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10 Tips for Writing Fantasy
Chapter 1 “Genres” – Section 2 “Fantasy”
With Links to Supplementary Material
As you might have noticed from the Outline, my section on Story Genres is rather bare. And so during the following few weeks, I will be remedying that—starting with fantasy. I have written quite a bit of fantasy—especially mixed within other genres. But more than that, I have read both excellent and profoundly horrible examples of fantasy. Today, I'm going to talk about some of the major elements that make them so. If you don't write fantasy, I still advise reading because many of these topics expand across and array of genres—and it may be that your Writing Partner would benefit from you learning a bit about fantasy.
Tip 1: Make sure that there is a reason for everything that exists in your world.
Think of the world around us. No matter what your worldview, it is impossible to think that there is not a reasonable explanation for why things exist. There are multiple races of people due to Earth's varied environments and humans' genetic diversity. Martial arts exist because there was a need for defensive and offensive violence during multiple points in history. Likewise, every race, magic, trade, skill, country, and social custom in your World must exist for a reason—whether it be insane gods, evolution, social need, godlike power, or whatever other reasonable justification. Look at each element of your story, and either come up with a reason for its existence or trash it if you find it hopelessly irrelevant.
Tip 2: Have simple, subtle, and reasonable explanations for the magics and other anomalies in your world.
Just because you have reasons for why things exist, does not mean you should write three pages about it—boring your reader to death. We want to know some of the specifics, but it pulls readers out of the story when the Narrator unnaturally explains things, one long and boring chunk if information at a time. Subtlety and simplicity are key. Have a concrete and immediate purpose for the explanation (a magic teacher trying to train someone who is ignorant, for example), explain it in the simplest terms, and slowly reveal more as the Protagonist learns more—in bits and pieces that serve to promote the reader's appetite for insight into your world.
Tip 3: Either do thorough research, or create thorough research—and then utilize it subtly.
Doubtlessly, you will talk about some of the customs, flora, fauna, moon cycles, star formations, religions, and other intimate details about your fantasy world. If you are creating an Alternate Earth, you need to do your research. Even if they don't know key facts about a country/time period, readers can tell on a subconscious level when writers simply don't care to do research. The world somehow becomes vague and the pieces of it don't go together. Same goes for an original world—you must simply create the research. Then, once you have it, think of it as a painting of a landscape. Just because it took a mountain of work just to get the flowers right, does not mean you get to emphasize them and let them distract from the rest of the painting. They should be subtly painted, and gently and humbly blend into the picture to create an overall masterpiece.
Tip 4: The more human a character is, the more epic they can be.
Too often, fantasy heroes are the bland sort that are just so epic and powerful and daring and brave that readers can't bring themselves to give a furry little rat's butt about them. Heroes and villains become truly epic not because they are naturally better than the rest of the world, but because they are so similar, and yet choose to be great. Let them struggle with the same sort of fears, doubts, flaws, and failings as anyone else, and yet strive to overcome them, if you want them to actually seem heroic to an audience.
Tip 5: Avoid fantasy cliché characters.
The damsel in distress, the evil warlock, the white knight, the dark knight, the evil king, the princes, the perfect king, the wise wizard. They've been done, and they've been done well. But they've been done too many times, and so now they are cliches that readers do not care about. Do not allow them into your story. Give each of your characters depth and originality, and avoid the formulaic sort of stories that require these cliched archetypes.
Tip 6: Avoid the romanticization and demonization of certain races/species/peoples.
Dragons, elves, dwarfs, and many others have recently come to be races of perfect beings who can do no wrong. On the other hand, orcs, goblins, trolls and other ugly races have become nothing but straw-men for the heroes to butcher by the hundreds. This is not only a promotion of racism and skin-deep judgment in the real world, but is (in this day, when we know better) a lazy sort of writing. And this does not mean that writers should just trade one stereotype for another (like with dragons, who were once all evil but are now all good). Characters within clans, and clans within races, and races within the world should all be treated with realistic ambivalence—with both good and bad things about their cultures, and an abundance of individuals and sub-groups within those cultures who do not agree with those around them.
Tip 7: Be original, and avoid ripping off D&D/Skyrim/LOTR.
One of the greatest things about fantasy is that you can do anything! And yet fantasy writers often seem to feel like they have to stay within the fictional boundaries set by previous masters of the craft, or like those worlds can never be topped so they can only aspire to the greatness that has previously been. Readers do not want to see another shadow of the old masters, but the new worlds and ideas that only you can come up with. So be brave, and create something new!
Tip 8: With a few exceptions, take it easy with the magical artifacts.
Yes, magical artifacts are part of the fun of a fantasy universe. However, they've been overdone to the point of nearly being a genre in and of themselves. Nothing turns me away from reading a fantasy novel more than finding out that it is about finding the amulet of blah blah blah. So either find a new and fresh way of using the artifact plot element, or leave it alone for a few decades.
Tip 9: Avoid Old English.
You don't speak Old English. Your readers do not speak old English. Old English actually contains an intricate syntax of rules, conjugations, and words that you do not want to learn any more than your readers want to read. So drop the “thees” “thous” “eths” and all the other remaining pieces of Old English that people misuse, much to the annoyance of readers with any sort of education.
Tip 10: Don't be so caught up in the grand and cosmic elements of your story that you forget the intimate details.
Lastly, remember to always keep your focus on the plot and characters—the intimate scenes where we see relationships being built through hardship and sharing, where we see characters overcome the universal difficulties in their lives that readers can empathize with, and the subtle acts and feeling of empathy, pain, confusion, and hopelessness that a hero might feel just at seeing a homeless child beg for money. These, not the unique magic, cool species, and powerful villains, are what will make your story memorable.
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