Two Sides of the Story: Fantasy

If you thought writing fiction was hard, try inventing whole worlds, languages and realities. Join Alison Goodman and Alison Croggon as they explore the challenges and delights of fantasy in the last event in this series for 2011.

The pair discuss their influences (including Tolkien and Star Wars), obsessing over structure and the false dichotomy of plot against character development. They lament the fight between self-doubt and a certain arrogance, as Goodman puts it; delight in the process of research and talk about the challenges of maintaining consistency and continuity across often long series.

They also touch on the moral parable of fantasy and the genre’s ability to facilitate philosophical and political reflection, their least likeable characters and, when asked by the audience, how to enlarge shorter pieces into novel-size works and their opinions on gender roles in fantasy.