How to Write a Fantasy Novel (10 Powerful Tips)
10 Tips on How to Write a Fantasy Novel as a Beginner
How Do You Write a Fantasy Story?
Reading a work of fantasy literature may take you into any number of fantastical worlds, from the prehistoric kingdoms of dragons to the familiar locales of superheroes to the far-off galaxies of the future where aliens fight for dominion.
Common to all fantasies, nevertheless, is the effort of extensive worldbuilding. Without scientific or cultural constraints, writers are free to create whatever form of reality they desire. Doing so often needs a great lot of attention.
In this article, I’ll be taking you through a guide on how to write a fantasy novel. But before then, below are my 10 tips on how you can write fantasy even as a beginner.
10 Tips on How to Write a Fantasy Novel For Beginners
You might have just finished a fantasy series that blew your mind.
As happy as you are with how things ended out, it still breaks your heart to say goodbye to those characters.
You want to preserve that magical feeling you felt when reading the story. Or perhaps you want to recreate a new story of your own with all the magical feelings included.
In order to become the type of writer who can conjure up such magical feelings, you’ve set out to find the greatest resource for learning how to write a fantasy novel for beginners. Well congrats, you’re in the right place. I love reading and writing all things fantasy, and I’ll share my tips with you.
But first, you need to know what kind of writer you are, or you would like to be.
Every writer has their own style. Some writers write from start to finish without stopping. Some writers start with a sentence and work their way up, while others work in smaller chunks that they then organize.
Whatever genre you’re writing, don’t be hesitant to experiment with various voices and styles. Experiment with various story writing techniques, narrative concepts, and story formats.
Keep what helps you and get rid of what doesn’t. Your method or style of writing will help you create a set of rules that’ll help you on your writing journey.
Having said that, below are 10 fantasy wring tips for beginners.
1. Begin with a modest goal
If you want to write a fantasy novel, begin with a goal. Creating a fictitious world is a tremendous undertaking.
Get to know your fantasy world by creating short stories featuring your main character without any ambitions to publish.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote many unpublished stories about Middle-Earth before publishing The Hobbit. Doing so helps you to develop your fantasy story without pressure.
2. Think outside the box
Creating a new universe is a common task in the genre of fantasy writing. Spend some time doing precisely that by picturing not only the landscape of the location, but also the traditions, culture, and history.
In the finest of fantasy stories, everyday elements like this are seamlessly woven into the story.
3. Read and re-read
Reading improves writing. The best way to learn about the fantasy genre is to read some of its best-known works.
Take note of what you like about each author’s world-building, character development, or plot twists, as well as how they handle the parts of the story that scare you the most. You may revisit your favorite fantasy literature while employing the same viewpoint.
4. Know the Rules
Every universe has laws, and your characters will find those rules the hard way. Write out a shortlist of possible rules for your world, and keep in mind that you’ll likely learn more as you proceed.
For example, if you’re going to include magic in your world, remember that a lot of authors claim that magic needs to make sense or have some form of intellectual logic, or karma behaviors, all of which undercut very ancient concepts of magic.
Even if you don’t build a super-system that can withstand scientific examination, keep in mind that magic may take many forms.
5. Decide on your point of view on the story.
One of the strongest techniques for showing your world is having your characters study and interact with its qualities. You’ll want to describe how it feels, sounds, smells, and tastes to your reader. This creative writing approach may enhance the realism of whatever environment you’re constructing.
6. Learn how to construct a tale
Here you just need to know how to plot your fantasy novel (More on this later).
Many fantasies and other types of fiction, like historical fiction, have a similar narrative arc, like The Hero’s Journey. But it doesn’t have to.
A collection of dystopian short tales with a central character may be your fantasy writing idea.
What I’m trying to say in essence is, that you don’t have to use another person’s story to construct your own. Sure you can draw inspiration from them ( I do that all the time), but don’t create a whole story based on another person’s work.
7. Create memorable characters
Characters are what bring a story to life. They interact with events and create a memorable tale.
Your objective as a writer is to find out more about your character by analyzing how they respond to the environment that surrounds them.
Characters — like actual people — have interests, pets, backgrounds, ruminations, and passions. Your story will suffer if you don’t know these things about your characters so that you can predict how they will behave when confronted with difficult situations.
8. Establish your backstory.
What circumstances shaped your characters and the environment you’ve created? How important are these events from the past to your story and the characters?
Find out what occurred in the past to bring your story’s current reality into being.
9. Decide the story’s beginning.
What will be the triggering event for your main character? In the opening minute of your story, what will your major character reveal?
What is it about your story that will captivate your reader and compel them to continue reading? You need to decide this part well because in most cases, this is what will determine if your readers stay or continue reading your fantasy novel.
10. Write your first draft
You need a place to start. There are times when the only way to begin your story is to just begin writing and see what comes out.
You may decide to start with chapter one, or with a prologue. I personally like prologues because they often tend to tell a back story, or kick off the inciting event that will leave readers anxious and wanting more, even if the first chapter turns out to be bland.
Then, decide on the most important part of your story- the climax.
It’s best to work on a hazy concept of the story’s conclusion until you get a better one or it moves aside.
You have to carry on writing chapters till you finish.
You may either write them as a pantser or use a bullet-point outline of the major things that should happen.
Take a pause and then print out your first draft. You’ll have to put the book down for a while. As difficult as it may be for you to accept, I believe you will benefit much from doing this.
After having a good rest, read over your draft with a red pen to make any necessary revisions, jot down any remarks or thoughts, and basically bleed all over them.
How to get Fantasy Writing Ideas
There are many ways to get fantasy writing ideas.
It might be difficult to come up with a storyline concept when you’re just starting out. Trying to figure out what to write about may be challenging, as the urge to create meets the confusion about where to begin.
Writers are often instructed on how to craft their tales, but they are seldom shown how to come up with an original concept for a novel. Fortunately, you already have the finest story prompts within you.
If you want to write a book for the first time, here are some pointers to help you come up with a plot that is worth writing:
1. Begin with a story you are interested in reading.
Think about a book you’ve been dying to read. You don’t have to come up with anything groundbreaking or completely original; just write about what you like reading in fiction.
A good example would be if you like reading novels that cross genres, and you’d want to read a storyline that incorporates elements from several genres such as historical fiction, mystery, romance, and science fiction.
Because you haven’t written it, you haven’t had a chance to read it. Whether it’s a story you needed as a child or a story others need to hear, take some time to really think about a story you’ve always wanted to read or wished was out there for others to read.
2. Draw inspiration from a fairytale or folklore
In many cases, the greatest story ideas are derived from stories that span decades. For instance, The Little Mermaid was adapted from a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale.
There is a strong probability that a great story’s ideas will ring true with today’s audiences as they did with previous generations if it has survived to the current day. Using this technique to brainstorm fantasy writing ideas is a terrific idea.
3. Adapt a real-life story
The news, historical literature, and documentaries may provide novel plot ideas. A nonfiction book may also serve as an inspiration for a fictional work such as a novel, short story, or screenplay.
When you broaden your scope, you may find that even a podcast, a poem, or even a book on self-help might serve as a source of creativity for you.
4. Experiment with freewriting.
I personally love freewriting when thinking up fantasy writing ideas
In freewriting, you write without a predetermined framework, which means no plans, outlines, or editorial control. In freewriting, you follow your mental impulse, letting ideas and inspiration come to them as they like, without planning. Allow your thoughts to guide the words that appear on the paper.
This was a method I used successfully when writing my first novel.
The first time you try freewriting, you might come up with a lot of garbage. While freewriting is a great way to improve your writing technique, you can also use it as a way to amplify your imagination.
5. Think, “What if?”
Think of a known time in history and try to picture what it would be like if a few important things were changed.
A genre called “Alternate history fiction” is built on this technique of fiction writing. It can also be called speculative fiction. In the genre of alternate history fiction, the author alters one or more aspects of established history and then creates a story that is the result of this alteration.
6. Analyze the plot of your favourite novels.
Take a trip down memory lane with one of your favourite novels, whether it’s a recent favourite or a childhood favourite you still remember fondly.
Think about what makes the story work for you as you re-enter the story. Is there a plot twist on every page of the book, or is it just one? What kind of character arcs are we seeing here? What parts of the story might give you ideas for plots for your own stories?
Every author or aspiring author should know how to plot a fantasy story.
Isn’t it true that all stories follow the same basic outline? This universal template may be used as a framework to plan your book or any other form of narrative plot.
Before you begin writing your story, you should create an outline of some kind. Are you creating a story in your imagination without first outlining the details? That’s tough. But not impossible.
My first three books didn’t have a plot to follow, and they came out quite well. So if you can create a story from start to finish, all from your head, that’s fine.
But it’s a lot of thinking and stress. Hence, refrain from doing so if you find it uncomfortable.
Fill in the details one by one after creating a concise, reliable outline for a story.
This makes things a lot easier.
And there you have it, your story plot is ready. And that’s how to write a fantasy novel. If you carefully follow these steps, you can write a good fantasy story even as a beginner.
Don’t have time to write your fantasy novel? Well, I recommend getting yourself a good ghostwriter to help you.
But you need to be careful when hiring a ghostwriter to help you write your story. If you want to hire a ghostwriter, I’ve covered just how to go about doing that in my other post
“How do you Hire a Ghostwriter”. You can go check it out.
How to Create a Fantasy World For Your Novel (Tips For Beginners)
For beginners, creating a fantasy world is one of the most difficult tasks. It has been for many writers I know and will be for many more to come.
The world you create is just as vital as any character in a fantasy story. The world of your story will interact with and occasionally challenge, the protagonist. Hence, you need to be careful when creating your fantasy world.
Below are a few tips that will help you get writing ideas for your fantasy world.
1. Pick a time and location
Because of our predisposition towards magical components in the present or future, many fantasies are set in the past. Your narrative may take place in the past as well. But this isn’t a rule set in stone.
You need to consider a few things when deciding on the time and location you want your story to take place.
Comparing your story to the real world, what era do you think it would fall in?
Also, where does your world take place? Does it happen in an alternate universe? Is it on a planet that resembles Earth in any way? Is this something that happens in another realm?
Answering these questions will give you writing ideas for the fantasy world you are building.
2. Create a Set of Guidelines
Fantasy worlds can be a lot of fun since they’re not constrained by the same rules of logic that govern our own. But you still need certain rules of reality, even if the world was made up.
Outline a few key rules or guidelines for this planet. Perhaps magic exists, but it comes at a hefty price. Maybe humans can breathe underwater, or cats have the ability to see the future. Decide on your own set of rules and adhere to them as strictly as possible.
3. What’s the magic like?
Every fantasy story has some form of magic. That’s what makes fantasy unique among all other forms of literature.
You must take magic into account while creating your fantasy world since it is so essential to the plot. The fundamental essence of magic is to mold and influence your characters’ actions. Hence, when creating your fantasy world, consider the following:
What form of magic will you incorporate into your story? who wields this magic? how does this magic work? Is magic accepted in society? or do those with magic have to hide it?
What percentage of the population has access to magic? If so, how do they obtain it?
Is it against the law to practice magic? Is it revered?
You need to design regulations that make sense in light of the society and the norms that govern it. Following the laws of magic is just as vital as developing the rules themselves.
4. Consider the history
History can be a bit scary to many, but it is an integral part of fantasy. Don’t panic though, you don’t need to read about all the real world history to make up a fictitious history.
But unless your universe is entirely new, you should certainly think about the details of your world’s history.
Have there been tremendous empires? Remarkable wars? Heroes of legend? If you find yourself stuck, look to the history of the real world for inspiration, and keep in mind that the past is very lengthy and full of strange and unexpected occurrences.
5. Draw your own map
While your map may not be visible to others, it may still assist you in sorting out what’s what. Use your map to construct a vision of where the characters are heading throughout the tale.
This comes in handy when embarking on long-distance journeys since the scenery might quickly change.
Also, using a relationship map, you can clearly understand the connections between the characters in your story. Alternatively, you may create a map that depicts the persons or items and their many magical powers and skills.
There are so many other things you should consider when creating a fantasy world for your novel, such as the culture and religion of the people, the kind of creatures in your world, cities, government, and so on. You also need to consider how your characters interact with these elements.
Consider these tips and getting writing ideas for your fantasy world should not be too difficult
And that’s it! Have fun creating your fantasy world!
Which of the above tips do you intend to try first? Or perhaps you’ve already written a novel of your own. In that case, what was your experience like? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Samuel is a creative writer and a freelance ghostwriter. He has written books for a number and clients and published two of his own. He’s a lifelong learner and teaches others what he learns through his writing journey.
You can check out more about his service here
