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms , while Deborah Harkness lie with My female parent She Killed Me , My Father He run through Me , edited by Kate Bernheimer . Jim Butcher recommends Harry Connolly ’s Child of Fire .
Top image : Smaug and his treasure , byShockbolt at DeviantArt . Panel persona viaPeter V. Brett .
BooksBrandon SandersonFantasyNaomi Noviknyccnycc2010
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