Building A Fantasy World

[Guest]

First, a reference work for you to check out -- The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings. It's the background material used to create the universe of his bestselling series the Belgariad and the Mallorean.

The Rivan Codex is an example of what goes into building a fantasy world from scratch -- essentially starting with the "big Bang" and designing everything from physics to biological functions from the ground up.

A much more common way of building a fantasy world is what you suggest you're thinking of -- taking a time and place in the real world and adding a few selet fantasy elements to it. i.e. More "world redecorating" than "world building."

In some ways you're looking at more of a "science fiction" world than a "fantasy" world when you take the modification approach; your taking a single premise about the way the world works and exploring the differences it would cause if were fact.

The best way to modify Medieval England into your fantasy world is to study what Medieval England believed about how the world worked and write your story as if they were right.

For example, it was believed that Miracles could be purchased from the Church -- "Good magic" -- and Hexes and Curses could be purchased (or cast out of spite) only by those in league with the Devil -- Bad Magic. That's an example of a magic system that embodies the concept that the magic itself is good or evil, and it's one that is commonly used in Fantasy. In that sort of system any beneficial thing done by a Witch would have to be run through the corrupted wish thread to determine the consequences.

Fairies and Elves are another common feature of Fantasy, and most depictions are either based on Tolkien's groundwork or on Celtic Myth. Again, research into what others -- and what the people of the time your modifying -- believed about mythical creatures is the best way to shape your world. It isn't necessary to follow the traditions exactly, but you do need to know what a knowledgeable Fantasy Fan expects of Fairies, Elves, and Dragons.

My personal preference would be to take a position somewhere between the two extremes I've given so far. Establish the technological level of your Fantasy World and write down the rules of how magic works. Set down the social structure of the society -- draw on a wide variety of sources; Medieval Europe, The Caste System of India, the Samurai of Japan and the Emperors of ancient China, John Norman's GOR, etc -- and build the kind of society that you want your heroine to overturn.

Draw a map so you know where everything is and where she can run to for help (is there a more moderate society in the world to counter-balance your sexist and caste-ridden creation?)

Then start writing your story within the basic framework you've built. When the story is written, go back and adjust the "science" an "society" to fit. (Note, once you publish, you're pretty much stuck with the world you've built.

Anne McCaffrey's PERN is vastly different in 2001 than it was in 1967 when she wrote the first of the series -- her tendency to modify her world a bit with each novel in the series is a bit unsettling if you read all 34 years worth of work back-to-back. It starts out as more "fantasy" than SF and evolves into almost hard, technical SF by the latest book.

You need to cover as many bases and possible flaws as you can before you set your world into stone to avoid inconsistencies if your work is to be more than a single story.

Weird Harold! Thanks so much for all of that, especially the book recommendation. My hubby owns most of David Eddings' books and I've read a few. I must get on and read more of them!

I get what you're saying about me doing more a case of "world redecorating" than "world building". I don't think I expressed what I meant properly. I'd merely use Medieval England as a loose point of reference, in my own mind. I have studied that period of British History and it's the feudal element that I'd gleen from it.

This is great advice, and probably some which I will take on board:

My personal preference would be to take a position somewhere between the two extremes I've given so far. Establish the technological level of your Fantasy World and write down the rules of how magic works. Set down the social structure of the society -- draw on a wide variety of sources; Medieval Europe, The Caste System of India, the Samurai of Japan and the Emperors of ancient China, John Norman's GOR, etc -- and build the kind of society that you want your heroine to overturn.

There's some great tips there, thank you.

What you said about the expectations of knowledgable fantasy fans is exactly what I'm trying to establish. I've been doing a lot of surfing and lurking at fantasy forums, as well as talking to my hubby and some of his friends. I'm beginning to get a good idea now. I once told myself I'd never write for a market, but that was naive of me, to a degree. It has to be so, to a certain extent. I'll still write what I want to write, but I do have to take certain factors into consideration.

Thanks, again.

Lou

 

[Guest]

Re: Change a little

The trouble with fantasy WORLDS is that the author can do anything.

E E (Doc) Smith's Lensman series is an example. Every time the villains are winning he invents a new weapon. It is rather like two small boys:

'I've got a knife'
'I've got a pistol'
'I've got a rifle'
'I've got a machine gun'
'I've got a tank' and so on...

I have tried writing fantasy where only one thing is changed and the story is about the implication of that change:

Brigit series - Man meets Irish Earth Goddess who has limited powers and needs his help.

Shelacta series - Women use sexual traps to enslave men. Men are chattels and can be won from other women by different traps or can gain immunity...

Tripletit - Man visits planet where the dominant species is apparently very large women with three breasts.

Hannah (and sequel): Ghost(s) can physically impact on living people. 'Maids-in-Waiting' is similar.

All those stories are based on fantasy worlds and except for the changed thing, everything else is as our world. Shelacta required more explanation. I put the explanation at the beginning of the first few stories and then cut and pasted it as an Appendix to the later ones. (Not an original idea - I copied it from J T Edson's 'Dusty Fog' westerns)

George Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World are based on extrapolation from their existing world and time. Orwell's 1984 was originally going to be titled '1948' and the technology is that of 1948 slightly improved.

Creating a whole new universe or world is difficult to do well. Heinlein succeeds with 'Glory Road'. The hero doesn't believe in the world(s) he is transferred to and everything has to be explained to him (and therefore to the reader). Terry Brooks does the same with 'Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold'. The hero has to be told about the properties of the Kingdom and find out some of it the hard way.

IF you are going to create a new world you need to be disciplined and meticulous about it. Everything must follow a logical pattern and must be internally consistent. If Dragons breathe fire, then they always breathe fire, and don't switch to breathing acid. (Unless there is a creature that does breathe acid and looks like a dragon but isn't one and the hero has to find out the difference for him/herself).

I am stalled on my Shelacta series because I began exploring the different relationships between men and women on that planet. As the chapters built up I had subtly changed some of the 'givens' in Chapter 1. I need to edit the lot to bring them into a consistent whole, hinting in Chapter 1 about things not used until Chapter 9. My world is turning out to be a little different from the first ideas.

Hope this helps.

Og

Og, I completely understand and agree with what you were saying there. It just doesn't do to keep shifting the goalposts, and I wouldn't do that. It's a cheat, if nothing else, and the reader would feel very done out of clever plot twists/devices and so on, if all I did was make the heroine/nemesis and/or their weapons and magic even stronger and more powerful, each time they came up against it.

I do aim to be as logical and consistent as possible. Plausibility, within the world I create, is the key - in my mind, anyway.

Some very good points and useful tips and pointers there, thank you!

Lou

 

[Guest]

Whenever I create a fantasy world, I start by drawing a map. Like a geographical map. Then I start naming the places. Depending on how I name the places, that's how I start giving names to characters and titles to objects and magic and all that.

From there on, I start writing the actual story(ies).

That's how I do it, and it can get pretty indepth that way too... it usually keeps me intrigued long enough to get somewhere.

Though I haven't written fantasy stories in a long time.

Thanks, Xelebes. I was going to ask how many actually draw up maps. A lot of the fantasy novels I've read include mpas at the beginning and I find this a great tool for understanding the story, and the locations of the characters and their movements and so on.

Yes, and the thing about naming everything is interesting, too. I don't want to go too fantastical with my names, for any of the things you listed, but what you mention there is a good way to keep everything in a similar vein. Thanks!

Lou

 

[Guest]

Lou,

I have two novels under way, not necessarily for Lit, and for both I started out with characters. I then built the world around it, like Og said more remodelling. I searched for info on flora and fauna and climate. Considering what I could use to enhance the drama in the story. Even though it's a fantasy world I try to avoid having coconuts in a mid European type of forest.

Then I made a map so I would not get tangled in two days travel and two weeks in the next chapter. Things like that.

I made lists of the people, their names, their professions, what they look like, what character traits are important to the story. And I made a kind of diagram to visualize what the connections between the characters are or will be.
All that could change during the course of the story, but then you know what to alter.
I changed the eyecolor on a main character once. LOL
That was 275 pages of search and replace.

When I started writing I found it necessary to make a list of new things too. I invented names for food and drinks, I needed to add stuff about religion, social structures, customs, trees, plants, animals, clothes, ethnic specifics.
Writing along I found I created the lesser details and I needed to keep track of all my little inventions. Hence the bundle of lists in the background.

It sounds more than it is, just one word document with a lot of headings really.

Don't forget to have fun. And when you have enough to start you'll know. You won't be able to ignore the urge to make it happening.

Thanks, BT! A wonderful mine of tips and info there. Thank you!

I'm beginning to see a pattern in most of the advice here, and that's a very good thing. There are many different answers and responses, with a lot of the "dos" varying. However, the "don'ts" seem to be pretty much agreed upon.

I have a very good idea where I'm going with this now. You are all great!

Thanks again, BT, I do plan to have a lot of fun with this.

Lou

 

[Black Tulip]

Oh, on the names. I found this website with names from all kinds of languages, including meanings.

Maybe useful for others too?

http://www.20000-names.com/

 

[Guest]

I think fantasy novels can be split into two very general groups:
1) world-building
2) character-driven

I think it's important to decide whether your novel (or series of novels) is one which is written to reveal a world, with the characters as portents through which you see, or whether the character is central with the world less important. Take two authors, Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan. They write extremely similar stuff, so similar the TG has been called a plagiariser. However, TG is distinctly character-driven and RJ world-building. Therefore, despite apparent similarities, I love Terry goodkind, but I can't stand Robert Jordan (gave up about 4 books into the wheel of time series). This, I think, is all a matter of taste.

This is not to say that TG lacks world-building, or RJ lacks interesting characters. It's just that each has taken more time and energy to focus on one particular part. I don't know whether it is possible to equally balance the two. To me, it seems that if there are strong characters they almost inevitably overshadow the world-building aspect.

I've only written one fantasy novel (first of trilogy though) and it's set in the one fantasy world I've created. I didn't as much decide everything about it straight away as letting it develop and incorporating new ideas constnatly. What's best, I think, when it comes to world-building, is to build several different worlds independently and then mix them all together using all the best ideas from each world.

Yep, that makes a whole lot of sense to me. My writing tends to be pretty character driven anyway; I never tend to go into detail about the surroundings - I just give the reader minor pointers. I like to take the reader on a journey through the characters, by taking them into their heads and so on. So, yes, my fantasy writing will more than likely be character driven. I just want to build a feasible world around them.

Thanks for that!

Lou

 

[Guest]

I prefer the character-driven sort.

I lose interest and indeed have wasted a lot of money losing interest in massive, titanic forces contending. What is interesting, what is important is the human mind and the quality and scope of human interactions.

Titanic forces amount to personifications of principles. You can have one principle triumph over another, or attain an equi8librium with another, even better, in a far more satisfactory way if it happens in small between the characters. Magic can be cool, but I want real limits on it.

It's like the original book "Dead Zone."

A completely normal fellow suddenly, by a fluke, developed just one thing that was only a little beyond the ordinary. The rest of the book is his struggle to come to terms with the effects it has. He becomes a pariah, they fire him from his job, he has to change his name and move out of state, but the gift remains, and it has its own imperatives. If you do after all know that something will happen if no one intervenes, don't you have an obligation to intervene? Since you are the only one who possibly can know?

That scale of supernormal power is fully enough to push a plot along, and bring up more than enough cosmic issues (without needing warring gods) to make a fine tale.

Keep it small in scale and let us believe it. If you have a race of Dwarves or something, you have a vehicle for satire as well. Look at Dean Swift's "flappers" which function, as our layers of secretaries and receptionists do, to control access to the great man. The perspective of being an outsider lets one cast from a different angle a revealing glance at phenomena which are too utterly familiar in our own everyday context.

That kind of thing, Lilliputians, Yahoos, Dwarves, or pictsies, lends color to the thing too.

Glen Cook.

cantdog

I so agree with you there, Cant.

I, too, love the Dead Zone - that was a very good example to use.

Yep, I plan to keep mine pretty limited and have a very "human" feel. I want the readers to be able to relate to the characters, to a certain extent, while giving myself the freedom to push the boundaries which often exist with mainstream books.

It will be a story based on a society we can all grasp and comprehend, but with its own rules and laws, and, of course, sexual depravity.

Thanks for your input!

Lou

 

[Guest]

Oh, on the names. I found this website with names from all kinds of languages, including meanings.

Maybe useful for others too?

http://www.20000-names.com/

Thanks, BT! I'm gonna check that out.

Lou

 

[Weird Harold]

What you said about the expectations of knowledgable fantasy fans is exactly what I'm trying to establish. I've been doing a lot of surfing and lurking at fantasy forums, as well as talking to my hubby and some of his friends.
...
Yep, that makes a whole lot of sense to me. My writing tends to be pretty character driven anyway; I never tend to go into detail about the surroundings - I just give the reader minor pointers. I like to take the reader on a journey through the characters, by taking them into their heads and so on. So, yes, my fantasy writing will more than likely be character driven. I just want to build a feasible world around them.

From these comments, it dosn't sound like you're going to need to do very much "world-building" at all -- or at least not in the kind of detail that many authors go into -- a "standard" fantasy setting will work just fine.

By a "standard fantasy setting" I mean something like what Elizabeth Ann Scarborough used for her "Hearth Witch" series (Song of Sorcery, The Unicorn Creed, Bronwyn's Bane, and The Christening Quest.) She starts with a generic Fuedal setting -- peasant village, Castle, etc. -- and lets the reader discover the world beyond the intial setting along with characters as they move beyond the narrow limits of normal fuedal travel.

Very little "world building" is required when everything beyond a day's walk is terra incogita where all sorts of wonders and strange creatures and customs can be found. Each village or castle encountered as the characters travel is it's own separate "world" where almost anything is possible.

 

[Just-Legal]

Lou - log into Ez and check these boards out:

http://pub128.ezboard.com/bwhispin
http://p204.ezboard.com/bthitsingraleis
http://pub18.ezboard.com/bthediirlathe

All three are fantasy RP boards, each based on a World. The bad news is, the creators have been working on these on and off for YEARS.

You're more than welcome to join us if you want to know more

 

[Sabledrake]

I love world-building. But then, I came at writing by way of gaming, and I've always been the GM. I love playing with geography and culture and history.

One important thing to keep in mind when writing fantasy or sci-fi is that while it is very important for you-the-author to know all the background details, the reader does not. Avoid doing what's often called an "info dump," which is basically an encyclopedia entry about the world. It's only natural to want to show off how cool it is and how much work went into it, but readers want a story, not a documentary. As long as _you_ know, the details can be blended smoothly into the story as the characters find things out.

I've done a whole series of columns in my 'zine. Some are aimed more at writing, others at GMing. Here's a link:
What's Your Fantasy . Topics have included world building, characters, villains, dungeons, magic and religion, time travel, etc.

As for maps -- even if the maps don't make it into the books, you'll probably want them in order to keep your directions and distances and locations consistent. Especially if there's a lot of travel in the story, which is fairly common -- the quest theme -- in fantasy.

Ack, must dash ... time to go to work!

Sabledrake

 

[Weird Harold]

As for maps -- even if the maps don't make it into the books, you'll probably want them in order to keep your directions and distances and locations consistent. Especially if there's a lot of travel in the story, which is fairly common -- the quest theme -- in fantasy.

Of course, it helps to know how to read your own maps.

I'm currently re-reading and old series from my collection -- it's a fairly generic sword and scorery epic, but the author has the characters traveling North to reach a city his map shows as south-east of their starting point and casually refers to the sun rising over the Western edge of the central sea.


You may decide that the planet your world is on rotates backwards to the way the Earth does, but that isn't going to change the fact that your readers expect the direction the sun rises in to be East, no matter which way the planet rotates.

Adding an extra moon or two to demonstrate that your world is NOT "Earth" or some other celestial phenomenon is a common practice, but it isn't wise to carry the concept too far and start messing with where the sun rises or what the directions on a map are.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

Lou, I'm not sure if this helps. But I hope so. Writing fantasy novels is not my expertise. Although I do need to get off my butt and do one. I was taught by Janet Fox, an author of many novels. Here is the advice she gave me years ago.

First-Know your characters. Know everything about them. It doesn't matter if you fit those charistictics into the story. Just know them.

Second-Create your world. Draw the maps with the cities located on each. Mark the mountains. Study the fauna of locals and form them to your world. Do the same with the mammals. Make your own. Are they expansions of present day or something new?

Third-Create your races for the world. Not by color, but by features. The future world is not prejudice against color. Just by race. Humans may rule, but Saldians are slaves. Or vice-versa.

Fourth-Combine all the first three and make your world. Know what you're characters are struggling through. Know what they're against. Use the maps to illustrate the world at each chapter. It gives the reader a path to follow. Make the environment as realistic as possible. If the world is in the future, it's probably mutated. If not, then it's a new world. Vines may grab and attach. Leaves may whisper. But use your imagination.

You'll do fine. You're a fine writer Lou. Trust your instinct.

 

[Carl East]

I wrote three books before I got one right, and the main reason for that was because I relied to heavily on my imagination as opposed to plotting it all out first. Examples of what I mean:

Is it going to be a quest type fantasy? If so what's the quest? Should your main character be the hero or villian? If he/she can perform magic are they any good? If not what are their restrictions and who will accompany them on their dangeous quest?

That was just a sample of just some of the things you need to work on before you even start a serious story. What I did at the end of my book was to catalogue all the spells I'd created thoughout the story, naming what they did and how to pronounce them.

Other authors create a map of their lands, like J.R. Tolkien and go into some serious back ground information, like the Black Keep at the Grange, North of the Golden Peak. You get the idea. lol

My story was always going to be about magic, because I wanted to create a cross between Harry Potter and Star wars and I was very happy with the out come. Incidently the story I'm referring to is on this site, and is called 'The Second Apprentice,' shameless plug there. lol

I decided early on that there would be one main character, who befriended many others throughout the story. I also decided not to place a love interest into the plot, although there is a female he likes, but I didn't develope any sort of romance within the first book.

I figure I can use that on subsequent books, as I intend to follow that one up, one day soon. What might work for you Lou, is a chain story with someone of your choosing so that you can get a feel for the fantasy. Obviously it has to be someone who likes and writes fantasy, otherwise it might put you off. lol

Carl

 

[Black Tulip]

Thank you

I just want to say thank you out loud, because this thread and all the reactions have made me realise it's a shame to leave my non-erotic stuff lying on the shelf.

All the thought and research. *sigh*
I'll pick it up again. Maybe work in some sex? That's what made me came out here and play in the first place. LOL

Thanks Lou,

 

[Marsipanne]

I think it's one thing to be writing a fantasy novel, but another to be writing an original one. I mean, it's all well and good to create a world and stuff, but I find when reading fantasy is that it gets hideously repetitive.

Fantasy is by far my favourite genre, yet I don't like most of the books written in that genre. I like superhuman abilities, magic, pageantry, but I don't like Tolkien-esque stuff. Some people like Tolkien, I for one find him mind-numbingly boring. The Hobbit was the only book of his I could get through. I gave up Lord of the Rings at the Council of Elrond, could not get further. I don't like the style and I found the premise uninteresting. There are many books that are similar to Tolkien and I don't like hardly any of them. In fact, I really don't like reading quest-fantasy, really. I don't like the word 'quest', I much prefer 'objective' or 'target'. I think that fantasy can be so formulaic. Invent a world, decide the quest, invent the quest group-members, invent a series of obstacles preventing them from achieving their goal. Fantasy is most fun to read when the author twists the typical fantasy premise, tries to avoid cliche or goes against a cliche.

 

[Carl East]

I think it's one thing to be writing a fantasy novel, but another to be writing an original one. I mean, it's all well and good to create a world and stuff, but I find when reading fantasy is that it gets hideously repetitive.

Fantasy is by far my favourite genre, yet I don't like most of the books written in that genre. I like superhuman abilities, magic, pageantry, but I don't like Tolkien-esque stuff. Some people like Tolkien, I for one find him mind-numbingly boring. The Hobbit was the only book of his I could get through. I gave up Lord of the Rings at the Council of Elrond, could not get further. I don't like the style and I found the premise uninteresting. There are many books that are similar to Tolkien and I don't like hardly any of them. In fact, I really don't like reading quest-fantasy, really. I don't like the word 'quest', I much prefer 'objective' or 'target'. I think that fantasy can be so formulaic. Invent a world, decide the quest, invent the quest group-members, invent a series of obstacles preventing them from achieving their goal. Fantasy is most fun to read when the author twists the typical fantasy premise, tries to avoid cliche or goes against a cliche.

I suppose it all comes down to likes and dislikes in the end. I mean I read LOTR five times, and got something new from it each time. Of all the fantasy authors I've ever read, Tolkien was without doubt the the most particular about place names and character names. His attention to detail was mind boggling, which I can imagine put a lot of people off. Oh, if only I was half as good as he was. lol

Originality is very important in any story, which is one reason why I think long and hard about the bad guys in my tales. I don't want them to remind the reader of Darth Vader or some other well known baddie. I want them to feel new and surprising, which is why I created the Stompers in my tale. The originality there came from the fact that for every magic spell our hero had, the Stompers had a tech weapon that achieved the same results.

For instance, When our hero used his travel spell they had a transporter device that would do the same thing.

I haven't read every single fantasy book out there, so for all I know that idea might have been used before. The only thing you can do is write from your imagination and hope that others don't think the way you do. lol

Carl

 

[Guest]

From these comments, it dosn't sound like you're going to need to do very much "world-building" at all -- or at least not in the kind of detail that many authors go into -- a "standard" fantasy setting will work just fine.

By a "standard fantasy setting" I mean something like what Elizabeth Ann Scarborough used for her "Hearth Witch" series (Song of Sorcery, The Unicorn Creed, Bronwyn's Bane, and The Christening Quest.) She starts with a generic Fuedal setting -- peasant village, Castle, etc. -- and lets the reader discover the world beyond the intial setting along with characters as they move beyond the narrow limits of normal fuedal travel.

Very little "world building" is required when everything beyond a day's walk is terra incogita where all sorts of wonders and strange creatures and customs can be found. Each village or castle encountered as the characters travel is it's own separate "world" where almost anything is possible.

Good point, WH. I have begun building my world, because I do want things to be consistent, but you are right, I doubt I'll have to do much.

I did, to a degree, create a world in my last novel. It's an erotic horror novel, with elements of sci-fi and maybe a little fantasy. The world I created was a world beneath and beyond our world. I took the characters into an alien underground complex, and described a little of the alien race to the reader and their background and homeworld. I didn't go huge with it, but the whole thing was cruicial to the plot. I did all that without writing any notes, and it worked.

With my next novel, I want to go with pure fantasy. Maybe a little sci-fi will creep in, as well as a little horror - in the form of black magic. It will definitely be erotic. I wanted to "do it right", but as I suspected and as I have found to be the case, as with any kind of writing, there is no right way or wrong way, just the way that suits each of us.

This thread has been incredibly helpful and I do have a clear idea of where I'm going now. It's also good to know what the expectations are of many fantasy fans.

Ok, I've talked about it enough now. Time to get on with it!

Lou

 

[oggbashan]

I think it's one thing to be writing a fantasy novel, but another to be writing an original one. I mean, it's all well and good to create a world and stuff, but I find when reading fantasy is that it gets hideously repetitive.

Fantasy is by far my favourite genre, yet I don't like most of the books written in that genre. I like superhuman abilities, magic, pageantry, but I don't like Tolkien-esque stuff. Some people like Tolkien, I for one find him mind-numbingly boring. The Hobbit was the only book of his I could get through. I gave up Lord of the Rings at the Council of Elrond, could not get further. I don't like the style and I found the premise uninteresting. There are many books that are similar to Tolkien and I don't like hardly any of them. In fact, I really don't like reading quest-fantasy, really. I don't like the word 'quest', I much prefer 'objective' or 'target'. I think that fantasy can be so formulaic. Invent a world, decide the quest, invent the quest group-members, invent a series of obstacles preventing them from achieving their goal. Fantasy is most fun to read when the author twists the typical fantasy premise, tries to avoid cliche or goes against a cliche.

This reminded me of my objection to many fantasy stories.

They are thinly disguised second-rate Westerns.

The hero has to fight the villains, clean up the town/planet and get the girl, or if the hero is the girl get the guy, and then live happily ever after.

The hero/heroine is the best swordsperson/archer/dragon rider on the planet = fastest draw in the West.

Og

 

[Marsipanne]

I suppose it all comes down to likes and dislikes in the end. I mean I read LOTR five times, and got something new from it each time. Of all the fantasy authors I've ever read, Tolkien was without doubt the the most particular about place names and character names. His attention to detail was mind boggling, which I can imagine put a lot of people off. Oh, if only I was half as good as he was. lol

Originality is very important in any story, which is one reason why I think long and hard about the bad guys in my tales. I don't want them to remind the reader of Darth Vader or some other well known baddie. I want them to feel new and surprising, which is why I created the Stompers in my tale. The originality there came from the fact that for every magic spell our hero had, the Stompers had a tech weapon that achieved the same results.

For instance, When our hero used his travel spell they had a transporter device that would do the same thing.

I haven't read every single fantasy book out there, so for all I know that idea might have been used before. The only thing you can do is write from your imagination and hope that others don't think the way you do. lol

Carl

I personally think it's all a matter of taste. I do think it's a pity though that so many fantasy authors write similarly. It is quite difficult to come up with something new and original simply because there are so many fantasy books out there. In general, I'm quite an odd writer for fantasy, because I write first person most comfortably, and it's a female voice (I don't think there are many of these).

Re. bad guys, I had quite a lot of changes here. I started writing my fantasy novel five years ago and I invented the world seven years ago, so it's quite complicated. The characters and their relationships also changed quite a lot. It started off five years ago as quite a regular fantasy, with bad guy, good guy etc. etc. Then, I decided to make it a bit edgier and I kept on doing so. Now, the love interest is the bad guy, and in the sequel the main character (who narrates the story) turns evil. Book 2 of my trilogy will probably be my favourite--it's very much a destroy root of all evil quest tale, but it's really, really twisted.

 

[Black Tulip]

Marsipanne,

That sounds intriguing. And I agree about the female voices. That was the reason I started writing in the first place. Not enough books I could relate to as a female, at least not one who could think and act on her own. LOL

My story is about one person discovering the rest of her world, getting to know other people with different morals, finding out missing pieces of her people's history and finally I intend to make the beginning of the world a bit of a surprise. Thrown in some magic that is actually in part a bit of forgotten technology.

I don't know if that is too much of a cliché. It is fun to make it up.

 

[comp|icity]

hold on the creating world bit and step back to creating the novel

Apologies if this point has already been made, but I only had time to scim read, I don't think it was raised:

In my experience the tricky thing to do with fantasy is avoid exposition. I mean you spend so long describing the world (ref most of the posts above) that you leave the reader nothing to explore themselves (maybe this is why Marzipanne isn't a fan of Tolkien - it is very expositional)

This is tough, because you do need to understand for yourself all the details - I am much like you in that I wouldn't write an essay about my world but would just start typing about it - in this case it all comes down to editing. You need to go back through and be ruthless about stripping out anything that describes the world to the reader, rather than revealing it through the eyes of your characters.

Of course its all about balance etc... but just my tuppence worth...

 

[alyxen]

I should read the full thread before posting, already covered earlier on..

Nothing to see here!!

One more edit to include this link with an excerpt from The Rivan Codex:

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/sample/rivancodex.html

 

[Guest]

I should read the full thread before posting, already covered earlier on..

Nothing to see here!!

One more edit to include this link with an excerpt from The Rivan Codex:

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/sample/rivancodex.html

Thanks for the link, Alxyen! There should be some very good reading there.



Thank you, to everyone who has posted in this thread. You've all been very helpful and enlightening. I have a much clearer idea of quite what I'm trying to do now and what will be the best way for me to go about it. Apologies if I haven't replied to each of you personally, I have read you all and taken it all on board.

Lou

 

[Marsipanne]

One of the biggest problems (actually, it's probably THE biggest) in my novel is this chunk of exposition in the first chapter. It's broken up by one passage of dialogue, but other than that, it's just plain exposition. Once I realised this problem, I tried to make the narration of it more witty, cut down on what to say and such. The thing is, I can't not put in this bit of exposition, because seriously, nothing would actually make sense. The fantasy world I've created and the situation my characters are in are not typical of regular fantasy so I need some extra explanation otherwise the reader would get confused. The narrator does (I hope) have an interesting way of explaining things--she sounds kinda sarky and excited, ironic and so on. I also have a very catchy prologue to tide over this length of exposition.

I don't like Tolkien's style of writing--it seems a bit lifeless. I enjoy all the stuff with Hobbits, so the beginning of Fellowship is good, and The Hobbit is good, but anything serious becomes deadly boring. I'm not bothered so much about exposition. However, I did see the beginning of one book, I forget what it's name is, something to do with 'Kings' and the opening was practically a list of names and towns and stuff. It was absolutely ridiculous!