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Dragons
Nov 20, 2011 22:56:20 GMT -5
Post by Kessie on Nov 20, 2011 22:56:20 GMT -5
What makes dragons fascinating? I'm trying to compile a list of the things that intrigue people about dragons, and I thought I'd ask you guys. Is it their size? Their intelligence (or lack thereof)? That they can fly and breathe fire? Or something else entirely? Me, I'm not sure. It's this muddy primal fascination, and I think it started when I saw this picture in my extreme youth. membres.multimania.fr/skanlon/pictures/Brothers_HILDEBRANDT/hildebrandtSmaug.jpgBut I want to write a story with that wonder in it. How does one write a sense of wonder, anyway?
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rjj7
Full Member
Today I'm a drake
Posts: 202
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Dragons
Nov 21, 2011 1:18:38 GMT -5
Post by rjj7 on Nov 21, 2011 1:18:38 GMT -5
I think fascination often comes from wonder, and wonder is something Tolkien did wonderfully. I think it stems from a couple of factors. First, his supreme control of the language. He could describe things in a marvelous manner, equaled by few others in this world.
Secondly, the depth of his world. There is a sense of the ancient in his writings, even the hobbit (mostly just the later portions).
Thirdly, there is a sense of power. Power and majesty. This is achieved partly through points one and two, and partly because in Middle Earth, dragons just are that powerful. Powerful beyond mortal men. Even those dragons defeated by men are done so in a manner that doesn't seem to detract from them. [spoilers]That Smaug fell to a man doesn't make us look skeptically at his destruction of Dale and the Lonely Mountain. That Glaurung the Golden was killed by a lone warrior doesn't make us wonder how he managed to destroy an entire army in previous battle. And no one blames Ancalagon for falling in the climactic battle that concluded the first age of middle earth.[/spoilers]
I've run into a number of very unimpressive dragons in my day, but those of Middle Earth aren't among them. And yes, that is a pretty awesome picture.
And of course, not all dragons should be as incredible as Tolkien's. A very good book, The Dragon and the George wouldn't have worked at all if the dragons had been different than they were portrayed. The dragons fit that story just like Tolkien's fit his. But in the end, it's the truly magnificent dragons that stick with you.
Ordinary, run of the mill dragons aren't all that interesting to me, but the truly awesome still inspire me to no end.
I love dragons, and I'm not afraid to admit it (I'm a little bit more nervous about the Unicorns though...)
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Post by waldenwriter on Nov 21, 2011 11:22:15 GMT -5
Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle provides some good examples of dragons - the series is, after all, about the last free Dragon Rider. The dragons in that series are powerful, intimidating, and capable of great magic (it is a Rider's bond with one that prolongs the Rider's life indefinitely, making them unable to die except by blade or poison - though this mostly happens with human Riders as the elves are already basically immortal). Yet they are shown to be intelligent and have distinct personalities.
The dragon concept I always found fascinating though is the Asian concept, where dragons are not beasts to be killed but are instead revered as symbols of very good fortune and are often associated with water and with bringing rain. That's something I'd like to see more fantasy writers try.
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Dragons
Nov 21, 2011 11:58:58 GMT -5
Post by metalikhan on Nov 21, 2011 11:58:58 GMT -5
Because there's such a broad spectrum of dragon types, we can find dragon stories compatable with whatever we're seeking including humorous ones, such as the Disc World dragon that flew jet-propulsion style with flames spouting out the back end. McCaffrey's dragons are the only ones I can think of offhand that had some kind of scientific foundation -- they were genetically engineered from the small fire lizards on Pern. But I was fascinated not only by dragons themselves but also by the culture that developed surrounding them. Dragons can represent good or evil. Even in their power, they have a vulnerability. Some can shift their shapes, appear human according to circumstances. And though there are many very intelligent dragons (their longevity results in accumulated knowledge & wisdom), there are just as many that operate only by instinct; they trigger the same kind of chilling fascination that sharks inspire. Make the list of dragon characteristics (maybe one for good dragons, one for evil ones) and the list of intriguing things. And then play the what if game. What if a dragon required a lair of snow for a period during its adolescence? What if a character was attending a veterinary school for dragons, maybe specializing in draconic ear/nose/throat problems? What if the gold dragons traditionally hoard is something they physically require for wing health? As for writing the sense of wonder, you have to start with your own wonder, tap into it, draw it out. What specifics about dragons make you go Wow? When you look at the Smaug painting, is it the size, the color, the musculature, the facial expression that first catches your eye? When you think about how you would react to a dragon landing in your back yard, what things first come to mind? Run? Approach it? Call animal control? If you don't feel the wonder, it's harder to express it convincingly in a story. When you try to assemble a story strictly from a list of facts, it starts sounding like a formula. You need to pour your own wonder into it. Tuppence thoughts.
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Dragons
Nov 21, 2011 14:51:04 GMT -5
Post by tris on Nov 21, 2011 14:51:04 GMT -5
Rjj7 commented: I love dragons, and I'm not afraid to admit it (I'm a little bit more nervous about the Unicorns though...)
Oooh, but unicorns are mentioned in Proverbs right along with the dragons... of course you've got to read it in Hebrew or the original King James. I think the newer versions use ox, but the Hebrew words aren't the same. After all, if you can have dragons, you can have unicorns.
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Dragons
Nov 21, 2011 17:44:52 GMT -5
Post by Bainespal on Nov 21, 2011 17:44:52 GMT -5
Another intriguing thing about dragons is their power as a metaphor. One of my favorites fantasy series is The Wheel of Time, set in a world where dragons don't exist, except perhaps as a vague memory of a distant myth. But there is the Dragon, a terrifying man from that world's history, and the connotations of the world "dragon" -- evil, mystery, power, carnage, wisdom, antiquity -- gives a sense of unpredictability and terror to the Dragon figure and to the characters' attitudes to him.
I wonder if the dragon could be used as a powerful metaphor like that, but in a fantasy world where there are also literal dragons.
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Dragons
Nov 22, 2011 20:22:57 GMT -5
Post by yoda47 on Nov 22, 2011 20:22:57 GMT -5
I think some of it is the mystery and wonder-- some of the same reasons we like dinosaurs (same thing, but that's a diffrent topic...)
Another thing is they're a big, powerful critter. Kinda the same way we like whales and tigers (well, I do at least...)
And I love dragons because of Anne McCaffrey. Her dragons are big and powerful, telepathic, and characters in thier own right.
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Dragons
Nov 25, 2011 10:54:00 GMT -5
Post by dragonlots on Nov 25, 2011 10:54:00 GMT -5
There's a fire breathing sea serpent in the book of Job. It's referred to as a Behemoth.
Dragons are part of just about every culture in the world. In Europe they were evil vile creatures. Yet, I saw a special not long ago speculating on whether or not they were real and the fact that one early writer wrote such a detailed biology on them, the thought is he had a real one to examine.
In Chinese culture they're good luck. Ever see Never Ending Story? There's a reason the main character was riding a luck dragon.
Anne McCaffrey did a wonderful job with her dragons. RIP, Anne. Her books brought them back into the fantasy genre with a good reputation rather than them being evil.
Donita K Paul, a Christian writer, also has a dragon series.
Oh, and an interesting FYI on Unicorns. Originally, they were goats. Through time, they have become horses.
Oh, and the real life existing dragons today are Komodos.
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rjj7
Full Member
Today I'm a drake
Posts: 202
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Dragons
Nov 25, 2011 11:55:38 GMT -5
Post by rjj7 on Nov 25, 2011 11:55:38 GMT -5
I still like my Unicorns with a beard. Retaining a bit of the goat in there. And a lion's tail. And a very slender, graceful body.
None of this 'we stuck a horn on a horse and called it cool' business.
Unicorns are at their best when they are mysterious and elusive; and powerful too. And ancient. And pretty much everything dragons are, except in a more beautiful way, rather than an awesome display of power way.
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Dragons
Nov 25, 2011 12:28:02 GMT -5
Post by Kessie on Nov 25, 2011 12:28:02 GMT -5
Here's an interesting article about unicorns in the Bible. Apparently, the word "unicorn" used to be synonymous for "rhinoceros". www.drdino.com/why-does-the-bible-mention-unicorns/There's a fire breathing sea serpent in the book of Job. It's referred to as a Behemoth. Dragons are part of just about every culture in the world. In Europe they were evil vile creatures. Yet, I saw a special not long ago speculating on whether or not they were real and the fact that one early writer wrote such a detailed biology on them, the thought is he had a real one to examine. Actually, Behemoth was probably an apatosaurus. The fire-breathing one is Leviathan, and he lives in the sea. The stories about dragons from every culture probably resulted from mankind's interactions with dinosaurs. Here's a collection of interesting articles about it: s8int.com/dinolit1.htmlI still don't know why we're so fascinated by them, though. :-)
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Dragons
Nov 25, 2011 17:12:42 GMT -5
Post by Divides the Waters on Nov 25, 2011 17:12:42 GMT -5
They fascinate me so much that I, a complete homebody, am willing to brave the wilds of Africa (or any other remote place) in search of living dinosaurs. I think that the key lies in the words "chief of the ways of God" (describing the behemoth). If this is indeed a dinosaur that God is describing in Job, I want to know what he considers the grandest or prime of his creation. In short, I think that dragons are a window into the mind of God.
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Dragons
Nov 28, 2011 19:31:25 GMT -5
Post by almarquardt on Nov 28, 2011 19:31:25 GMT -5
I think part of our fascination with dragons is their portrayal as both good and evil, powerful and vulnerable and it's all plausible, or at least believable. They can symbolize anything we want them to. I do find it interesting that in every book I've read about dragons, whether they're good or evil, they're always treated with respect.
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Dragons
Nov 28, 2011 21:33:16 GMT -5
Post by myrthman on Nov 28, 2011 21:33:16 GMT -5
Funny you should mention respect. I was wondering how to contribute to this thread...
In one timeline in my WIP, the dragons' wings are clipped and they're used as beasts of burden, pulling carts and plows and hauling really heavy loads of rock and ore, all while being prodded with whips and/or spurs. They don't like it and eventually rebel. (Methinks I've said too much?)
As for why they're so fascinating to us? I think the mystery of their existence in the real world leaves us drooling for more information, even that which is fictional or speculative in nature. There has to be some element of truth to all the legends, paintings, and even Biblical accounts, right?
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Dragons
Nov 28, 2011 23:16:59 GMT -5
Post by almarquardt on Nov 28, 2011 23:16:59 GMT -5
I say you've said too much. I want to know more!
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Dragons
Nov 29, 2011 0:58:11 GMT -5
Post by Kessie on Nov 29, 2011 0:58:11 GMT -5
Me too!
Also, Almarquardt: Your Mator icon is made of win.
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