How To-7: "How to Write a Fantasy Story"

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Do you want to write a really good fantasy tale? Here are some tips to help you.

Steps

1. Decide what you want to write. A short children's story? A novella? A full blown fantasy epic? If it's your first writing project, start small, and don't overwhelm yourself.
   
2. Develop a plan of characters and plot for your story. Make your characters complicated, make them real and let them have a personality and a life. Think of fantasy stories you have already read and what you liked about these. Even better - go to the source. Authors such as Tolkein and Rowling borrow heavily from traditional myths and legends, and doing the same is the best way to avoid ripping off the best sellers.
   
3. Move from reality into fantasy. Will your characters start off in the real world and discover the magical elements hidden beneath the surface? (Harry Potter) Will they be transported into a world where all the rules are different? (Chronicles of Narnia) Or will they start off in a world entirely different from our own, and go on noble quests to slay dragons and defeat evil? (Lord of the Rings)
   
4. Create the world. Add things such as talking animals, dragons or even dinosaurs, along with magic. You can make up your own magical species, or use ones borrowed from folklore, or even not have any at all. The same goes for magic. Try to avoid cliches as much as possible - twist and subvert them.
   
5. Write. Just write. Don't just write the story, but write histories of your characters, unrelated shorts, and anything else you can think of to flesh out your characters and your world. If you have the plot and an outline in mind, then write out the rough draft first - and only when you're done should you go back and edit.
   
6. When you're finished and ready to start editing, create a checklist to work from:
   
   • Is your plot feasible, at least according to the rules you've set up? Do you explain things enough to create willing suspension of disbelief?
     
   • Is your world and the rules it's based upon consistent?
     
   • Are your fantasy characters identifiable, well-described and interesting?
     
   • Is your theme subtle but well-developed? Don't preach, and don't moralize. People with messages use the post.
     
   • Is your style and diction consistent and appealing to your target audience?
     
   
   
7. Finally, let others read your work. It can be just a few close friends at first, but once you start getting good criticism and you start building confidence, you might want to consider trying to publish
   
8. Its good to look for other books for inspiration.
   

Tips

• Be creative with your settings. Underground dungeons and medieval castles aren't the only places you can find dragons.
  
• Avoid info dumping. If you make your character complicated, don't begin the book with seven pages of introduction to them. Same with the world. Spread information throughout the story: this heightens suspense and makes your book a joy to read.
  
• Making a character is like making an imaginary friend: make sure that it is believable that the person is real. Become the person and write down what you think they might say and do.
  
• Think of verbal and gesture tags for your main character(s) - nail-biting, hair-twirling, calling everyone "love", and catchphrases can all really help with characterization. Moderation, however, is still key.
  
• Think of fitting names for your characters. For exotic species, use exotic sounding names, and vice versa.
  
• If you're having a hard time coming up with an idea, borrow from the classics. That is, after all, where Shakespeare got all his ideas. But don't just rip-off someone else's writing. Add twists, turns, subversions, deconstructions, and your own unique spin.
  
• Don't use an excessive amount of magic. Even if your world is very magic rich, using magic to get out of every scrape becomes very boring after a while.
  
• If you want, you can take a book or fairy tale everyone knows and change it into a new, one-of-a-kind creation.

Warnings

• Plan the story before you start writing it. Give it a:
  
• Exposition
  
• Inciting Incident/Conflict
  
• Rising Action
  
• Climax (This is especially important)
  
• Falling Action
  
• Denouement
  
• But not necessarily in that order!

Related wikiHows

• How to Write a Fanfiction
  
• How to Read Aloud to a Child
  
• How to Write Non Fiction
  
• How to Write a Good Story
  

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