Top 10 Tips on Writing a Fantasy Novel

If you want to write a fantasy novel, it pays to understand what goes into this fascinating genre. Fantasy conventions can vary widely, but there are some common elements we can find. Here’s a few key conventions of fantasy novels that I learned writing my own … Ready? Let’s go!

1) Magic

Magic can be a fundamental element of fantasy novels. It is often used by characters to achieve extraordinary feats or interact with the supernatural. One of the top things to remember here is to ensure your magic systems have limitations. If there are no constraints to your magic system, then this can impact the potential conflict of your story. This is where Brandon Sanderson’s 3 Laws For Magic Systems can really help.

2) Fantastic Creatures

Where there’s magic, there’s also monsters. But fantasy novels often feature mythical creatures that are not necessarily evil too.  Dragons, elves, hobbits, witches, centaurs, unicorns, gigantic sea serpents, sandworts… they can be anything you like. The sky really is the limit!

3) Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is a classic plotting archetype, charting a protagonist’s growth from ‘zero to hero’.  Many fantasy stories follow the classic hero’s journey, where a protagonist embarks on an adventure, faces challenges, and ultimately undergoes personal growth. Such fantasy novels as Harry Potter, Dune and even my own, The Coven, follow this archetype.

4) Storyworld

Traditional fantasy worlds are often inspired by medieval settings, featuring castles, knights, and kingdoms, creating a sense of timelessness and wonder. However, there’s such a thing as urban fantasy too that does the opposite. Instead of being ‘ye olde’, it might take place in our own world, with a secret underworld of magical people. In short, storyworld can be anything you want … as long as you start as you mean to go on!

5) Epic Battles

Epic battles between forces of good and evil are a common theme in fantasy. Such battles often showcasing bravery, sacrifice, and the triumph of good over evil. A good example here would be Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame which has a fantastic end battle that does all these things.

6) Quests

Quests can be a staple of fantasy literature. The Hero’s Journey (as per #3 on this list) is one large quest in which characters set out on a journey to accomplish a specific goal, facing obstacles and adversaries along the way.

7) Prophecy

Prophecies and foretold destinies play a significant role in many fantasy stories. These prophecies then shape the actions of characters and drive the plot forward. In The Coven, ‘The Proclamation of The Elementals’ starts the book:

“We are all kernels in the earth. We are baptised by fire; fed by the water of life, powered by air. To us, we call The One: connect us through the chain of being and bring us liberation from the ties that bind us.”

This prophecy tells of an all-powerful witch The Elementals call ‘The One’. In this storyworld, Elemental witches have the power of one of the four elements: air, water, fire or earth … but The One has ALL four elements. As the prophecy foretells, The One is powerful enough to free all witches around the world.

8) Parallel Worlds

Fantasy often explores the idea of parallel worlds or alternate realities. In The Coven the world is almost the same as ours … except that up to 50% of women have magic. The leaders of the world don’t like this one bit, especially the President of The United States, Michael Hopkins. He decrees that witches must be locked up for their own safety as well as non-magical peoples’.

I watched a lot of political rallies when I was writing The Coven. I really wanted to make the politics of my parallel world believable, but worried about Hopkins being too jingoistic. Yet every time I sent these scenes off to my editor or beta readers, it always came back with: ‘Still not as bad as the REAL guy!’ That was surprising.

9) Lore and Mythology

Fantasy worlds are rich in lore, mythology, and history, providing depth and context to the setting and characters. I am a big fan of ‘The Power of Three’ in writing. When things come in threes in literature, it’s believed they can be more satisfying, more effective and/or more memorable, than other numbers of things.

I enacted The Power of Three with my witches in The Coven. The ‘Triumvirate’ refers not only to witchcraft generally – Mother, Maiden, Crone – but also the witches themselves.

The vast majority are Kitchen Witches, who don’t have innate magic of their own. Instead they have spell books, cauldrons, poppets, family spells etc rather like our own reality.

Where it changes are the other two types of witches. About 5-8% of witches are Crystal Witches. They do have innate magic in their veins, but can only access it with crystals (as their names suggest). The remaining 2% are The Elemental witches (mentioned in #7).

10) Themes of Good vs. Evil

Fantasy frequently explores themes of morality, ethics, and the battle between light and darkness. Whilst the story may deal with UNreal settings, creatures, magic etc, it may be about very real issues. These UNreal things can offer insights into human nature and society. As The Sun newspaper said of The Coven: ‘A scarily real take on society today … buckle up for a battle like no other’.

Got any questions about writing fantasy? I’m very happy to answer … leave them in the comments and I will get back to you.

Good Luck With Your Own Fantasy Novels!

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