: Re: Will readers question my antagonist's choice of style? I am a young author currently writing my fantasy series. It takes place in the present, but my antagonist is a thousand years old. She

@Sarah872

Vote Up Vote Down

There's no rule to say that an immortal antagonist couldn't keep up with the times. If you think it might otherwise be distracting, you might "lampshade" it by having a character or a narrator mention it in passing.

Antagonia was resplendent in a brand-new, jet black dress. "She's looking great for being nearly a thousand years old!" I heard someone say.

In the bigger picture, whether or not this is a problem has a lot to do with what kind of book you're writing. Many books, particularly fantasy, and particularly for young readers, are less grounded in any accurate historical reality. There's a book that I loved as a kid that featured a medieval time traveler who came forward to our times. I couldn't tell you until this day whether or not he was portrayed accurately. It didn't matter much to the appeal of the book.
On the other hand, if you're writing a book that seems to promise historical accuracy, then you're going to want to get the details right, or provide explanations when they aren't. Part of the appeal of books like the autobiographical fiction series "Little House on the Prairie" is that they give a real window into a specific moment in history. Even in the case of fantasy, there are books that are appealing precisely because of authenticity of their details.

(0)

Login to post a comment!