This is yet another attempt to explain why I write what I write and why people in general sometimes have trouble understanding my reasoning. I have been doing this verbally and in writing since I first published Sword of Shannara. I guess I keep doing it because I feel so strongly about what I do. I want readers to look beyond preconceptions and first impressions. I want them to be open to what fantasy can be and how much fun it is to be a part of it. The funny thing is, I didn't set out to write fantasy. I just found my way there by trial and error. I have decided that it was fate that took me on that journey, and you never want to argue with fate.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Helps To Answer Why YOU READ Fantasy
Comment: This was a very good little essay on why Terry Brooks writes fantasy, but more importantly it might help you articulate why YOU READ fantasy for inquiring people. Perhaps you feel some of the same consternation that Terry Brooks feels in explaining his writing. I admit that I feel it from time to time too and perhaps have even succumbed to it. There's a corner of my brain that occasionally feels that I've "outgrown" fantasy. But at some point I'll invariably reread Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and reaffirm in my mind that hey, there's a whole lot of depth here.

I first was introduced to Terry Brooks through his The Shannara Trilogy in my twenties. I remember enjoying it so much that I think I flew through the big books. But at some point I guess I lost my way thinking that adults should read "adult" books. So thanks Terry for helping me remember the importance of fantasy and realizing that there is a place for it in every adult's life. You'll be able to find me in the fantasy aisle of the bookstore.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting mini-biography
Comment: Terry Brooks gives an interesting mini-biography as well as a well-written introduction to the world of fantasy.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An interesting essay
Comment: This was a very interesting read for me. I have read seven of Mr. Brooks' fantasy books, so getting the "why" which eventually leads to the "how" was rewarding. Fantasy is a very difficult medium in which to write, for all of the reasons he lists in this article and more.

But fantasy also allows the writer to shrug off the shackles of the real world and, if you want, use it as allegory. Some of the greatest writers of our time have done so, to name two, Shakespeare and Hawthorne, although they didn't emply elves or "fantasy realms" to do so.

My take on this essay, which nicely illuminated the problems that fantasy writers have explaining themselves to others as to not be assumed insane, is that Mr. Brooks writes about elves because he wants to, he likes to, and those are the stories that come natural to him. That's really all the explanation anyone need give for why they write the stories they do.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Brooks writes about elves so we can read about elves ...
Comment: Interesting to hear how Terry Brooks gets his inspiration and why he writes about elves. As a writer, I was eager to see if his mind works anything like mine. Kinda freaky to learn it does.

He looks like a handsome version of a little leprechaun to me, so I always thought his "relatives" were feeding him insider information. Grin!

Happy to learn he's only human ... like the rest of us hard-working writers. I always say that "writing a story is like sliding down a rainbow. ... The actual writing when one's imagination is free to wander is fuuuuuun. But marketing is like wading through a field of sticky, "chewed" bugglegum."

I wonder if Brooks would agree with me. - review by Betty Dravis, author of the Amazon Short "V.O."

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An interesting look into the mind of a fantasy author.
Comment: Terry Brooks' short story gave me a unique look into the world of Fantasy authors. After reading his story, I was able to gain insights into what makes a successful fantasy story, and how Mr. Brooks defines himself in the oblique landscape of fiction authors.

I would recommend this story to anyone who has tried to, or wants to write fantasy stories, it gives some very helpful advice and observations.

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