What Is Fantasy?

What Is Fantasy?

• Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting.
• Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common place in imaginary worlds where magic is common.
• Fantasy is one person’s written account of a supernatural happening confined to that person’s point of view.
• Fantasy can be perceived as derived from mythology.
• Fantasy can make mythology come alive, while, most of fantasy is inspired by mythology.

What Is Mythology?

• A collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition
• This collection, usually, is in the form of stories or tales.
• Mythology is shaped by thousands of people telling and re-telling stories of supernatural happenings.
• Mythology is deeply rooted in culture and religion, Mythology is said to contain a lot of Fantasy.

Why is Fantasy so popular?

• Fantasy provides an escape into another, completely different world.
• It helps to deal with their own issues, when they read about characters in another world deal with imp issues – honor, loyalty, death and love.
• The eternal battle between Good and Evil is played out on all levels.
• Fantasy helps deal with realities and abstracts. It encourages imagination & creativity and also acts as a stepping stone for kids to evolve into adult reading

Why chose Fantasy?

• Conscious dreaming takes place while reading fantasy fiction.
• Reading Fantasy sparks one’s dreams, imagination and nurtures efforts at writing.
• Fantasy inspires writing as you can imagine the Impossible!

Some Popular Indian Fantasy/Epic Stories

• Krishna & Kaalia
• Vikram and Vetal
• Ramayan – Hanuman
• Mahabharata
• Ghatochka

Fantasy can be built using these elements in the story. The following elements add flavour to the story.

Emotions

Each line of the poem must start with that emotion. For example, for this topic `Loneliness’, the poem could be:

• Loneliness is spending every weekend alone
• Loneliness is setting a place at the table for one

Fear, frustration and excitement

Metaphor

Write three metaphors (word pictures) for the

Subject: For example: The moon is a pearl from a necklace, a cold, earth’s halo

Phrases

Compile a list of associated phrases for a given place.

Example: for the place, `Countryside at Night’, the phrases might be:

• A flame red moon
• Rolling, melting hills
• Black shapes moving
• Breeze-blown leaves
• City block at noon
• Rainy Suburban Street
• Carnival at night

Seasons Poems

Write a four-line blank verse poem about the seasons. Each line begins with a different season. For example:

• Summer is the whine of air-conditioners
• Monsoon is the smell of fresh earth and cool breezes.
• Winter is chilblains and electric blankets
• Spring is fresh-born buds beckoning the sun.

Sensing your Senses

Write one descriptive phrase for each of the senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, sound. For `Green Apple’ the phrases could be

• SIGHT Deep-sea green coat
• SMELL clean sharp tangy
• TOUCH Glass smooth, dimpled ends
• TASTE Squirt of juice, tongue-tickling
• SOUND Crunch, munch, and gobble
• Lemon Jelly, Baked potato & Spaghetti

Word Association

Write the first word or phrase that the topic word suggests. Subsequent lines are linked to one another in the same way.

Worm

• long and slimy
• a half-set jelly
• wobble wobble
• slippery surface
• sliding
• slithering
• slipping
• down down down
• into a deep dark hole
• a musty tube
• smelly wet
• Memories, Thunder, Magician, Music.

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