This is the magic I think! But it's so hard to put your finger on it. I'd started asking myself this and it's such a hard question to pin down.
During 2020 I revisited some of the books I loved as a kid and teen and I have been fascinated at how little is on the page sometimes and how it gave me space to fill so much in! I love a nice richly drawn world, but there was something of a spark in some of these older works even whilst leaving a lot to the imagination. (Prydain and the Alanna books were particularly like this. Also Gilbert Blythe is strangely absent for most of the Anne books. There is so little on the page about him!)
I think the other side of the coin is learning more about ourselves. Looking back I wonder if neurodivergence is part of why I love fish out of water stories. And characters who are misfits. I always saw that as a love for adventure, but knowing I am autistic I can see those story elements in a different light.
I'm rereading Wheel of Time soon to study it from a craft level. I want to type every word on my typewriter. But I love the idea of investigating this question too. WHY do I love it so much? Why is it etched into my bones? ☠️
This is the magic I think! But it's so hard to put your finger on it. I'd started asking myself this and it's such a hard question to pin down.
During 2020 I revisited some of the books I loved as a kid and teen and I have been fascinated at how little is on the page sometimes and how it gave me space to fill so much in! I love a nice richly drawn world, but there was something of a spark in some of these older works even whilst leaving a lot to the imagination. (Prydain and the Alanna books were particularly like this. Also Gilbert Blythe is strangely absent for most of the Anne books. There is so little on the page about him!)
I think the other side of the coin is learning more about ourselves. Looking back I wonder if neurodivergence is part of why I love fish out of water stories. And characters who are misfits. I always saw that as a love for adventure, but knowing I am autistic I can see those story elements in a different light.
I'm rereading Wheel of Time soon to study it from a craft level. I want to type every word on my typewriter. But I love the idea of investigating this question too. WHY do I love it so much? Why is it etched into my bones? ☠️