Miocene Gryphon

“Mamma’s Children”, the back cover for Paleocene #6.

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“𝑴𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑶𝒏𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔. 𝑶, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆.”

There aren't a lot of resources devoted to writing creature fantasy, animal fiction, xenofiction, or similar human-free works, and I thought I'd help out a little by offering a few tips. My goal here isn't to judge or tell you that you're doing it wrong, but instead, I'd like to help you avoid a few pitfalls or give you more options as a writer. I'm also writing these after my brain is fried from getting my novel work done for the day, so hopefully this'll be coherent and fairly typo-free. With that in mind, here's your first tip. Sentience implies an awareness of self as an organism, while sapience implies wisdom, creativity, and near-ish human levels of intelligence. I think what throws people here is all those scifi documentaries about the "search for sentient life" in the cosmos. That phrase doesn't mean they're searching for little grey men with UFOs, it means they're searching for life larger than single-celled organisms.

If you sit outside reading this, turn around, and see that a squirrel has stolen your lunch, it is accurate for you to say "my sandwich was stolen by sentient squirrels." But if the squirrel shouts insults at you, came up with an elaborate plan to steal your sandwich, and this is part of the squirrel's four-year-plan to control sandwiches in your city, the squirrel is sapient. (It's also sentient, but since all squirrels as we know them are sentient, it'd be redundant to mention that.)

"So how far down do you have to go before life stops being sentient?" I've seen studies on sentience in beetles, so I'd assume below insects.

"Wait, but then.... where is the line between sentience and sapience?" This is a little tougher. Are crows, dolphins, gorillas, or whales sapient? It's a topic for debate, and rather than give you an answer, you can use those as an example of what the line looks like in your own writing.

This distinction can feel a bit pedantic, especially when your favorite scifi and fantasy writers are probably getting it wrong all the time. The thing about creature fantasy fans, though, is that they're here for sapient non-human protagonists, and they know the distinction. You will get angry letters if you mix these up.

That said... if you are writing sentient xenofiction, that's okay! Your audience may be smaller, but a book like Raptor Red by Dr. Robert T. Bakker was immensely popular and influential despite having just a normal Utahraptor as the protagonist. Depending on how you write them, you may get some claims that you're anthropomorphizing your characters. Maybe you want that, maybe you don't. That's entirely up to you. We'll talk about anthropomorphism and disanthropomorphism later on.

Heading to some dungeon someplace, or just on a general quest, whatever gets you out into the subtropical forests. You come through a clearing, and suddenly you're face to face with an ogre.

Now, your first instinct upon seeing the shaggy, vaguely man-like giant with its gangly arms and mouth of fangs is going to be to draw steel on it. This is what is generally referred to as "a mistake."

An ogre's reach, strength and endurance far outclass your own, and they use makeshift clubs with frequency.

But most importantly, combat is rarely needed to deal with these creatures. Contrary to reputation, they rarely seek out meat, preferring fruits and soft plants. Nor are they enraged by joy and happiness, as many a fool bard prattles on about.

The open mouth smile is considered a threatening gesture to these creatures, as it is a prelude to combat between them. If encountering an ogre, it is best to slowly back away while making yourself as small and nonthreatening as you can, and do not look the beast in the eyes.

Ogres will rarely pursue a nonthreatening humanoid that is leaving their territory.

A pursed lip, 'kissing' expression appears to be a signal of friendliness, and can be used to signal you are not a threat. If an ogre returns this gesture, maintain a polite distance. When they aren't seen as threat, smaller humanoids come across as children to ogre perception. Tales of 'ogre wives' capturing burly warriors and offering them a 'wedding feast' of fruit, insects and strange plants are not, in fact, captives of a lovesick monster.

Rather, the warrior in question has been mistaken for a particularly inept and helpless ogre child (or something close enough to adopt) and is being fed on the assumption they don't yet know how to gather their own food. The 'jealous, watchful eye' of the ogre is more likely the same kind of watchful concern one gives a clumsy or easily distracted child.

As such, it's best to not get 'adopted' in the first place.

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Read in 2023

Deathbeast by David Gerrold 1978