WELCOME TO THE FANTASY WRITER'S GUILD on GATHER! :-)

Hey folks, welcome to the start of a very good thing; a writer's resource for Fantasy writers on Gather.

After reading hundreds of First Chapter Submissions, and the associated comments, it became apparent that there needed to be Fantasy/SF groups(s) for folks to submit and read each other's Fantasy/SF without the bias of those who aren't into the Genre.

Like Romance novels, detective stories, noir, and Science Fiction; Fantasy is an often-misunderstood area of literature. But, where would the world be without Elves, Wizards, Hobbits, Unicorns; and all the bad guys like trolls, monsters, goblins, ring-wraiths, and malcontent aliens??

Blindside; is that what we would call the literary critic's stereotypical dim view of a body of wonderful literature that brings so much joy to so many readers?

What would the world be without "Magic?" I don't really want to know, but looking at our politicians I get an ugly feeling it wouldn't be pretty ;-)

What is the Magic of life?

Me? I find it walking through an ancient forest.......whose floor is hidden beneath a blanket of tall ferns......thinking of how the Pixies scurry underneath, and how the Evles fade in and out of sight thru the mists.....(well, that's what I told my kids when we wandered thorugh them.....and now they love nature :-)

Are there Wizards, truly? I don't know, but Merlin fascinates me.......Mary Stewart helped me to visualize a Druid culture in those 'Hollow Hills'.....

Did magic leave middle earth? It feels so, when we see what humans have done to the old forests Tolkien wrote about.

Did C.S.Lewis really couch everything in Christianity...thinking that was the only way?I don't know; but I do know that I'd rather live in rural England than China any day.Aslan or not, I've known my share of cold hearted witches thoroughout life......and he helped me deal with them accordingly.No Turkish delight trick-c-ies for this hobbit-et-c-ies!

Whether traveling through the rivers of life and death, or riding out the wheel of time through Mr.Farmer's or Mr. Jordan's stories.....I've learned a lot how to live this life to the fullest.....and pity those who can't let their imaginations fly with Pern's dragons or channel the life source like they do in Marian Zimmer Bradley's towers in the overworld. I Just know I was a Hastur in a former life!  No seriously, I identified more with than Terran boy....knowing, but not understanding, a strong power within :-o

Yeah, I'm not into new age religions using crystals to cop out of this life, or to run away from reality; but the pleasure trips to worlds of Fantasy do help a lot of us cope with intolerable situations......we just have to remember they arnt real, and to come back;-)A Dreary Thomas Covenant shows us that one, eh? While Piers Anthony would let us phase forever......juxtaposing one reality on another.Hey! Now I know how I survivied working in corporate America and universities all those years! ;-o

Soooooo, fantasy isn't real. Duh! But life would be really boring without The Lord of the Rings movies, Spiderman, Superman, and all those heros who help us aspire to something more than self serving behaviors. Thank God for comic books and Tolkien......they put all this nonsense into some kind of order, so it makes sense....After all, who but the gypsies, witchy women,& Germans could give us coherent Elf lore before him? All those myths and stories told throughout time......to engage children and adults alike, to teach morals, honorable behavior vs dishonorable, good vs evil, deeds of valor, and define ingtegrity. It seems to have worked for the Greeks, eh?

Alison has volunteered to head up this group, in partnership with a few others. I am just setting it up, so that all of the excellent and aspiring Fantasy writers don't leave Gather.com after the First Chapters contest. Unfortunately I don't possess the necessary imagination to write Fantasy/SF So I am left to the mundane task of exposing, and hopefully helping resolve, the destruction of cultural diversity. BUT (and this is the BigButtt;-)fortunately I love to read it!:-)

A guild is a mentoring social organization to help people learn, and then practice, a profession/art/career. Sooooo, lets go a Guilding, eh? :-)

This Fantasy Writer's Guild is, and will remain, a 'safe' place for fantasy writers to learn and hone their craft while preserving their creative art. No one, I hope, really wants to be a policeman......but the members to this group, which is open to all who have a sincere interest, are charged with the responsibility to protect other members from unwarranted personal attacks by others. That is about the only thing that won't be tolerated. Freedom of expression is a form of freedom of speech.....and in our country, supposedly an inalienable right..... :-)

************************I'll leave you all with this thought:

My father, a wonderful man with 26+ grandkids, is soon to pass on. He was in the Navy/Coast Guard during WWII, and loves boats and the ocean.At his funeral, I've planned for a talented singer to sing Annie Lennox's song from "The Lord of The Rings" movie.Here are the lyrics:

"Lay down, this sweet and weary head.....Night is falling.......You have come to journey's end......Sleeeep now; and dream of the ones that came before.

They are calling....... from across the distant shore.

Why do you weep? What are the tears upon your face? Soon you will see, all of your fears will pass away.....

...................safe in my arms; you're only sleeping.

What can you see, on the horizon? Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea.....a pale moon rises; the ships have come to carry you home.

Dawn will turn to silver glass. A light on the water....all souls pass.

Hope fades..... until the world of night; though shadows falling.....out of memory and time...

Dont say, we have come now to the end...

White shores are calling. You and I, will meet again.

And you will be here in my arms......just sleeping.....

What can you see..... on the horizon?Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea, a pale moon rises........ The ships have come, to carry you home.....

And all will turn to silver glass, a light on the water.......grey ships pass, into the waves......"

Do you think Tolkien could have ever conceived of such a beautiful song, for a visual re-telling of his story?

Where fantasy takes us, no one knows......nor should we care.Its the journey that counts, not the destination.....and with magic in our lives, its such a wonderful journey!

I look forward to reading your work.....lets build on the masters, and create our own universes, eh? (pun intended ;-)

Remember, you'll always get a "10" from me.....its about the effort, content, and feedback.....not the 'score', ok?

Take care, and remember the Dalai Lama's take on Buddhism: "If you can't do something good, just don't do something hurtful."

patrickm

:-)

*********************TWO "BUSINESS" THINGS*************

1)The first "Order of business?"  Here is a link to Orson Scott Card's official website.......he's a greatguy, besides a gr8 author......he has writer's workshops and online assistance to new/aspiring writers.

 Check out the writer's boot camp he teaches:

 http://www.hatrack.com/osc/index.shtml

2) Here is the “Backgrounder” on Fantasy and Science Fiction:

Please post your firstchapter if it is offline and didn't get enough constructive attention....You can even post your second chapter as others have into other groups. All you have to do is go to your profile and manage your content by posting an article (hint: your work).....then, send a note to the group:"fantasytersguild.gather.com"  aka: "The Fantasy Writer's Guild"...FUBU(to borrow from the hood)...via email letting everyone know its up to read and comment.

FYI, it'll take a while 4 folks to 'gather' so post yours and help get it online ASAP....and invite as many folks as u can to participate.

There is a SEPERATE GROUP FOR SCIENCE FICTION....."sciencefictionw.gather.com" Its called "The Science Fiction Writer's Collective.

The Difference between Fantasy and Science Fiction can be blurred; its up to you to choose what end of the spectrum you are on. One isn't better than the other.....just different readers/writers. Now some of us R crossovers......use your judgment, and this guide:

.............................................What is considered SCIENCE FICTION:

It Can be "hard" science put into fiction (ie. just cuz the academic journals wouldn’t publish Issac Assimov's robot laws, doesn’t mean they weren’t ahead of their time and very relevant, eh? David Brin does biology/animal evolution similarly, and Gordon Dickson does Military off world, eh? ) SF can also be 'in between', like Orson Scott Card's work. Some of his, I expect he'd put in fantasy("Memory of Earth" series, "Red Prophet" series, and some in SF( i.e. "Ender" series), and some in just fiction (i.e. "Lost Boys") I'd put Frank Herbert in SF too.

....................................................What is considered FANTASY:

Think of Anne McCaffery's dragons, Marian Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series with crystals as locus for magic, Tolkien, & Harry Potter series, etc.. Now some fantasy is more 'fantastic' than others; but usually if there are elves, dwarves, wizards, magic, 'my little ponies' and unicorns that talk....its fantasy, eh?:-)

But then, Robert Silverberg is fantasy.....not the cotton candy kind, but still fantasy.....Lord Valentine might live on a different planet, but...

Piers Anthony writes another 'alternate universe' kind of fantasy, as is Donaldson's Thomas Covenant group, and Morecock's Champion Eternal series. L.Ron Hubbard? God knows....he's already done the tax evasion thing, by running Rockefeller into the ground & creating Scientology.....so its 'been done', I wouldn't go there ;-)

So, have at it; and lets get these two groups up and functioning asap......Its the best way to overcome the trashings, and to get what you came for.....a place to get feedback and help;And, Maybe, to make some new friends who r in2the same things you are! :-)

BTW, these are self moderated groups.......no one is "in charge"