Why I Love (And Write) Fantasy

One question that I want to ask every creative person, especially every writer, I encounter is why they create the works they do. What made a painter start painting? What drew a musician to music? And, for authors, why do they write the genre(s) that they write?

It only seems fair that, if I'm going to pester others with this question, I need to answer it myself. I write fantasy, and today, I want to gush for a little bit about the reason why.

Fantasy has been very influential in my life. The first book I remember reading, and truly loving, was The Hobbit when I was a child. I know this isn't a rare thing to hear, as plenty of kids can point to that story as important to their lives. I credit it as the book that got me into reading, and there was a period of time where I hunted for middle grade fantasy, hoping to recapture that magic.

Fantasy involves so much wonder and possibility. Every fiction book, regardless of genre, is a work of creativity and expression. I'm drawn to fantasy because it allows for so much creativity on the author's part. Stories take place on other worlds. There's endless potential for magic and creatures, and different kinds of story to be told. Yes, there is dark, grim fantasy about war and death and the like, but the genre isn't limited to only those stories. I love reading about the different worlds authors will dream up and seeing all of the ideas they explore in their writing.

There's a ton of range. A fantasy book can be a 900-page epic taking place in a completely made-up universe about saving the world, or it can be an urban fantasy novella taking place in modern-day New York City about a vampire running a bookstore. Stories can be about anything from war and conquest to a search for identity to finding love to solving a murder.

Escapism. The world is messy and complicated right now. I know this isn't news to anyone. Sometimes, you just need an escape from reality and fantasy lets you do that. When I'm engrossed in a story about dragons or witches or epic battles, I don't have to think about things like work or the argument I got into with a friend.

As for me, I write fantasy because I love fantasy, as you can see. I had a story I really wanted to tell, which meshed magic and witchcraft with a murder mystery plot. It's also allowed me to explore certain topics and themes that I'm not sure I could tackle in another way.

Anyway, that's why I love fantasy, and why I write it. What's your favorite genre and why? If you're a writer, what do you write and why?

See you next week!

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