5 Lessons I’ve Learned From Writing my First Fantasy
Every fantasy world is created from the building blocks of reality
In an attempt to avoid the endless cycle of Coronavirus news and my own pit of existential despair, I recently started writing a fantasy novel for the first time.
It’s something I never thought I’d do. I usually write contemporary fiction, mainly YA novels in high school settings. The idea of writing an epic fantasy, with all the world-building that came with it, felt overwhelming.
But here I am, 20k words into a fantasy novel that has grabbed me by the heartstrings and refuses to let go. Here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned along the way about the genre.
Plan, but don’t go overboard
You’ve likely heard of the whole ‘architect vs. gardener’ debate, based on a famous interview quote by George R.R. Martin. The architects are those who create elaborate, detailed plots and character profiles ahead of time. The gardeners are more likely to go with the flow, letting their imaginations spill onto paper and seeing what comes of it.
I started off thinking that I had to be an architect to write a good fantasy. So I tried to plot out my fantasy novel in intrinsic detail, thinking it would give me more structure. I spent weeks trying to fix plot holes and writing character backstories, feeling my passion for the project diminish each day. In the end, I decided to just start writing the story and see what happened.
Funnily enough, once I started to write I suddenly felt a lot more inspired. I was able to go back and fix some of the plot holes I’d been struggling over. As I wrote from the viewpoint of my characters and came to understand them, they began to take the story in a whole new direction.
Sometimes it’s less about being an architect or a gardener, and more about finding a balance between the two that works for you.
Take inspiration from real life
One of the things I found most challenging about the idea of writing fantasy was world-building. What would the landscape of my fantasy world look like? What would my characters wear? What kind of names would they have? Just thinking about all of these questions gave me a headache. I didn’t know where to start from, and it all felt so overwhelming that I was tempted to give up.
Creating a fictional universe is a daunting prospect for any writer, but it doesn’t have to be. The thing is, you’re not starting from zero. Every fantasy world I can think of, from Narnia to Middlearth, is inspired by something real: a period of history, a place, or a culture. George R.R Martin has publicly stated that his epic saga Game of Thrones was influenced by the Wars of the Roses. That’s what makes fantasy relatable. It’s created from the building blocks of reality.
Once I realized this, I used medieval Viking history as a foundation for my fantasy world. From there, it suddenly became a whole lot easier to figure out the smaller details.
Exposition is best used in moderation
One of the major pitfalls of writing fantasy is info-dumping. While this can happen in any novel, it’s a particularly easy mistake to make in fantasy because it’s a genre that requires a lot of exposition.
To avoid this, watch out for long, explanatory paragraphs in your novel that are telling rather than showing the reader new information. How much of this exposition does your reader need to know? Is there a way to strategically scatter some of this information throughout the chapter, rather than dropping it all at once?
When I read back through the chapter I’ve just written, I usually check to make sure that there is a good balance of action and exposition, with more emphasis on the action.
Focus on character development
I find that quite often in fantasy novels writers get carried away with plot mechanics and forget to focus on the development of their characters. The protagonist becomes a pair of eyes for the reader and a plot device rather than a three-dimensional character, making the story feel shallow and unengaging.
Don’t forget that every good story is character-driven at its heart. Focus on making your characters unique; give them goals, motivations, unique quirks and emotional depth. Character development is about showing how your characters learn, change and grow over the course of the story. Readers don’t want to be told something, they want to experience it through your protagonist, feeling what they feel and going through the emotional highs and lows with them. Having that emotional investment in the characters is what makes reading a good book so exciting and rewarding.
Consider the best POV for the story you’re telling
Fantasy is one of those genres that can lend itself well to telling stories from multiple points of view (POV). Sometimes getting into the heads of several different characters can enable you to give the reader a broader, more comprehensive understanding of the world you’re building. It enables you to use a variety of narrative voices, bring in different subplots, and make use of literary devices such as dramatic irony.
On the other hand, multiple POV stories are harder to pull off successfully. Writing from too many different POVs can be confusing for the reader. It can also mean that they are less invested in each individual character.Perhaps some POV characters are stronger than others, and the reader will want to skip ahead to the characters they care about more.
There are also many advantages to writing from a single POV. Doing so means your narrative is more focused, making it easier to keep the plot clear and cohesive throughout. It also enables your reader to develop a deeper, more direct connection with your protagonist.