Learning from Others

As part of my inspiration for writing my own fantasy novel, I've been reading Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis. Reading the work of others is a great way for beginning (and experienced!) writers like myself to learn. It also helps me to see that an idea can be explored in many ways without wearing out. Davis explores the concepts of humans turning into dragons, dragons being viewed as evil, the existence of dragon slayers -- all ideas that I explore in my current project or others on the back burner. We use these ideas in very different ways, however -- one of the reasons fantasy can tread the same ground and still be unique.