Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Fearsome

Yat-Yee posted a quote found originally by Nandini, which is the dedication in Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie.
Z emble, Zenda, Xanadu:
A ll our dream-worlds may come true.
F airy lands are fearsome too.
A s I wander far from view
R ead, and bring me home to you.
The full story of this unique dedication can be found here, but the thing that really struck me was that third line: "Fairy lands are fearsome too."

That one line, I think, is the key to modern fairy tales. It's the key to the really old ones, too--the ones that were used to frighten children into submission with squirrel shoes and missing eyes.

My point is: good fairy tales scare us. There's no point to the fluffy-bunny-happy-ending. By nature, fairy tales involve a certain level of magic--and that magic generally provides a certain level of comfort. Everything will be OK because magic can save us.

But the really good fairy tales balance that out with danger.

This is true of all speculative fiction--and all fiction in general, if it's good. The good, the safe, the comforting must be counter-balanced by the fearful, the dangerous, and the spiteful. JK Rowling expressed this several times throughout the Harry Potter series--
Stephen Fry:
People often say in the real world: "I haven't got a magic wand to cure all the worlds ills," but what you show is that people with a magic wand still can't cure all the ills.
JK Rowling:
No, that's because it's about human nature and all the people with less pure motives have magic wands too, so you spend a lot of time trying to legislate for them.

So, whatever you're writing, remember: fairy lands are fearsome too. Raise the stakes, make the safe dangerous, and make the reader fear.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just read the chapter in Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel on raising the stakes, so this resonated with me. Thanks!

Nandini said...

Beth,
You're so right. Good reminder just when I needed it. Off to up the fearsome factor in a tale that needs revising yet again (sigh).

Tana said...

OK, now I want to read a fairy book.

Davin Malasarn said...

Beth, as I was reading the quote, that line struck me so powerfully. Thank you for saying this today. It's helping me to write another post, one about how the novella I wrote for my nephew was too scary for him. Maurice Sendak mentioned these same sorts of ideas when discussing Where The Wild Things Are.

Lizzy Mason said...

So true! When I describe my YA fairy novel to people they always say "But your fairies are so mean!" Well, yeah, traditionally they are. That's what makes them so very awesome to write! :)

Thanks for posting this, Beth!

Unknown said...

Awesome! I loved this post!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Excellent point! I love original fairy tales because they don't all have happy endings and some really freaky stuff can happen. Wonderful food for thought.

Yat-Yee said...

Love your thoughts on it. I'll have to remember the line when I hesitate to put something in my writing that I think is too "fearsome".

lotusgirl said...

That's exactly what I'm working on in my novel.

Elana Johnson said...

Ahhh, this is so true! My novel doesn't end happily, because of this exact thing! There will always be danger and fear.

Excellent post!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I love this - you made a powerful point in such an interesting way! :-)

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

great point - sometimes we think they have to be light and fun.

PJ Hoover said...

Great post, Beth! Sorry I took so long to read it and comment. Fear is such a powerful emotion, especially on the page.

dellgirl said...

Very interesting. I like your "take" on this, it shows us a different way to think about it.

B.J. Anderson said...

This is so true! Great post.

C.R. Evers said...

I love that line too! Awesome!

Nishant said...

Off to up the fearsome factor in a tale that needs revising yet again (

Work from home India

Nachiketa said...
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