L: The Left Hand of God

My theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge this year is a mishmash of books, movies, writers and TV shows that have in one way or another taught me something about writing and helped me be a better writer. Some inspired my own stories and a few taught me what not to do. Each post is a one minute lesson on writing. I hope you'll also read my post at the IWSG group today where I wrote about letting it go.

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman is a cross between dark fantasy and alternative history fantasy. I'm going to reread it from the beginning to try and figure it out its genre. But there are elements in the book that kept me glued to the pages. It has everything. Perverted religions. Corrupt leaderships. Class warfare. Antiheroes galore. Love; unhealthy, unrequited and sweet. And the main character is young, never

older than his teen years throughout the series. Yet this book is far from a YA tale. The subject matter from the first chapter when the protagonist is still a child, is dark and scary. The abuses heaped on that young boy read like a horror story. And like many dark fantasies, there is no Happily Ever After for many of the characters. Well, nearly all of them. They save the world but not themselves.

Lesson: Religious fervor and conflicts make for great fantasy plots. There's a lot of leeway in interpretation of heroism. It's okay to convince a reader to love a character and then kill that character off. Even psychological damaged antiheroes really only want love. You can write a terrific adult story even if your main protagonist is a child or teenager.

"Silence is also speech." Yiddish proverb

"Any fool can have bad luck; the art consists in knowing how to explain it." Frank Wedekind (This book reminds of Paul Hoffman's series)

I hope A to Z is going well for you. It's fun so far. If you're starting to feel overwhelmed you might be trying to do too much. 

Do you find religious conflicts are common in fantasy novels? Has it always been that way or is the current world situation leading to its popularity? Can you name a book that has children as main characters but that written for an adult audience?

Do You Believe in Magic?

Magic is an integral part of any fantasy novel.  From the beginning of civilization, people have believed in the powers of nature and their ability to appeal to those powers.  Even in today's sophisticated world of science and technology, we keep our superstitions and enjoy tales of magic and sorcery.  How many of us have 'knocked on wood' or avoided walking under a ladder? Does it give you a moment of unease when a black cat runs in front of you?

Religion and magic often become intertwined or perhaps end up at odds with each other.  What is the difference between these two powerful beliefs?  Religion is an appeal for help or an attempt to appease the gods.  Magic is the attempt to do the work of gods or perhaps force the gods to give you aid.  Is it any wonder the base conflict in many fantasy novels is about opposing religions or powerful magical beings acting like gods?

In ancient times, probably into the prehistoric, most religions we term pagan relied on natural forces to aid their magic.  Every tribe or village might have a shaman who directed behavior and sacrifices to direct the magic inherent in the earth to protect them from disease and famine. 

At some point in history, religion and magic drew battlelines and the Christian church declared most of the primitive rituals and beliefs as witchcraft.  Today few among us will admit to believing in magic and the things it can do.  Yet so many of us lap up fantasy books where magic and magical beings are the heroes and heroines though usually the bad guys use magic also.

I do believe in miracles and perhaps they are a type of magic.  I don't believe in curses though certainly bad luck exists.  Or is the bad luck just a superstition, a low form of magical belief? Do you have superstitions passed onto you by grandparents or parents?