Ever since “The Lord of The Rings” and “Harry Potter” books hit the market, fantasy novels have always been high on the list of bestsellers. So, have you ever thought of writing a fantasy novel (or story) and seemed lost in the middle? Perhaps, you have even written one, but it just seems too dull or uninteresting to stand out from the crowd? Well, here are a few tips and guidelines that show you how to write better fantasy.
1. Create Your Own World
While writing a fantasy story, it is not only important to create a world of your own, but also imperative to know absolutely everything about the world that you have created. The readers of your story may never know the scope of your world that you have created, but you have to know every little detail that there is to know about your world, after all, it’s your world! This may be an exhausting process, and after a point it will become near impossible for you to know each and every minute detail, but try to know as much as possible. Be sure that before you put your characters into the world, you know the exact reason why they are there, and what is the objective they need to serve in your story. Decide how your characters will interact with the world you have created, and what will be the outcomes.
2. Have a Myth
Most fantasy stories have a myth about their characters and (or) their world. It’s not absolutely necessary, but having a myth affects your story in a positive way. You may not start with this, however. You could figure out the myth as you go deeper into the story, or as you learn more about your characters through your imagination.
There are a lot of questions, though, that you would need to answer while creating your myth, the most important one being the existence of magic. A fantasy story has a certain quality that sets it apart from the earth we live in and know of. The “magic” is what sets your world apart from Earth. Otherwise, without the magic, you are just writing fiction.
3. Stay Away From Clichés
There have been thousands of fantasy novels in the past, thus, there exist a number of clichés in the fantasy world. Steering clear of clichés will give your story a fresh feel and will make it stand out from the crowd. One of the most overused clichés would be, the kid who inherits superpowers! Stay away from it, or if you really want to have that kid who has superpowers, create a massive twist or a detail that is unexpected and the readers will love.
4. Create Rules
There may be no rules as such while writing a fantasy story, but make sure that YOUR fantasy world has rules. Make sure people behave and act in a certain way, and that way applies to all the characters in your world. Create unwritten guidelines that your characters should follow, fantasy or not.
5. Go Crazy
And finally, remember that this is a fantasy story. People read fantasy to escape from the real world. You have the ultimate weapon (the pen) that can break the bounds of reality. Go ahead and break them! The power of fantasy lies in the fact that you can do anything. Embrace the openness. You have the magic in you to create whatever you can think of. Go big. Dream weird. Be original. Be crazy!
Image credit: miss_millions on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
Pranay Kanagat is a freelance writer who has a love for writing on various subjects. In particular, he enjoys creative writing. He is also studying for an Engineering degree.