I mostly agree, Low Fantasy is easier to keep consistent and engaging to a common audience while harder to keep interesting and unique. High fantasy has high potential but too many writers ruin it and take it off on some weird world building D&D quest than an actual good story that would have commercial success. High fantasy is best imo when kept grounded. Dark fantasy is king of all though.

Perhaps the only useful thing Aristotle ever wrote was an admonishment to "define your terms." I'm glad you started the video as you did.

@phnompenhandy

3 ай бұрын

Except that the best writers challenge and undermine the definitions. Is ASOIAF high or low fantasy? It's a completely made-up world, but the medieval backdrop is 'realistic' and most people within it do not believe magic (Snarks, Grumbles and Dragons) exist.

@billberndtson

3 ай бұрын

@@phnompenhandy Defining one's terms is on the author/speaker - it doesn't have to mesh with society's definition. One just needs to define THEIR terms so that the consumer of said information knows what the author/speaker means. I'm afraid your criticism just completely missed the point.

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

Thank you! Those terms get thrown around a lot and used in multiple different ways, so I just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.

Can they be divided further? Like, Harry Potter is set in our world, but largely in hidden areas like Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. It's mostly separate from the normal world. Then you have something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural where the fantastic elements blend into the normal world. Any distinction between the two?

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

That's very true, and there are layers of "low" fantasy. This video was pretty broad, but you make a good point. Some stories toe the line between fantasy and other genres very closely

This needs more views/likes/comments!! 🎉

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I do agree with your conclusion, but I must ask for the reason of this video. Depending on your answer, suing these two examples as basis might be a little limiting. Harry Potter was a book series for young readers, while Lord of the Rings was more for adults. Expanding the range to The Dresden Files, Vampire diaries on one and Dragonlance, Sword of Truth on the other, to name just a few of so many other examples might have helped. Because if this was meant for beginning writers, there is one detail about Low fantasy that should be mentioned. While Low fantasy is a little easier to write in terms ow worldbuilding, it has to make sense that it the fantastic/magical world isn't common knowledge. Also, Harry Potter doesn't make sense in some parts if you look at it as an adult and start questioning things. I don't hold that against the books or the author as there are things that can be overlooked in a children's book. And while Low Fantasy has a better chance of being successful, it always comes back to stories that draw the reader in, interesting characters and an interesting world no matter the genre.

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

What you said is very true. I was just going off of what I know. I'm more of a high fantasy reader (in the way it's defined in this video), so I don't have too many examples to use on the other side

Would you say a portal fantasy is a type of happy medium? In the sense that the character and the reader are both learning everything at the same time, so therefore you get to ease into it more.

@Dreamfox-df6bg

3 ай бұрын

You can do that with most genres where someone discovers something new. You just have to start out with a character being in a familiar setting. Take a normal person today and let them discover the fantastic world of Harry Potter, the Dresden Files and so on. Portal fantasy does the same thing. Essentially you have a #fish out of the water' type character. Although you could do it like in the movie 'Big Trouble in Little China' (1986) were the for us relatable character gets little to no explanation about the world he stumbled into. Not easy though.

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, I would say so. That trope can definitely be used in both high and low fantasy, but overall I think it is a great middle ground.

Isn't high fantasy an already established term?

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

I guess so, but I've heard it used in different ways. That's why I wanted to clarify what I meant specifically for this topic.

@escamoteur

3 ай бұрын

@@ExploringFiction probability better than to use a different term then. Normal what you call low fantasy is called urban fantasy

@ExploringFiction

3 ай бұрын

@@escamoteur Yeah, that's definitely the most common use