This post appears as part of the “Brain to Books Cyber Convention & Book Expo Fantasy Book Tour”…
Running from April 6th through April 8th 2018 this online book event brings readers and authors together for a weekend of books, and book related events.
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For me, when I sit down with an epic Fantasy, I anticipate what kind of journey the hero will undergo, and why. The journey is half the story. The changes and growth the hero undergoes while on that journey is the rest of the journey. I expect to see the hero challenged beyond their means. I expect to see them fail, almost die even, retreat, train, improve, and stand again. It’s about going on even though they may not win. What matters is that they’ve tried…you’ve tried, and they didn’t quit even if it means failure or death.
Along the journey, I expect to see great places and great people much greater than anything the hero could ever wish to be. I want to see self-doubt, exhaustion, weaknesses, fears…my own weaknesses reflected in the hero…and the hero will overcome each and every one of these. There will be losses in the end, but they will have gained much more than they ever had lost. The hero isn’t just the main character in the book. The hero is the character you see in yourself. All the flaws and weaknesses. It’s a way to watch yourself overcome those weaknesses. In the end, the hero is the “you” you wish you could be if only someone would pass on a ring to little old you and give you the chance to prove it.
I borrow from Charles Dubois. “The important thing is this: to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” This is what writing and reading epic fantasy is all about. Setting out to become our best, even if it will kill you.
Besides…I love going on an adventure.
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