Apologies that this is so late; I’ve had spotty Internet access for most of the last week and a half.

( So, on to the subject of nonhuman attributes- whether those be immortality or infinitely flexible stomachs )

More could be done with this, always. A story like James Tiptree Jr.’s ”Love is the Plan The Plan is Death doesn’t work for everyone and has not a human character in sight, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good story.

This is meant to apply as broadly as possible—to normal animals, telcoms (telepathic companions), shapeshifters, and author-created fantasy animals. Some of it does assume that you’re writing from the animal’s point-of-view, but it could also be useful for describing them from the outside.

( So here we go )

So, back in that poll I did lo these many months ago, heartofmarkness asked about creating alien races/worlds and keeping them alien—not making them so anthropomorphic they lose that edge of alienness. And thinking about that produced this. “This” is once again more an essay-like collection of tips and advice which might work. Alienness, like humor, is so often subjective that I’d hesitate to say, “This will make a character seem inhuman/a world different from Earth every time and to every reader.”

( Inhuman/unhuman: when it’s a good thing )

I did plan to write a rant at some stage about making fantasy less anthropocentric, but this seems to cover half the points I would have raised there.

I could write a rant about how boring angst is and how much prettier joy is, but instead I choose to write about non-angsty werewolves.

Because I can.

( Because even werewolves are prettier when they don’t cry )

See? Aren’t smiling werewolves pretty?

This is the demon rant, asked for by maureenlycaon and several other people.

( Why I shudder whenever I see a story with a demon in it )

I think the next rant will be advice on writing a fantasy short story as opposed to a novel.

Happy Halloween, everyone.

Here, have a rant.

( Ghosts—not just for horror anymore )

Next rant’s on slavery.

The rant on vampires. This is focused on vampires in fantasy, not horror fiction, as I read very little horror compared to fantasy.

That means that this rant concentrates on the really, really annoying vampires.

( The masters of the night who want to feed on energy and whine until the sun comes up )

Servant characters shall be next.

This rant is on shapeshifter societies.

( No, they're not human, they're not animal, they're both )

I think the next rant will be on handling disabled characters.

Once again, informed by my personal opinions, and the things I am so sick and tired of seeing in fantasy.

( Oh, look, we have shapeshifters! Tee-hee! *Limyaael gets out axe* )

Next rant is on shapeshifter societies, I think.

The second part of the difference rant, addressing those things I didn’t get to last time.

( The difference between characters and poster children… )

Probably a rant on incorporating daily life into fantasy is next.

Right. Before I start this off, I want to quote my favorite author, Guy Gavriel Kay, because he says the core principle of what I’m trying to explain here more clearly (and in fewer words) than I can:

“'As for the female psyche, I used to be flattered when people said I did convincing female characters, but lately I confess it bemuses me. The implied idea underlying the comment is that it is startling that a man can do plausible women characters. If you push this just a bit, you have to ask how any woman could do a convincing man, how any young writer could do a geriatric, how any of us could do someone not...ourselves. Creating characters is, in a large way, an act of imaginative empathy, and I'm resistant to the idea that there are absolute borders to that. In the end, I'd say that we're really talking about good or bad writing, rather than male and female, or young and old.'

-The quote is from this interview on Kay’s official website, Bright Weavings.

( If you still want to listen to me ramble on about it, come inside )

This would be way too long if I tried to do everything at once. There’s another one coming up instead.

"Telcom" is the cutesy abbreviation for "telepathic companion," those animals who follow the heroes around.

( And are they ever cutesy )

I recently bought a book that looked interesting, and only after I bought it did I realize that the book talked about the heroine bonding with a special hawk who "needs" her. I'm now scared to start it.

Apropos of nothing at all, I went to the library today and got lots of books. Books on Swinburne, including the best biography of him, and books on Shelley, because I like him, and The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories, and a book called Feminism and Fantasy in the Golden Age, which for some reason I thought referred to the Golden Age of science fiction but instead is about feminism and fantasy in the Golden Age of Spain.

But I was a Spanish minor, so this is still cool.

( Dragons and unicorns are nice, but... )

I really ought to work on that wyvern culture.

Sorry for the update so late in the day; I was enjoying my day off. :)

I've already done a specific post on language, but mostly on things like not scattering apost'rophes in random places. This focuses on language construction, and some of the things you can do to make your language more non-human (mostly violating earth universals).

( That's called a 'talee' in Elvish, and that doesn't even exist... )

I don't think making a language that's convincingly alien is as hard as people think- especially when a lot of fantasy languages are English or Tolkien clones. *sigh*

( Half-breed heroes and heroines )

Reading over the list, I noticed that I was always assuming the character was half-human and half something else, instead of, say, half-elf and half-orc. There are probably too many possibilities in that last to list them all, though.

This includes some information that came up in comments on the other post, in expanded form.

( Non-humans, part two )

Maybe more tomorrow. I can think of some more about half-elven heroes especially...

This is probably going to be a longer post (another part tomorrow, in other words, as I am lazy and have to go to class in an hour).

From "The Triumph of Time," by Swinburne, also about a fantasy (he lost the woman he loved):

Yea, I know this well: were you once sealed mine,
Mine in the blood's beat, mine in the breath,
Mixed into me as honey in wine,
Not time, that sayeth and gainsayeth,
Nor all strong things had severed us then;
Not wrath of gods, nor wisdom of men,
Nor all things earthly, nor all divine,
Nor joy nor sorrow, nor life nor death.

( Handling non-humans in fantasy stories )

Definitely more tomorrow. I like non-human characters more than humans, and about 3/4 of all my viewpoint characters are non-human, so there's more I want to say about them.

Rant, as promised.

( Dwarves in fantasy and some of the problems associated )

I still want to write a dwarf epic at some point, all from inside their heads, and if I do that, the humans are going to be the weird ones.

A few more lines from “Tristram of Lyonesse,” somewhat appropriate to the discussion today.

She sought and drew the gold cup forth and smiled
Marvelling, with such light wonder as a child
That hears of glad sad life in magic lands;
And bare it back to Tristram with pure hands
Holding the love-draught that should be for flame
To burn out of them fear and faith and shame,
And lighten all their life up in men's sight,
And make them sad for ever.

( Rant on elves )

It’s amazing how few people try to take elves back to the original legends, or come up with their own twists, or just do anything other than imitate.

My mood is rather strange at the moment. I’m reading both Stephen Donaldson’s The Mirror of Her Dreams and Stephen King’s Wolves of the Calla, and they’re blending in odd ways.

And now…

( Irritating things in amateur fantasy: Dragons )

More personal than some of them, but people using dragons as just sword-fodder or surrogate elves irritates me.