Why fantasy, magic and clothes?
And why a toad??
I was chatting with a writer friend on MeWe, about nudity in stories. She writes a series about werewolves, and the moment that they shift from person to wolf. (For more info on that series, visit this link.)
She puts some nudity in her books in a very natural, normal and acceptable way, by simply explaining to a non-shifter why the shifter is undressing.
Let me give you a sample (posted with permission):
I stared when he took off his shirt and unbuckled the belt on his jeans.
(From the fourth book in the series.)
“Clothes are not included in the shift, unlike in fantasy movies. Which does tend to create problems.” Connor shrugged.
When he undressed completely, nobody in the room seemed to mind in the slightest.
This is a perfect way to incorporate nudity in writing, I think.
My official ego also writes a fantasy series, about a wicked witch who does things like that. She sometimes turns people into toads. The toads shuffle away from the clothes that fall on top of them, and by the time the witch decides they’ve been a toad long enough, she turns them back to humans. Sans their clothes. Here’s a sample, where Hilda’s friend Baba Yaga is up to no good and spreading that knowledge:
Baba Yaga looked at her protegé. “Turn him into a toad.”
Esmee wanted to say that she did not know how to do that, but the stare that had to come from Babs’ eyes made her swallow those words. She popped up her wand, a trick she had learnt by now. Hilda had taken position directly opposite Esmee and slowly moved her lips.
The servant laughed. “See? She’s not making much of it. Now, let me pass and don’t get in my way again!”
“Ranunculus,” said Esmee.
“Ribbit,” said, what a moment ago, had been a servant. Esmee stared at the animal that crawled from the heap of clothes.
(From Hilda book 5. “Cats”. And yes, I have my permission to post this here.)
My friend Hannah told me that no one has ever as much as mentioned anything about that nudity, and none of the readers of my Hilda the Wicked Witch series have either.
This shows that it’s very easy in fantasy to incorporate nudity into fiction, even when it’s not related to naturist areas like resorts, beaches and so forth. Even in fantasy that isn’t aimed at making people aware that nudity isn’t a bad thing.
By the way, my friend Hannah is the one who also has stories in the ‘nudist colony’ series that a group of dedicated (naturist) fiction writers are putting together (book 1, Murder, and book 2, Romance). The proceeds of all those books are donated to Doctors without Borders. If you haven’t ‘donated’ yet, buy those books and help us help them!
If you want to know more about Hannah’s writing, follow her website.
Until next time! Stay safe and naked.