Popular recommendation and Shweta Narayan’s post, Tough Guide to Fantasyland’s Locales (which is a great Mmhmm read, by the way–especially if you’re fed-up with the RaceFail in Fantasy) brought my attention to The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, a sarcastically humorous Mmhmm! exposé on fantasy clichés, written by the late Diana Wynne Jones (I’ve never read her work, but I’ve heard of her novel, Howl’s Moving Castle, that was made into an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki) .
Half-way through the Guide, I’ve laughed out loud at familiar, eye-rolling fantasy clichés and bit my lip sheepishly at called-out characters that I’ve made.
I agree with popular recommendations–if you’re reading this blog, you write fantasy, and you’ve never read Tough Guide, well … do read it!
~Right now, I’m kind of stuck in a block. I’ve tried reading some short stories on online publications for a tad of inspiration (that’s not working), and have been skimming through my favorite websites (that’s not working, either). I’ve stared at my Word screen, read through my plot and worldbuilding notes for a kick-start (to no avail). I guess I’m still burnt out from school, hehe.
But anywhoo, I’m about to read Racing the Dark by Alaya Dawn Johnson. I read the sample on her website and enjoyed it (was so caught up in what was happening that my stomach fell out when the sample ended, hehe). I may do a section by section spoilery review as I read along (or wait till I’ve finished it whole, instead).
Anyways, I hope I get to board Inspiration-Express tonight … Argh.
lalala of rowan nhaima rhys 