Five tips for writing fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that every day has more followers. That's why today we give you five tips for writing fantasy that will help you.

Basic things (but essential, especially if you are taking your first steps in writing) if you want to take your fantasy novel to the next level.

Do a good pre-work

Doing a good preliminary work is something elementary, not only to write fantasy but to write any genre. But perhaps it is especially valid for the fantastic genre.

Writing fantasy means that you are going to handle extraordinary elements such as magic, mythological beings and imaginary worlds. Therefore, you must be very clear about which of these elements you are going to add to your plot, at what moment and with what intention. In addition to devising all its peculiarities.

If you don't do that pre-work, you risk spending hours wrestling with your story when it comes time for a rewrite to fix bugs, gaps, and plot inconsistencies.

What can happen:

Do not think that you do not need a previous plan and that you will solve problems as they arise. That is precisely the mistake that many of the students who come to the Novel Course have made, desperate for having spent months (and even years) stuck without being able to bring their argument to a successful conclusion.

That idea that you now have so clear in your head can give you problems (it sure will) when you start writing and have to develop it in detail.

For example, if your protagonist is a very powerful wizard who can solve any problem with his spells, at the time of review you will find that there is hardly any conflict and therefore your plot has no tension.

How to avoid it:

Take a notebook and write down each fantasy element that you are going to include in your novel (magic, secret societies, mythological races, etc.). Write down everything that you think your readers will not understand without an explanation. When you're sure you've written everything down, take the time to refine the details of each item until you're sure it will fit seamlessly into your argument.

In the case of the example, you should think about what force could take on a powerful wizard and oppose his spells to maintain the tension of the conflict throughout your story.

Less is more

Building a fictional world is always a fun process when writing fantasy. But it often happens that you get so involved in building the world that you forget about the main thing: writing a good story.

Fantasy readers aren't just looking for elaborate fictional worlds (although that's an enticement). What they want are stories that captivate them, that make them get involved with everything that happens on the pages until they come to love the characters that populate them.

The fantastic world is just a backdrop, not the main part of your novel. This does not mean that you do not give importance to it, because it does, but do not overdo it.

What can happen:

One of the biggest dangers in writing fantasy is spending too much time on worldbuilding. That not only makes you put off starting to write the story (which is ultimately the important thing), but it will make you want to use every little detail you've imagined later, running the risk of drowning out the action.

How to avoid it:

Identify what elements of the fantasy world are essential to your story and stick with them. Ask yourself the following question: What do readers need to know in order for your story to make sense in the context of your fictional world?

As you work on building your world, consider whether this detail you're devising (for example, royal court etiquette) is necessary for the reader to understand what's going on. If the answer is no, as exciting as it is to devise the rules that govern the palatial life of Castle Armon, don't waste time on it.

The Hero's Journey

The hero's journey is the most popular plot structure for fantasy novels. And it is rightly so. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell describes the essence of this structure:

A hero ventures beyond our world into a region of otherworldly wonder. There he meets fabulous forces and wins a decisive battle. Finally, the hero returns from this mysterious adventure with certain powers or knowledge.

Does it sound familiar to you? Of course, it is the structure that supports the plot of some of the stories that you have liked the most, from The Hobbit and Harry Potter to Star Wars.

The hero's journey follows a twelve-stage outline that is easy to apply to most fantasy stories.

What can happen:

Of course, there are great stories in the annals of fantasy literature that don't follow the hero's journey structure. Not applying it does not mean that your story will fail. However, we guarantee that this structure will benefit your novel.

Following this scheme you will have a map that guides you during the development of your story. And not just any map, but the one followed by the authors of some of the readers' favorite fantasy novels.

How to avoid it:

If you don't want to get lost while applying the twelve-step framework of the hero's journey, learn as much as you can about it and think about how your story could follow its trajectory. Here we explain everything in detail.

Keep it simple

Fantasy is booming and dozens of novels of the genre are published every day. Writing a novel that stands out is not easy. Knowing this, many fantasy authors make the mistake of complicating their stories in an attempt to make them original. Dozens of subplots, a thousand characters, turning points on each page...

What you should try to do when writing fantasy is to create a simple but deep connection with your reader. And that connection is created by a good story (argument, plot, characters, conflict), no more is needed.

What can happen:

The more you try to complicate your story, the more likely you are to mess it up (especially if you're a first-time writer).

How to avoid it:

Don't complicate things unnecessarily. Before adding a new character or subplot, ask yourself if that element really adds to your story or you just want to add layers of complexity to wow the reader.

If that new character or subplot doesn't enhance and amplify your main plot, don't write another line.

Take care of the characters

We have said that when writing fantasy you should seek to connect with the reader, that they identify with your story and want to follow it to the end to see how it is resolved. This is achieved through the characters.

As we have said, often when writing fantasy there is a tendency to put too much emphasis on the where (the fantastic world created on purpose) or the how (magic, supernatural powers, characteristics of mythological races) than on the who.

But the who, the character, is the heart of the story. So give it all the attention it deserves.

What can happen:

If the reader cannot identify with your character or at least understand his motivations and be interested in how he faces and solves the difficulties that you are going to make him face, your novel will not have fulfilled its objective. It doesn't matter how elaborate the thousand details are about the world in which the action takes place, its races and the protocol of the court of its main kingdom.

How to avoid it:

Develop your characters well, especially the protagonists. Make sure you give them clear conflict and put obstacles in their way. Also that they fulfill the dramatic arc of the character so that, at the end of their adventures, the reader can perceive a change in them.

As you can see, writing fantasy presents its difficulties. Added to the complex task of developing a fantastic setting where the action takes place is the normal complication of writing a good story: well-developed characters, an effective plot, a clear conflict, etc.

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