Creating your own fantasy 'species'

[Fiona Southwell]

I have been wondering what people's opinions were on this. Is there a limit to what you can do with fantasy? When does it start to thread over into something more like scifi? Is it better to stick to what you already know, create something all your own, or 'improve' on something that's already well known?

I tend to use the first or third option.

Thoughts?

[AB]

Will do, you too. cheers. This could go on forever, keep going back to messages and this discussion so I'm off now. Bye.

[Lysmandor]

Hmmm... well i've had this sort of idea floating about in my head about a species of people who slowly change into an animal as they grow older. there are different families, and each family corresponds to a specific species.. i do believe that they can interbreed with humans but some come out human others change slowly into animals. For example, bird people, start out human, slowly bones grow hollow, begin to sprout feathers, face becomes more bird like, eyes change colors, etc. eventually, by the time they are very old, they are completely animal (bird, if you are going with analogy) including their minds for the most part. they live among humans, hidden, being taken care of by their younger relatives that are human or can pass for human still. Is this original, or have i inadvertently copied this from somewhere else?

[Red]

I don't think I've heard that before... it reminds me a little of the people who can talk to wolves in Wheel of Time, they slowly give in to the urge to basically behave like a wolf, but I don't think they change physically. Only thing I'd say is once they've transformed completely into animals why do they need to be hidden by their relatives? Surely they could just live in the wild or something. Cool idea anyway.

[Lysmandor]

well, they do eventually "fly" away, but the transformation is only completed when you're very old, in your sixties, or seventies at least, so the whole time between teens and old age you;re oddly halfway inbetween, and draw attention.

[Jeremy Whitehead]

I think all three are good ways to go in writing fantasy, nut the second option would be the hardest to do since you have to not only create something from nothing but you have to blance it just right to keep it fantasy and not scifi. As for when fantasy becomes more scifi a good rule of thumb would be if it starts to become more "modern"(a.k.a. technology) the its getting closer to being scifi. While this is not always the case it is a good guide line has is keeping some aspect "medieval," this is my view on it because that's how most of the fantasy novels I have read are like.All this being said the best advice I can give would be to just keep exploring in both what you write and what you read.