Escapist Fantasy

From The Writerium - the wiki for writers

A subgenre of fantasy where, rather than beginning in the fantasy world with a character familiar with its workings, the story follows a character from our world (or a version of it) who has been transported to the place. Done well, it may make the character more accessible to the reader, as they will be experiencing the same level of wonder and surprise (or cynical derision) at the things they encounter on their journey.

The world they find themselves in may not always be High Fantasy, however. They may be Low Fantasy, Science Fiction or even Historical Fiction, in the case of a time-travel story.

Examples of Escapist Fantasy

• The fantasy miniseries The 10th Kingdom takes the derision route, offering cynical New Yorkers in a fractured fairytale world.
• The book and subsequent film Stardust occupy this genre rather uniquely, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century rather than the modern era.
• Played completely straight in the Pokémon fanfic Emerald: The Legend of Hoenn.

Common Plot Points

• The hero was taken deliberately to the fantasy world in order to save it (or in an attempt to destroy it).
• The hero learns that he/she is not the first person from Earth to visit this world: someone, often a parent or a main antagonist, found their way there many years ago. They may still be there, set up as a well-known leader.
• The hero meets someone from the new world and falls in love, forcing one of them to choose between their home and their lover.
• If the fashion style of the new world is sufficiently different from that of modern-day Earth, a scene will likely occur in which the hero changes his/her clothes.

Common Absurdities

• To ensure that the hero will decide to stay in the new world, the author will give him/her no ties to his old one, making everyone there (with one or two exceptions) hate and/or ignore him/her. Conversely, everyone he/she meets in the new world will like him/her and become close friends.
• The other characters in the new world, aside from a brief moment of culture shock, never consider the hero's clothing, mannerisms or cultural tastes to be strange or even unappealing. If a scene occurs in which the hero shares culture from his/her world (e.g. rap music), the locals will consider it to be superior to their own.