Tag Archives: writing

The ABCs of Writing Fantasy

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This isn’t so much a list of do’s and don’ts or advice. It’s more of a list of elements that I’ve found to be common in most fantasy tales. Feel free to make suggestions about what words you’d pick for this list!

A – Adventure. What good fantasy tale doesn’t involve an adventure? It doesn’t have to a thrill-a-minute tale, or involve more traveling than Frodo’s hike from the Shire to Mordor, but “going on an adventure” is a foundational element in many fantasy stories.

B – Bad Guys. Whether the villain is the personification of evil itself, or a conflicted, misunderstood character, it’s not much of a story without an antagonist.

C – Creatures. Everyone expects some sort of fantastical beasts in a fantasy story. Whether traditional or made-up just for that one tale, a creature not found in real life should make an appearance.

D – Destiny. Not a requirement for fantasy, of course, but it’s a common theme in many tales. It can be as complex as a prophecy, or as simple as the hero choosing the righteous path to determine his own destiny.

E – Epic. Again, not a requirement for a story of the fantasy genre. But more so than most any other genre, fantasy easily can lend itself to epic tales that span decades or centuries and scores of characters.

F – Fights. Everybody likes a good fight scene. Sword fights, orc battles, slaying a dragon…there’s usually a battle or two in any fantasy story.

G – Good Guys. Somebody’s got to oppose the Bad Guys, right?

H – History. Most fantasy tales involve complex world-building, and that word includes a history that may or may not impact the current story. Also, real world history is often a great source of inspiration for fantasy writers.

I – Imagination. Without it, there would be no stories – fantasy or otherwise.

J – Journey. Frodo takes the Ring to Mordor. It’s a long trip, but he also goes on a personal journey as the story progresses. Good fantasy involves either kind of journey, or both.

K – Kings and Queens. Or emperors, or evil over-lords. Somebody’s got to be in charge, to either fight for or fight against.

L – Life and Death. Isn’t this the subject of every good tale?

M – Magic. Pretty much a staple of the fantasy genre. The great thing about magic, though, is that it’s different in every tale. Anything is possible – and believable – with magic, as long as it fits within the rules of the fantasy world of that story.

N – Non-humans. Similar to Creatures, but other non-humans are often sentient races like elves, rather than a monster like a dragon. Not a requirement for fantasy, but usually expected.

O – On-going. There is such a thing as a stand-alone fantasy tale, but fans of epic fantasy enjoy the on-going series, or at least a nice thick trilogy.

P – Plot. A plot is required for most any fiction, really. But fantasy is usually far more plot-driven than, say, character-driven literary fiction.

Q – Quest. Like a journey, many fantasy stories involve a quest for a treasure, a cause, or a person.

R – Reluctant hero. There’s something appealing about the reluctant hero, the character who is forced to adapt to a strange situation or is trying to hide from their true calling.

S – Setting. This is a part of world-building, but the setting is primarily the physical location, rather than creatures and cultures and everything else about the world. Fantasy provides for settings of most any kind, from castles to mountains to haunted forests and beyond.

T – Treasure. The treasure in a fantasy story doesn’t have to be the dragon’s gold or the king’s long-lost magic sword. But conflict often can be driven by desire for something of value – a treasure – to the characters and their world.

U – Unexpected. While fantasy readers may be expecting and wanting magic, destiny, and epic battles, they also want something different and new, too.

V – Vision. This can apply to a lot of different things in fantasy. Vision can refer to a character with magical sight or prophetic talents. Vision can be the rich visual details that the author paints to describe the world and the characters. Vision can be the broad scope of the over-all plot that runs through an epic.

W – World-building. This is necessary for the fantasy genre – even if the tale is urban fantasy set in the real world. The rules of magic, the types of non-human beings, places and names – all of that is part of the world, and needs to be fully realized by the author, even if not every detail makes it into the book. The fantasy world has to feel full and real.

X – Excitement. See adventure and unexpected. Anticipation and tension and a riveting plot keeps a reader interested.

Y – YA. This stands for Young Adult, an age-range and literary genre that is very popular for fantasy stories right now. YA is enjoyed by young and old alike, though, and even if the main character is under the age of 20, most stories are relatable to readers of any age. Harry Potter, anyone?

Z – Zeal. Zeal is having passion and enthusiasm for someone or something. This can describe many characters in fantasy stories, as well as describing the fans. Being zealous is a good thing – life can be pretty dry if you have no excitement for anything.

Of Rabbits and Editing

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I have no witty or earth-shattering post this week. I was out of town all weekend, and then returned home to be sick for the past two days. So with that as my excuse, I am simply posting a picture. While this particular picture was taken a few months ago, it’s still applicable. Any time I edit (or sort papers for anything, really), my bunny has to help.

Happy reading, writing, and editing, everybody!

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Writing Updates – February 2014

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Happy new year! It’s still early enough in the year to say that, right? It usually takes me till about the end of January to stop dating things with the previous year.

For 2014, I set some reading goals and some writing goals. I set goals for last year, too, and missed just about all of them. But that’s okay, because at least I know where I stand right now. Without goals, it’s hard to measure your progress or results. I know what I did and didn’t do that caused me to come up short. So this I know what to change.

I’m still editing the first book of The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala fantasy trilogy. The critique group I’m part of has been of invaluable help in getting some pretty rough scenes into something readable. My goal for this year is to finish a full revision/rewrite of the book, incorporating the feedback from my critique partners for the parts that they have read.

I’m on the home stretch with the first draft of book two. This past year I discovered that I am a first draft lover. I’ll go out of my way to start something new just to avoid the rewriting process of something I’ve finished. This is not very productive if I ever want to get something published and have it be of decent quality. So that’s where goals (and discipline) come in.

In other news, I started a second job at the end of 2013. I’m working for a social media company called Helps2, writing and managing content for the Facebook and Twitter accounts of several of their clients. I love writing and I love social media, and this job has been a fun opportunity. And I’m basically getting paid to write. Always nice!

And talking of goals, I’m also planning on attending two writers conferences this year. One is the James River Writers conference in October – it’s pretty local for me, but I’ve managed to miss it for one reason or another the past couple of years. Not this year!

The other conference is not so local – it’s in Iceland. As most of my regular readers know, I love Nordic things, and I’ve been to Iceland before. This writers retreat in like a dream opportunity, and it’s the first of its kind. It’s a big (but worthwhile) expense of time and money to commit to going, and so I launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo to help me get there. Please consider donating if you can, and please share the page. Much appreciated!

So that’s how my 2014 is shaping up so far. Anyone else set any reading or writing goals for this year?

Writing as Therapy

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I wrote a guest post for the amazing Ashley over on her blog Journey out of the Abyss. Her blog is different from many that I follow, as it’s about her personal journey out of a life of abuse, addiction, and mental illness. She’s a great writer and has a phenomenal story to tell, so check out other posts on her blog if you feel led to. I’m honored to have a guest spot on her blog here!

Reading Goals for 2014

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As I mentioned in my New Year’s post, one of my goals/resolutions for 2014 is to read more. I had a very modest reading goal last year, and I didn’t come close to hitting it.

Since leaders are readers and writers are readers, I really can’t call myself a leader (of myself, let alone anyone else) if I don’t read. Nor can I expect my writing craft to improve tremendously if I don’t read other well-written works.

To be fair – lest you think I spent all of 2013 rotting my mind with nothing but trashy TV or lolcat pictures – I have been constantly reading content online. Articles and blog posts about writing, social media, linguistics, daily devotionals, travel – I read more than a few posts every day. But it’s still not the same as reading books.

So here’s a list of some of the books that I intend to read – or re-read – in 2014.

Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

I’ve followed her writing blog for some time, and found valuable tips to help me improve my storytelling. I’m sure her book will help me even more.

A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert

Having loved the Little House on the Prairie books, this book about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose looks like a fascinating read.

Imagine Big by Terri Savelle Foy

I read this book last year, and I want to read it again. In fact, this is a book that could – and perhaps should – be read every year. It’s about using the power of imagination to set goals and create the life you want for yourself.

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Another re-read for me, and another “success” book that is really just about living a productive and fulfilled life. Who doesn’t want that?

East by Edith Pattou

I found this book at a used bookstore some time ago, and it’s been sitting unread on my shelf for ages (along with too many other books). Time to get caught up on those.

The Legend of the Ice People – Spellbound by Margit Sandemo

Another on-the-shelf-too-long unread book. A friend sent it to me, so I will be (finally) reading it this year in her honor.

Prince by Bonnie Watson

I read the first book in this trilogy last year, so now I want to read the next one. Hopefully I’ll finish it just in time for her to publish book three.

Bone series by Jeff Smith

I’ve mentioned this series before, so it’s another re-read. It’s been several years since I’ve read all nine graphic novels in order, plus the prequel stories (yes, graphic novels count as reading). This epic saga is a masterful combination of humor, high fantasy, and hand-drawn art.

I intend to read far more than just these few books this year, but I didn’t want to make this blog post any longer. If you want to see how I’m progressing with my reading goals, you can find me on Goodreads.

What are you reading this year?