Art by Alison Hunt

(This subject had to be tackled.  I was surprised how often it came up in conversation.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been.)

One of the staples of fantasy is having a world with unique creatures. You may go traditional with orcs and trolls or mythological with centaurs and satyrs. Other authors create beasts from scratch using a variety of methods. We don’t normally question the use of monsters in fantasy because it’s seen as a given. In fact, many readers and authors use their existence as a neon sign that this isn’t the real world. Kind of hard to think you’re reading a history book when you’re reading about a dragon rampaging through a farm. Not unless the author is talented enough to get you to believe this was a fairly common problem in the past. Highly unlikely, so we’re talking all about fiction this time.

Can you do a fantasy story without monsters? Yes, because their usage relates to several factors. If your story has no space to insert a creature then you’re less likely to use them. They may appear in the background of a scene to help paint the setting or be used as mounts by the characters. These aren’t necessary and are done entirely for world-building, so an author can skip them if they have more important things. No reason to avoid squirrels and horses when you’re only going to have them mentioned in passing. The creatures of reality won’t take away from the overall magic of the world. After all, we usually still have humans in our worlds.

On the other side of the fantasy spectrum, a story that is all adventuring and quests is going to have a bigger use for monsters. They could be guarding treasure or roaming the wilderness that needs to be traversed. Readers may expect there to be a threat that needs to be battled, but isn’t another human. This is where a monster can be placed to create a challenge that breathes, thinks, moves, and eats. Note that I said can because you could always use a real-world animal such as a lion or a rhino if you don’t want monsters.

Another deciding factor for using creatures is the level of magic in the world. Many times, people associate bizarre animals of fantasy with magic because that’s what they think caused their appearance. The monsters feed off the existence of magic even if that is never stated in the book or part of the author’s plan. We connect the two fantasy staples so often they can be intertwined at times. This is why a world with low or no magic might not be swarming with monsters. You may have a few here or there, but they may be rare or stated only as long-forgotten legends. Due to the connections, an author who wants a low magic world may avoid these things because they run counter to the concept. You also have a tradition of many monsters, especially the undead, requiring certain spells or enchanted weapons to be defeated. It can’t be done if magic doesn’t exist unless you create a technological replacement. For some, it’s easier to cut out the monsters and focus on other types of threats.

Let’s continue with the belief that we are going to use monsters. Otherwise, this chapter will be very short. Not to mention those who would want to use monsters will be sitting there feeling left out. Don’t worry because the rest is all about using them.

Now, there are three uses for monsters in fantasy:

Find out the three uses by getting a copy of Do I Need to Use a Dragon? on July 3rd!