Can someone please tell me the difference (if there is one) between fantasy and "fairy tales"? (The kind that don't necessarily involve fairies?)

Airerûthiel: It would be a great idea to have all the questions in one place! If anyone has time to look them all up and put them in a new post or a whole new thread. It would make it a lot easier for people to start answering, and I would enjoy answering them all myself, just don't have the time to read through all the messenges.

Lyra, I'm not sure Tolkien would have thought that there is a difference. Other than a few random comments, I'm not really qualified to answer, but--

Have you read lmp's thread, It feels different near the Shire?

I wonder whether I would classify LOTR as an "epic fairy tale romance". Tolkien called it a "romance" in his letters (as in Epic romance?) while I think he thought of The Hobbit as a fairy tale. I should look it up. Do you have a copy of Tolkien's letters? And have you read "On Fairy Stories"?

Lyra, what you need to read is Tolkien's 'Essay on Fairy-Stories' that usually comes with the short-story 'Leaf by Niggle'. The essay discusses that very topic (along with others).

Hey LMP, are we allowed to continue to post on this very thread, this 22 page thread, or do we need to start 'AYWSF Part 2'? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

See you later!
~M

Well, im writing an alternate history of australia, its pretty complex, so i wont bother to explain it right now.. but still. I have imagination! hurrah for me!

I'm writing a story called The Epic of Ma'ra'u. I've been working on it since last fall. It is divided up into four main parts. Plus a prequel i m writing and another my friend is writing. I have drawn up maps, made up an elven language of my own, drawn up a deep history for the world and much more. Plus i m also writing a follow up about the original main character's son who knows nothing about his father. my main story, so far, is full of lore, history, love, war and a the ultimate goal to unthrone the malvolent beast that has assume power in the east. if u wanna no more email me.

Good for you Meela! Alternate histories are always the best! I'm currently working on a historical fic of Alexander the Great, but due to lack of research resources, it isn't in very good shape.

Funny you should mention that. I've scanned the whole thing and extricated the questions (why? Oh... for my own diabolical purposes at FaerieWordweavers, join if you want to know [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]). Imagine my surprise and delight when I got to the later pages and saw that Jay had quoted all the questions, so I could have just copied them from his posts. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

At any rate, I have them on my word processor, but I'm going to be rearranging and rewording them. So! If this thread gets closed but someone still wants to continue it, get in touch with me and I'll give you the list (once I've finished it).

Diamond, I think it would actually bebetter to go through the entire thread and create a list of everybodys answers rather than just mine. In fact, I think I may just do that.
By the way, check your PMs!
I think it really is time to start an AYWSF II.
This thread's been great, but I guess it has to be closed to save bandwidth. But, now that it comes to it, I dont feel like parting with it. After all, why should I? It's mine, my own, my preciousss.

Question: Does anybody else here enjoy writing cos they love destroying entire kingdoms, or is that just me? I mean, it is fun. [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]

Jay: I think she ment copying the questions from your posts, not the answers... but anyway a list of all the answers would be interesting too.

If we start a AYWSF II we could start it with the list of questions from this thread. But of course most of you HAVE answered those... I don't know.

No matter what I'd like to have that list myself once it's finished.

In answer to the question: Are you writing serious fantasy:
Well I've been trying. I wrtie lots of stories that are detective, fantasy etc but I never seem to finish them! I just stop and forget about them. Not because I can't come up with an ending oh no far from it my friend... I don't know what it is. I've been writing this fantasy in a fantasy world about this girl but one day I just stopped writing and never went back. I started another story, not fantasy, soon I'll stop writing that as well. Does anyone have anything that would help me? I've never finished a story! I have about ten of them! All really good from my point of view. Many inspired by Tolkien and other writers.

Yes, I meant just the questions. Copying the answers would be... let's just say I don't want to be the one to do that. At any rate, I have the question list done. It's four pages long in my WP, and I my have de-Tolkienized it a little because I was doing it for FWW. So that might be a problem.

I'm not writing serious fantasy, but a friend of mine is. She's been working on it for about a year in her spare time. She has a few chapters so far and it's REALLY GOOD. Not to be blasphemous, but I would say it's up there with Lord of the Rings.

I finally finished half of my initial manuscript for my first book, but it still needs severe editing and revising. In the beginning, all my stories are great, then they hit a slump, then I somehow get a second wind and then they get better again.