Tips for the author: how to write in the fantasy genre
The genre began to stand alone in the sixties of the last century. Since then it has only become more popular. Fantasy is attractive because it helps to break away from reality. Everyone loved fairy tales as a child. Fantasy is a fairy tale for adults. How nice it is, after finishing the day’s work and dealing with household chores, open a book, let your imagination run wild and immerse yourself in a fictional universe where there are no strict rules, but there is magic, magical creatures, heroes and adventures.
Today we’ll tell you how to write a fantasy to capture the imagination of your readers.
Where to start
Fantasy is a type of fantasy, a literary genre that is based on fairy tales, folklore, mythology, and other similar fantasy assumptions.
Fantasy gives the impression of a complex, multi-layered genre that is not easy to approach. In part it is, but it can be mastered like any other. To do this, you need to outline an algorithm of action and arm yourself with your own imagination. Because in fantasy any fantasy comes true.
First decide what kind of fantasy you want to write:
- Heroic. The plot is built around an unquestionable hero, on whose share fall adventures and committing feats.
- Epic. The confrontation of good and evil against a background of carefully designed worlds, a large number of actors, their stories and intertwined storylines.
- Dark. Fantasy at the intersection of Gothic, in which evil rules the world.
- Game. The story is based on a board, computer or role-playing game with literary assumptions.
- Historical. Actions take place in a particular era or in the background of important events for mankind.
- Urban. Events are set in the modern world among the people.
- Romantic. Stakes on the romantic line, love relationships between characters.
- Humorous. Satire and irony of fantasy stamps and clichés or comic parodies of famous stories.
- Mythological. Inspiration sources are myths – Scandinavian, Celtic, Slavic, Egyptian, Greek.
- Techno. Technology comes to the aid of magic. It echoes science fiction, but with a touch of magic.
Rarely does an author work in a pure genre. More often sub-genres are mixed, to give the product identity borrowed features of different genres. When you decide on the subject, go to the next step of the algorithm.
Plan
Fantasy is a large-scale genre. Without a detailed plan, it is difficult to cope with the plot. A plan is needed so that you don’t get confused by plot lines, characters, features, and details of the fictional world. In a fantasy book, everything is connected. And although what is happening is unreal, the reader has no doubt that the events are unfolding in reality. He must believe in the fictional world. For this to happen, the book must have no inconsistencies in dates, names and descriptions, places and actions.
A detailed plan will give the structure of the future work, expose flaws and advantages, help to see the flaws and correct them in time. Be sure to include:
- Detailed character profiles, their roles in the story
- Features of the world in which everything happens
- Plot lines by chapter with descriptions of major scenes and twists
Include in the plan any ideas, thoughts, additions that come to mind while working on the book.
Creation of the World
In fantasy, the world is almost as central as the story and is just as important as the characters. Character arcs, conflict, and plot twists depend on what the world will be like in the book. It is important for the architect of worlds to think everything through to the smallest detail. In order not to miss anything, we advise thinking through it step by step:
- Geography .
It is important to understand where the events unfold. This can be a single continent or several continents. Think about the features of the landscape: deserts, mountains, forests, seas and oceans. Make a map of the world. Famous writers began creating worlds by creating detailed maps. This is not an easy task, but if you have taken up the fantasy genre, you are prepared for difficulties in advance. Map out the borders, countries, capitals, their characteristics, how and why they interact or feud. See how a picture of the world order will begin to emerge as you fill in the blanks. - Flora and Fauna.
Ask yourself questions:
What are the seasons in my world, how do they change?
Are there natural zones, how do they change as you move from the edge of one world border to the edge of the opposite?
Does the world have familiar vegetation or are there plants with miraculous properties that are important to the story?
What creatures inhabit the world?
Answers will help you more accurately recreate the nature of the fantasy world and give it credibility. - Story.
If what happened in the past affects the plot in the present, make up a story. Perhaps there were bloody wars of ruling dynasties in the world, or there was a change of power in a coup that further affected the polity and life of the people. - System of government
From the polity to the system of taxation, foreign and domestic politics, economy, culture, trade and other seemingly boring aspects. These are the ones that will help the reader believe in your world. It’s great to come up with features that will set the world apart from what already exists. - Population
Is the world populated by humans or are there magical creatures, fictional races, living there along with them? Ordinary life is just as important as state life. What do the people live on? What difficulties do they face, what problems do they solve? What is their everyday life like? - Magic
What is the role of magic in the book? Perhaps you’re not a fan of classic magic at all, with spells, elemental control, potions, and wands. In that case, you can populate the world with mythical creatures, such as in George Martin’s A Song of Ice and Flame. - Time
What era would you place the world in: the distant past, the present, or an alternate universe in which time flows differently?
Fantasy masters have been known to design even languages for worlds. If you feel the potential, take a swing at that as well. Or if there are several nationalities or races in the world, you can at least conditionally let the reader know that they speak different languages, without going into linguistic detail.
Characters
Depending on the subgenre, this could be an epic lone hero, a hero who has helpers – one or more at different points along the way, or a couple or three equally important characters whose storylines will overlap. Maybe several protagonists who initially act together.
Again, questions will come to the rescue:
Who is your protagonist? How old is he? What gender is he? The hero may be a brave, invincible leader, or he may be timid, insecure, and inconspicuous, but has hidden powers that will unfold over the course of the narrative.
Where does he come from? Was he born in this world or came from another?
What makes him special? How is he different from the others? Think of a trait that makes the character unique: a feature of his appearance, behavioral or conversational traits, character traits that are rarely combined in one person.
What is he here for? What drives him? What is his purpose? The character’s motivation drives the plot.
There are many guiding questions to help you get to know the character better. Don’t be afraid to ask them.
If there are several characters, make up for each not only a memorable appearance, but also a character, endow the live behavioral traits. To avoid confusion, make a questionnaire or passport hero, which should record everything, from birthmarks and taste preferences, ending with the relationship with his parents in early childhood and the impact of the first crush on later relationships. Read here how to compile a real dossier on your hero.
Naming
In the world of fantasy, location names and character names play a not insignificant role. An unusual name will make the hero of the book memorable. A mention of a popular fictional country is enough for the reader to have a ready image. It is enough to say: “Narnia” or “Middle-earth,” and the imagination instantly draws the desired landscapes.
To come up with a sonorous name, search the Internet for lists of names of different peoples. Find the ones you like, try to combine a couple of names, play with the letters – rearrange, add new ones.
In search of appropriate names for countries and cities, connect your imagination, open the world map, looking for the names of small towns that are not in the ear, villages, villages. Swap letters and syllables, and the right name will be found.
Plot features of fantasy and differences from other genres
The main feature is the unreality of what is happening. Events, ideas, facts contradict reality, break the usual course of things. Fantasy plots are completely unrealistic. We know that hobbits, orcs, flying broomsticks, werewolves, mermaids and other magical beings do not exist. And unicorns and dragons, if they ever were, are long since extinct. The fantasy author’s imagination is not limited by anything but his own fantasy, and unlike the same science fiction, the reader does not need to explain what is happening in terms of the laws of physics.
Distinctive features of the genre:
– Magic
In any of the possible options. The choice is entirely up to the writer.
– Setting
Ideas are often based on mythology, with events taking place in other worlds and universes. Fantasy worlds are detailed, like Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings or George Martin in A Song of Ice and Flame. In no other genre does the world require so much detail.
– Time of Action
In fantasy books, the action usually takes place in the distant past. It includes recognizable elements of the Middle Ages – castles, knights, beautiful ladies, tournaments, and battles. The present tense is also possible, as in Sergei Lukyanenko’s The Watchmen or Joan Rowling’s Harry Potter.
Open confrontation between good and evil.
And having a hero whose mission is to rid the fantasy world of the forces of evil.