How do you create awe?

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Kindness

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Everyone knows that the feeling of awe is essential to writing good fantasy. How do you, as a writer, personally spark the feeling of awe in your readers?

(Sorry if I don't make sense, it's 5:10 AM and my WIP keeps keeping me up)
 

ejaycee

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There's no set formula--no-one can really control how a reader will react to their work. I'm not sure you should even be worrying about it.

My advice to you is simply to write it. Once it's done, you can pass it over to betas and see what they think. They'll be sure to tell you if something doesn't have the impact it should.
 

Canotila

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I don't know if I do it right or not, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

What awes you? What books have you read that give you that feeling? Dissect them, look at the pacing, and the introduction of the elements that give you the shivers.

Doing that for myself, I've found that authors who don't overdo things do the best job making me feel it when reading their work.

For example, Smaug in The Hobbit. When I read that story, he inspired awe. I think part of that came from the fact that he was so built up into such a badass dragon, and he was the only dragon in that story. If Tolkien had them get captured by a bunch of draconian-esque humanoids (instead of wood elves) and they were fighting venomous wyverns instead of giant spiders, etc. I think he would have lost a lot of his pizazz.

The other thing I have noticed is the character's reactions. If a character is awed by something, it tends to awe me as well because I'm seeing it through their eyes (hopefully). Patricia McKillip did this really well in her short story, Harrowing the Dragon of Hoarsbreath. I loved the setting in that story.
 

Mishell

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Buildup is key. And context. Say you want a dragon to be awe-inspiring. Have your heroes nearly get flattened by MonsterA. Then have a scene where a bunch of MonsterAs are fleeing from a MonsterB in terror. Then mention that this dragon's diet consists largely of MonsterBs. -Then- have your heroes encounter the dragon. :)

Cheesy, simplified example. But I think you get what I mean.
 

Shakesbear

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I agree with ejaycee. There is no set formula. Some people will be moved by a piece of writing that bores other sideways. Just write it.
 

efkelley

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Buildup is key. And context. Say you want a dragon to be awe-inspiring. Have your heroes nearly get flattened by MonsterA. Then have a scene where a bunch of MonsterAs are fleeing from a MonsterB in terror. Then mention that this dragon's diet consists largely of MonsterBs. -Then- have your heroes encounter the dragon. :)

Cheesy, simplified example. But I think you get what I mean.

Not cheesy at all. Quite nicely put.

Also, show characters reacting to something awe-inspiring. Especially poignant are the reactions of characters you've built up to be amazing in and of themselves. For instance, if something renders Captain Picard speechless, how do you feel about it? If Batman's jaw drops open, how do you feel about it? If Brock Samson say 'Whoa!' how do you feel about it? Etc, and so on.

Give the reader a hint as to how you want them to feel and show another character (one they respect, love, hate, or fear) reacting the way you want the reader to react and you're on the right track.

Hope that helps!
 

Nateskate

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Buildup is key. And context. Say you want a dragon to be awe-inspiring. Have your heroes nearly get flattened by MonsterA. Then have a scene where a bunch of MonsterAs are fleeing from a MonsterB in terror. Then mention that this dragon's diet consists largely of MonsterBs. -Then- have your heroes encounter the dragon. :)

Cheesy, simplified example. But I think you get what I mean.

Spoiler alert:

This is actually a great idea when done well. In a fantasy like Wizard's First Rule, the "gars" are dangerous. When Zedd encounters one and "owns it" you realize at once that he's a wizard of the first order. But Darken Rahl makes mincemeat out of wizards. And in the story set-up, Rahl encounters a wizard and trashes him. So now we know that Zedd is in danger before their encounter.
 

Ardent Kat

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I'm not commenting just to be difficult/contrary, but I really think a sense of awe can be overused and overrated in many fantasy books. A writer thinks, "What must I do to make this book truly epic?" and they write incredibly powerful monsters or write long elaborate passages about gorgeous sweeping vistas.

Personally, I don't think you need "awe" to instill the "wow." As a reader, I'm more moved by characters I relate to. Sometimes-cowardly, often-failing-but-trying-their-best characters resonate with me a lot more than the awe-inspiring hero type.

Because I'm flawed and messed up, but I hope to be better. I'm surrounded by people who usually are flawed and messed up and hope to be better. I relate to that, and write those emotions honestly and you're more likely to let your reader feel she's right there riding in the apple cart with your heroes than having them do something truly epic with a glowing sword.

I'm annoyed by the exaggeratedly incompetant "reluctant hero" type, but I don't relate to the awe-inspiring hero at all. I like morally flawed, but good-intentioned characters with dirt under their fingernails who show that overcoming their own cowardice can be a powerful turning point without the presence of a 30-story-tall dragon to prove it.

Resonating deep emotion in your reader is the goal, and "awe" is just one way of many to get there.
 

Ruv Draba

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Awe features significantly in high fantasy and some kinds of low fantasy, but I don't think it features in all successful fantasy. Consider some fairy tales that have lasted with us for centuries, and which are rich in whimsy but not necessarily awe -- Hansel and Gretel, for instance.

With that said, I think that the key to creating awe is to create a rich mix of horror and wonder. A lot has been written on how to create horror, and I often feel that both high and low fantasy benefit from some horror in the mix. My view on how to create wonder is that we create surprise that strongly captures the emotions of the personal development (especially the moral development) of major characters and the world itself.
 
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williemeikle

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How not to do it: In "The Greatest Story Ever Told", when instructed to deliver a line with "more awe", John Wayne responded by drawling, "Aw, truly this was the son of God…"
 

Shadow_Ferret

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Awe? I can't think of any book that Awed me. Maybe I don't understand the definition as it's being used here.

The Challenger space shuttle exploding left me in awe. The twin towers collapsing left me in awe. I don't think anything I've ever read left me with that same feeling.
 

Joanna Hoyt

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For me, understatement helps with being very impressed with the impact of an event; cf. Urusula LeGuin's calm-toned descriptions of horrible scenes (like the one in *The Dispossessed* where the helicopters arrive and begin firing into the crowd, and she is describing the crowd turning to look, moving like a grainfield under the wind...)

"Awe" is a word I guess I'd use differently, for moments of transformation more than for drastic action scenes.
 

_Sian_

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Awe for me is something I feel not about a particular scene or character, but more about the entire book itself. If you're dragged into a world so deep that you forget about the real world - that awes me. A really well written book that makes me care, awes me. The Book Thief, Harry Potter 7 and Trickster awed me. The Hunger Games too - not because of one particular thing, but because of their whole. If that makes any sense :)
 
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