Monday, March 13, 2017

Ellen Jacobson's 5 Reasons to Write Fantasy


The 5 Reasons to Write series
proudly presents
the authors from
Hero Lost: Mysteries of Life and Death
for the month of March


Please welcome Ellen Jacobson


5 Reasons to Write Fantasy

1 – Imagining Different Ways Of Life
I've always been fascinated by different peoples and their cultures in the real world, which is probably why I ended up studying anthropology. What I love about writing fantasy is being able to create imaginary worlds full of people who lead vastly different lives than my own. It reminds me that humanity's strength comes from its diversity of cultures.

2 – Freeing Up Brain Space
My brain is chock full of way too many crazy ideas. As I get older, I desperately need to free up brain space so that I can remember where I put my glasses or what I walked into a room for. Getting some of my crazy ideas for fantasy stories down on paper is a great way to make room for more mundane information like how many calories chocolate chip cookies have in them.


3 – Creating New Languages
Fantasy worlds are full of things you don't find in the real world and therefore we don't have words for them. Considering how difficult I find it to learn other languages, it's fun to pretend I'm fluent in the imaginary languages spoken by my characters and come up with new words that only make sense to me.


4 – Magical Laws Of Nature
I was never very good at science. When you write fantasy, you can make up your own laws of nature. Nothing needs to conform to scientific principles. Magic is expected. Things happen in mysterious and unexpected ways in imaginary worlds which I'm pretty sure my physics teacher would tell me were impossible in this world.


5 – Escaping Reality
The news can be pretty depressing these days. Sometimes, it feels like we have no control of what happens in the world. What better way to escape reality than by writing fantasy stories where you're in control of how events unfold and where good triumphs over evil.


Ellen Jacobson writes mystery and sci-fi/fantasy stories. She is currently working on the first in a cozy mystery series about a reluctant sailor turned amateur sleuth, as well as tales set on imaginary worlds. She lives on a sailboat with her husband, exploring the world from the water. When she isn’t working on boat projects or seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures.

Ellen's story, "The Silvering" is featured in the IWSG 2017 anthology Hero Lost: Mysteries of Life and Death.

The Silvering

Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it?

Caestu, an ordinary fisherman, disobeyed the principles which guide his people’s way of life. Fortunately, the mark of disobedience is hidden beneath his glove. Unfortunately, others know what he has done. Now he must decide whether to stay with his people or leave to search out others like him.


Available for Pre-order now!
Coming May 2nd!
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To find out more about the stories and authors featured in the anthology, check out the Hero Lost website!

If you would like to host us during our book blog tour, check out Sarah Foster's awesome google form here.

14 comments:

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I like the part about creating your own languages and being fluent in them - fun! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Escaping reality is a big draw for me. Although I still forget what I walked into a room to get.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I love escaping in new worlds and creating new ones too. That's why I love fantasy so much.

cleemckenzie said...

Fantasy does have a part to play in all of our worlds.

The Cynical Sailor said...

Thanks so much for hosting me on your site :-)

Heather R. Holden said...

I've never been good at science, either, so that's one of the many reasons why I enjoy fantasy, too. LOL. Escaping reality is a definite plus, too!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Those are great reasons to write and also good reasons to read. Fantasy writers seem to have endless ideas for magic systems.

krystal jane said...

I'm 100% on board with freeing up brain space! ^_^ I tried my hand at making up a language for the first time last year. It was a little bit more fun than I thought it would be!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I need more time so I can free up some brain space.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I love the idea of making up science... I think I tried to do that at school, to be honest :-)

Chemist Ken said...

Reasons number 4 and 5 are why I write, although I think it's the draw of creating a magical system that pulls at me the most, at least when I first begin working on a story.

Erika Beebe said...

Cute reasons Ellen. I like points two and threes. Freeing up brain space is a must! And yes! Math and chemistry sciences are not my strengths so I like to defy reality too. Thank you for the chuckle today :)

Crystal Collier said...

Total escapism for me. Actually, I started writing fantasy because I was too lazy to research all the stuff that went into a contemporary setting. True story. The reality: These days I research just as much stuff for fantasy as real-world stories. *shrugs*

mshatch said...

I love Fantasy because anything you can imagine can happen.