1. Quests Can be Internal as well as External
Fantasy
Quests Can be Internal as well as External

2. Think of your favorite fantasy book
How do these stores tend to go?
Can you find patterns in the obstacles characters face?
Does the character always accomplish what they want right away?
Do they stay home or are they forced to leave?

3. Think of your favorite fantasy book
How do these stores tend to go?
Can you find patterns in the obstacles characters face?
Does the character always accomplish what they want right away?
Do they stay home or are they forced to leave?
THEY DON’T JUST FACE ONE PROBLEM, THEY FACE A SERIES OF PROBLEMS
THEY OFTEN LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND GO ON A JOURNEY

4. Teaching point
Today I want to teach you that experienced fantasy readers know that most fantasy stories follow a quest structure.

5. Quest Structures Various types of quests
Could involve rescuing a captive or a sacred object (Shrek).
Could ask the hero to destroy the villain or a dangerous object (Harry Potter).
It could be that the hero has gotten into another world or place, and the quest is the journey out of that place (Narnia or Alice in Wonderland).

6. Quest Structure in the Thief of always
Harvey’s External Quest to Save the Children and destroy the house
Go to the house
Escape the house
Find his home
Go back to the house
Destroy Mr. Hood’s creatures
Destroy Mr. Hood
Get back home

7. Quest Structure in the Thief of always
Harvey’s Internal Quest
Dealing with boredom
Choosing gifts and activities
Missing his parents
Resisting greed
Tackling evil
Showing courage and sacrifice

8. Now you Try this with your book club book!
Think of the main character and what he/she is most trying to accomplish.
When thinking about external quest, consider this task not as just one problem, but as a series of smaller obstacles.
When thinking about internal quest, consider what’s inside the character that gets in the way– what internal flaws or conflicts do they need to overcome?

10. Sophisticated readers of fantasy
Research the setting (What kind of place is it?).
Ask about power– who has it, evidence, kinds of power.
Learn alongside the main character.
Keep track of multiple problems.
Suspend judgement about characters and places.
Read metaphorically by
Considering the “dragons” characters face
Applying life lessons learned in fiction to their own lives.
Considering internal as well as external quest structures