Imagine this: a terrifying-looking orc who has secret dreams of one day becoming a world-famous bard. A well-seasoned wizard who has helped countless heroes succeed on their quests is ready for retirement. A princess and a unicorn team up to save the few surviving unicorns from a goblin who is killing them for their horns. If any of these sound appealing or like something you may have thought of before, fantasy may just be calling you to write and your imagination is more than welcome to take up residence in this mystical writing realm.
This genre has been around for some time and has gained popularity thanks to talented authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, and Robert Jordan. These are only a handful of the incredible authors out there who have crafted stories that have the ability to whisk anyone away to a completely different land, and if you wish to add your name to this list someday, be prepared to put that imagination to work for there is much involved in the particular field of fantasy.
There are certain elements you will have to consider as you craft your story. Do you want the world you write about to be more realistic or more mystical? Is your story more of a light, peppy fairy tale or more of a dark, epic quest? Do you wish to have various inhuman races in your story alongside humans? Again, this is a loaded genre that can be overwhelming at the start, but let’s break down a handful of the main elements that come up again and again no matter what kind of fantasy story you may be writing. Keeping these elements in mind will provide a helpful guide to getting started and staying organized.
Choosing Your Fantasy Subgenre
Perhaps the first thing you will want to consider is what kind of fantasy you would like to write. Taking a look into the subgenres of this genre, you find categories like high fantasy, sword and sorcery, fairy tales, dark, urban, historical, Christian, military, the list is quite extensive; however, writing your particular story becomes easier once you have narrowed down your particular subgenre(s). This will also help you decide how much fantasy is truly being incorporated into your story.
Take C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series. With the characters having the capability to travel to another world full of magic and creatures that have the ability to talk and think for themselves, this series would be considered a high Christian fantasy where much fantasy is included. Or Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. It takes place during the Napoleonic War in the real world, yet a fantasy element is introduced as dragons serve as a military air force, making this series an historical military fantasy. Always keep in mind your story as a whole to ensure how much fantasy you are putting into it.
Creating Fantasy Lands
It is not impossible to find fantasy books that take place on Earth or in an already existing place, but it is more common to find stories with made up worlds and lands. This is one of the big elements that draws readers in as they venture across this new, unexplored world alongside the characters. Worlds like J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth or George R. R. Martin’s Westeros are vast sprawling worlds with various towns, wildernesses, and even continents while J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts is a magic school set in the real world. If you are up for the challenge, give crafting your own land a go, but feel free to have some fun inserting fantastical elements into the real world, as well.
Creating Races
This is always a fun category as fantasy is one of very few genres that a writer can craft inhuman races and have them play a role in the story. Some of the more popular races, of course, include dwarves, elves, and orcs, but even though they are used time and time again, do not be deterred from continuing to use these races. In fact, writers have gotten clever and put their own spin on some of the more popular races. Travis Baldree wrote of an orc who wished to open up a coffee shop in Legends & Lattes while Andrzej Sapkowski had the vampires in his Witcher series use blood like humans use alcohol as a way to relax rather than to regain strength and energy. As can be said many times in the fantasy genres, the possibilities are endless.
Mythological Creatures
With the number of mythological creatures out there, you definitely want to pick and choose what to include in your story. If you include too many, it may become difficult to keep them all organized. Much like the races you chose for your story, creatures such as dragons, unicorns, and fairies are among the more popular choices, but don’t be afraid to branch out and experiment. Creatures such as the phoenix or centaurs are well-known, yet rarely seem to make appearances in many stories. The manticore is a very rare creature not normally found in stories that a writer could have a lot of fun writing. Or branch out further and create your own.
Hero and Villain (Protagonist and Antagonist)
One of the first things that comes to many minds when they think fantasy is of the epic hero (protagonist) fighting valiantly against the dastardly villain (antagonist). This is true in many cases, but your hero does not have to be a talented sword fighter and your villain does not need to be a powerful sorcerer. When writing your hero (protagonist), the Hero’s Journey story arc is an excellent way to develop any kind of character as it involves the reluctant hero having no choice but to answer the call to adventure like Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Just make sure your hero (protagonist) has a goal or something worth fighting for.
When creating your villain (antagonist), what can really help is crafting a back story that reveals why they decided to fight for the side of evil and what their ultimate motive is. They can look terrifying and have incredibly dark intentions like The Dark One in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series who wishes to destroy the world and bring about an age of darkness. Or they may not look so terrifying, but still have evil intentions like the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz who was willing to go so far as killing Dorothy to get what she wanted. Truly developing your main two characters also helps develop supporting characters for both the good and evil side.
Final Thoughts
This is not the master list to follow when it comes to writing fantasy as it covers only some of the basics; however, as aforementioned, it provides a helpful guide to get you started and are excellent points to always keep in the back of your mind. There are other more complex elements such as creating languages for different races, how much magic you wish to use, creating a religion(s) for the inhabitants of your world, crafting lore, and more. An important piece of advice is to not overwhelm yourself by trying to include every fantasy aspect in your story. Only take on what works for your story. But one of the most important things to remember is to get those creative juices flowing and have fun!
