Fable and the Verbivore are focusing on all things Adventure during the month of September. So, today, we’re talking about some of the classic elements of adventure stories that make them so much fun to read and watch.

We view adventure as more of a trope or a set of story elements that really can be present within any genre of writing or film. Not all adventure narratives are the same, they can take place in a modern, fantasy, science fiction, or historical setting. It is more that you know the feeling of an adventure narrative when you see it rather than having rules that are set in stone, but in general they typically have:

• A character that’s thrust into an unfamiliar world

• A quest or journey

• A fast pace and/or ticking clock

• Macguffins and/or treasure hunts

• High stakes and risks with real consequences

• A strong villain or antagonist (though it could be supernatural or nature itself)

• Humour and witty banter

• Growth and character transformation

We also discuss how making the road difficult and the experience unfamiliar helps to engage the reader’s empathy for the protagonist. If things come too easily in the story, we tend to feel that it’s not very realistic.

Adventure stories help remind us that we don’t always want to play it safe, that we want to grow and change, and help us feel what it means to be truly alive.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

The Verbivore references the quote “It was a dark and stormy night”. This phrase has a long etymology from a published book in 1830 called “Paul Clifford” to the Peanuts comic strip to the opening line of Madeleine L'Engle’s classic novel “A Wrinkle in Time”. Here is the wikepedia entry:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_was_a_dark_and_stormy_night

The J. R. R. Tolkien quote that the Verbivore read came from “The Fellowship of the Ring”:

• “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

There are many resources that we used in preparation for this episode. Here are the most :

• “How to Write an Adventure Story” - MasterClass - https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-an-adventure-story

• “100 Best Adventure Books of All Time” - Reedsy - https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-adventure-books

• “The Rules (Guidelines) of Adventure — The Pirates of the Caribbean” - Lessons from the Screenplay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlVLOtD6Mv8

• “5 Elements of Writing a Great Adventure Story” - Screencraft - https://screencraft.org/2021/04/30/5-elements-of-writing-a-good-adventure/

• “10 Tips of a Good Adventure Story”- The Urban Writers - https://theurbanwriters.com/blogs/publishing/10-tips-of-a-good-adventure-story

• “Writing 101: What is a Macguffin?” - MasterClass - https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-a-macguffin-learn-about-macguffins-in-film-literature-and-popular-culture

Fable references Dan Brown’s MasterClass. In case you’re interested in learning more about it, here is some information:

• https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dan-brown-teaches-writing-thrillers#:~:text=Get%20Started-,Subscribe%20to%20MasterClass%20to%20continue%20watching,novels%2C%20The%20Da%20Vinci%20Code.

Books Mentioned:

• The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien

• The Lord of the Rings: One Volume by J. R. R. Tolkien

• The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon by Dan Brown

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• Caraval by Stephanie Garber

• The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

• Fable: A Novel by Adrienne Young

• To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

• Stardust by Neil Gaiman

• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Movies Mentioned:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Directed by Gore Verbinski

• Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (Raiders of the Lost Ark / Temple of Doom / Last Crusade / Kingdom of the Crystal Skull); Directed by Stephen Spielberg

• National Treasure; Directed by John Turteltaub

• Star Wars: A New Hope; Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars The Force Awakens; Directed by J. J. Abrams

• Stardust; Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)