Hi Annie, thanks for this great question! I think I will at some point do a post that tries to discuss the differences, as they're really fascinating to me, and I think it's helpful to think of the subtle differences between all of these modes (even as it can be hard to distinguish between them too)!
With magical realism, there is certainly a lot of overlap with the speculative, but the key difference, as I see it, has to do with how the non-realist / fantastic elements are handled, their purpose in the story, and how the characters react to them: within magical realism, the fantastic exists alongside the everyday and, for the most part, characters accept it as completely normal, routine, and the text (and style) also handles it a bit matter-of-factly (without much reaction); there's the sense that reality itself is magical, and the fantastic seems to be an expression of the world (and the emotion, experiences, hardships, etc. of the characters) arising as mundanely from it as anything else does, and hence characters often treat it as everyday. Whereas within speculative fiction, the fantastic is often a mystery, characters struggle to figure it out (or react to it), and the world is disrupted by it. Characters react (as we might) to the fantastic occurences of the story, and the fantastic becomes more of a driving force of plot (and is often the premise). Again, this is all very broad and generic, and filtered through how I see it :)
Of course, there are other big differences between them too, namely that speculative fiction is an umbrella term that arose from 1950's science fiction and fantasy; whereas magical realism is strongly associated with the Latin American / South American authors of the 50’s (Borges, Marquez, Asturias) and the themes they addressed (social upheaval, oppression/trauma, history, identity, legacy, etc.) Hope this helps!
And that's so wonderful to hear that Tania Hershman shared "Before" - thank you for reading it, and for those very kind words! I'm so thrilled it resonated with you. :)
This was so great. I loved the prompt. I recently reread Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman and loved thinking about a mermaid appearing somewhere ordinary like a run down beach club. Magic is everywhere, it's up to us to conjure it on the page.
Ah thank you, Andrea, for reading and commenting! I'm glad the prompt resonated with you. And thanks too for the mention of Aquamarine, which I'm excited to check out!
Hi Joy, thank you for these excellent tips. The discussion in the comments section made me want to read about your reality-bending fiction taxonomy even more!
I'm so glad they're helpful, Albe! And good to know! If there's interest (as it seems there is) I'll definitely create a post around more of an all-encompassing taxonomy of reality-bending styles and modes. It can be hard because there's so much blurring, and ultimately many styles defy categorization (those are my favorites) but I do think it's helpful and allows clear discussion around the subtleties.
This is a great post. Full of truths and things to think about. Particularly like the sentence ‘Emotions cause magical things to happen.’ This is so true. Love, hate, grief, longing all bend the ‘real world’ a little bit out of true.
Thank you so much for reading, Rachel, and I appreciate this note and am so glad the post is helpful! And yes, that is a really true way of seeing it, that emotion "bends the 'real world' a little bit" - I love that, and what truth. That actually adds a dimension to how I was thinking of it.
This was such a fantastic read—bookmarking immediately! I especially love your reminder that the magic should serve emotional truths. Definitely coming back to this next time I get tangled up in my own speculative ideas. Thanks for sharing these insights, Joy!
Ah thank you so much for reading, ACP, and I'm so happy to hear this! These are all reminders I come back to repeatedly too, so very glad they're helpful to others also :)
Ah this is the most wonderful comment, Barbara, and so kind of you to say! Thank you for reading - and I'm so happy this all resonated. (Also, would you mind if I quote you in the Substack description, with these words? I've been thinking about it, and this is quite literally my goal: to make the craft feel alive - so thank you for helping to articulate that! :) )
Hey, Joy. This was such a great read. I don't really write speculative, but the novel I'm working on now has some light speculative elements. This list was incredible. I especially appreciated the "resist the urge to explain why" section. Also, I think many of these steps just apply to fiction across the board. Thanks for sharing!
Jason, I'm so happy you enjoyed this! And yes, fully agree that it all blurs together at some point, and speculative writin tips are really, at their core, just good writing / storytelling tips. Maybe the big difference is that, since speculative writers are dealing with the supernatural, they're often more likely to feel they need to, for example, explain why, etc. But thanks for reading, and wishing you lots of good energy on your novel!
This is the first time I’ve heard this term, thank you! A really great insight into it. It’s making me consider where my own fiction lies - is it magical realism or speculative fiction? Or something else? 😅
Thanks for reading, Zoe! Really glad it's helpful. Of course, there's so much that exists in the blurry middlegrounds, and the categories ultimately don't matter so much (although I do like thinking about these differences and find it helpful). And if you're writing somewhere in the realm of all this, then the principles here should help for sure. :) Best of luck!
Ah thank you, Victor! I'm so happy you find it all helpful - I am constantly reminding myself of many of these, so it came from a place of, "Remember this stuff for each new story." :)
Thank you! And it was so much fun tonight - Allegra Hyde is the real deal and such an incredible reader of her own (brilliant) work. Hope to see you at another reading sometime!
These were excellent, Joy, thank you! And as you pointed out, useful in all categories and genres.
Mo, thank you so much for reading, and I'm so happy you enjoyed. Hope you (and the novel!) are doing well!
Hi, Joy.
I am old school and needing clarity. How do you distinguish magical realism?
By the way, the brilliant Tania Hershman shared your story "Before" in FairyTale Review and it's magnificent. :)
Hi Annie, thanks for this great question! I think I will at some point do a post that tries to discuss the differences, as they're really fascinating to me, and I think it's helpful to think of the subtle differences between all of these modes (even as it can be hard to distinguish between them too)!
With magical realism, there is certainly a lot of overlap with the speculative, but the key difference, as I see it, has to do with how the non-realist / fantastic elements are handled, their purpose in the story, and how the characters react to them: within magical realism, the fantastic exists alongside the everyday and, for the most part, characters accept it as completely normal, routine, and the text (and style) also handles it a bit matter-of-factly (without much reaction); there's the sense that reality itself is magical, and the fantastic seems to be an expression of the world (and the emotion, experiences, hardships, etc. of the characters) arising as mundanely from it as anything else does, and hence characters often treat it as everyday. Whereas within speculative fiction, the fantastic is often a mystery, characters struggle to figure it out (or react to it), and the world is disrupted by it. Characters react (as we might) to the fantastic occurences of the story, and the fantastic becomes more of a driving force of plot (and is often the premise). Again, this is all very broad and generic, and filtered through how I see it :)
Of course, there are other big differences between them too, namely that speculative fiction is an umbrella term that arose from 1950's science fiction and fantasy; whereas magical realism is strongly associated with the Latin American / South American authors of the 50’s (Borges, Marquez, Asturias) and the themes they addressed (social upheaval, oppression/trauma, history, identity, legacy, etc.) Hope this helps!
And that's so wonderful to hear that Tania Hershman shared "Before" - thank you for reading it, and for those very kind words! I'm so thrilled it resonated with you. :)
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it.
This was so great. I loved the prompt. I recently reread Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman and loved thinking about a mermaid appearing somewhere ordinary like a run down beach club. Magic is everywhere, it's up to us to conjure it on the page.
Ah thank you, Andrea, for reading and commenting! I'm glad the prompt resonated with you. And thanks too for the mention of Aquamarine, which I'm excited to check out!
Hi Joy, thank you for these excellent tips. The discussion in the comments section made me want to read about your reality-bending fiction taxonomy even more!
I'm so glad they're helpful, Albe! And good to know! If there's interest (as it seems there is) I'll definitely create a post around more of an all-encompassing taxonomy of reality-bending styles and modes. It can be hard because there's so much blurring, and ultimately many styles defy categorization (those are my favorites) but I do think it's helpful and allows clear discussion around the subtleties.
I found this really refreshing and helpful, back to the trenches (final draft) I go lol
I'm so glad, Rose! Thanks for reading and commenting! :) And good luck back in the final draft trenches! (I'll be there with you!)
This is a great post. Full of truths and things to think about. Particularly like the sentence ‘Emotions cause magical things to happen.’ This is so true. Love, hate, grief, longing all bend the ‘real world’ a little bit out of true.
Thank you so much for reading, Rachel, and I appreciate this note and am so glad the post is helpful! And yes, that is a really true way of seeing it, that emotion "bends the 'real world' a little bit" - I love that, and what truth. That actually adds a dimension to how I was thinking of it.
This was such a fantastic read—bookmarking immediately! I especially love your reminder that the magic should serve emotional truths. Definitely coming back to this next time I get tangled up in my own speculative ideas. Thanks for sharing these insights, Joy!
Ah thank you so much for reading, ACP, and I'm so happy to hear this! These are all reminders I come back to repeatedly too, so very glad they're helpful to others also :)
Joy, you make the craft feel alive again. Like we’re building stories out of bones and breath.
Ah this is the most wonderful comment, Barbara, and so kind of you to say! Thank you for reading - and I'm so happy this all resonated. (Also, would you mind if I quote you in the Substack description, with these words? I've been thinking about it, and this is quite literally my goal: to make the craft feel alive - so thank you for helping to articulate that! :) )
I love this🤘#ReStacked
Thanks so much, Steve! :)
i LOVE speculative fiction and you’ve outlined why it works perfectly. great, great article!
Thanks so much, Genie! Glad you enjoyed the post! And yes, speculative fiction is my favorite too :)
Hey, Joy. This was such a great read. I don't really write speculative, but the novel I'm working on now has some light speculative elements. This list was incredible. I especially appreciated the "resist the urge to explain why" section. Also, I think many of these steps just apply to fiction across the board. Thanks for sharing!
Jason, I'm so happy you enjoyed this! And yes, fully agree that it all blurs together at some point, and speculative writin tips are really, at their core, just good writing / storytelling tips. Maybe the big difference is that, since speculative writers are dealing with the supernatural, they're often more likely to feel they need to, for example, explain why, etc. But thanks for reading, and wishing you lots of good energy on your novel!
Thanks. You're so right. And thank for the positive energy. I'm really loving the whole light speculative vibe that I have going on in this novel.
These tips were so helpful. Thank you for sharing the tips and the prompt!
You're so welcome, Kristin! :) I'm really happy they're helpful.
This is the first time I’ve heard this term, thank you! A really great insight into it. It’s making me consider where my own fiction lies - is it magical realism or speculative fiction? Or something else? 😅
Thanks for reading, Zoe! Really glad it's helpful. Of course, there's so much that exists in the blurry middlegrounds, and the categories ultimately don't matter so much (although I do like thinking about these differences and find it helpful). And if you're writing somewhere in the realm of all this, then the principles here should help for sure. :) Best of luck!
Great post, Joy! I'll have to print out these tips for the next speculative piece I write.
Ah thank you, Victor! I'm so happy you find it all helpful - I am constantly reminding myself of many of these, so it came from a place of, "Remember this stuff for each new story." :)
Thanks so much. A really helpful, specific list.
I'm so happy it's helpful, Amanda! Thanks for reading. (I am aware of all that vies for our attention these days!)
How cool--have fun at tonight's reading. Wish I was there!
Thank you! And it was so much fun tonight - Allegra Hyde is the real deal and such an incredible reader of her own (brilliant) work. Hope to see you at another reading sometime!