Help writing a fantasy story

If you are about to write a novel for the first time, we have some novel writing tips which may help you on your way.

Nostalgia for childhood make-believe The mystery and allure of magical phenomena The major commercial success of many fantasy authors J. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, J.

Tolkien and George R. Martin, to name only a few There are many fantasy subgenres this list suggests that there are at least Read on for tips on how to write high fantasy fiction that captivates readers and makes them reluctant to leave your fictional world: Alexander who wrote the Chronicles of Prydain series used the term to describe fantasy fiction set entirely in secondary or parallel worlds.

How do you go about collecting insights for your own high fantasy novel? How does the author create an immersive, complex world? What trials do the main characters go through and how do these events grow or change them?

Dust off your own fantasy favourites and take notes on how your best authors approach elements of fantasy writing you find challenging.

This could be keeping continuity between between books in a series or making a fictional world believable. Consciously reading this way will help you improve your writing in the long-term.

The reek of them hung stifling in the still air. Far away, now almost due south, the mountain-walls of Mordor loomed, like a black bar of rugged clouds floating above a dangerous fog-bound sea.

The air was warm. Even so, your world will be all the more striking if it is at least a little original. Mythical creatures such as dragons and centaurs are well-represented by now, for example. After all, most symbols, plots and other elements of fiction are continuously recycled.

Yet you can subvert reader expectations and create a strong sense of your world as a distinct place. For example, dragons have often been described as hoarders.

Martin does exactly this in the fifth novel of his A Song of Ice and Fire series: The character Daenerys Targaryen holds dragons captive herself, confining them in a cage to prevent them from wreaking further havoc.

Of course the warrior is brave. Of course the princess or elf is graceful or chaste. In real life, people often surprise us by holding contradictory beliefs or behaving differently to how stereotyping would lead us to assume.

The warrior who tears into battle might run bellowing from a snake or rat, in reality. Nobody is consistent all the time. In the great high fantasy novels, characters surprise not only each other but themselves too. Avoid the pitfalls of muddled fantasy book writing and plan ahead Writing a realist novel set in a familiar city is a challenge itself.

Writing an epic high fantasy that sprawls across imaginary continents and peoples is a mammoth undertaking.

To avoid this, plan your world and its inner workings in advance.

Writing Fight Scenes « Fantasy-Faction

Create a framework to base your world on all the same, so that you can keep track of the different backgrounds and characteristics of the people and places in your high fantasy novel.

Write fitting dialogue When there is an epic quest unfolding, it can be tempting to use dialogue for info dumping. Good high fantasy novels manage to balance descriptive writing, dialogue and action. Most importantly, dialogue conveys not just factual information but a sense of the character of the speakers.

Compare this to the lyrical and flowing speech of the elves. When writing dialogue, especially between members of different civilizations in your fantasy world remember: How people express themselves conveys something about their nature.

Try to use action wherever possible to advance the plot and keep lengthy conversations as breathers between sections where there is greater tension. High fantasy is epic in scope and typically has a large cast of characters. Think about how you can use names to convey aspects of your characters.

This will help to keep them memorable.Scholastic's Story Starters kids' writing activity generates creative writing prompts, from general fiction to adventure, fantasy, and science fiction.

Scholastic's Fantasy Story Starters kids' writing activity generates fantasy and fairy tale writing prompts for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Full Screen. See all Story Starters Teacher's Guide Audio Help.

Type your first name: Pick your grade to get started: *This will open your story in a new tab. Comprehensive National Football League news, scores, standings, fantasy games, rumors, and more. Learning how to start a fantasy story without clichés will help you write fantasy series readers love.

See 5 tips on writing fantasy. Learning how to start a fantasy story without clichés will help you write fantasy series readers love. See 5 tips on writing fantasy.

Navigation. Now Novel Novel writing blog; tips, tricks, news and how-to. Dear Story Nurse, I am writing for the November NaNoWriNo, and I’ve done 35, words. The goal is 50, I am on Part 3 of 4, and getting closer to the climax. Writing short stories means beginning as close to the climax as possible — everything else is a distraction.

A novel can take a more meandering path, but should still start with a scene that sets the tone for the whole book. A short story conserves characters and scenes, typically by focusing on.