How To Write a Fantasy Novel | Step By Step For Beginners

Fantasy novels are one of the novels genre's that are so popular nowadays, especially among the children. The story of the fantasy novels based on the imaginary world, Basically it's not the real world (earth). So, that mean as a fantasy writer you must have a big imagination for sure.

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Writing fantasy novels is so complicated, requires a lot of the imagination, and the ability for the element details. But, behind all of that, writing fantasy novels is an opportunity to express the imagination beyond the broadest logic and there is no limit in this genre.

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But you must make the story look real, there's logic things that represented by your story, it's not an easy job for sure, but if you like to think different and imaginative, then you have the basic foundation to finish the fantasy story. Now, let's take a look step by step writing fantasy novel below

Step By Step Writing Fantasy Story 

1. Choose Theme 

There's a lot of theme you can choose right now, the most common theme is "Good vs evil." You can pick that theme, but make sure you make differences in your fantasy story. The theme maybe same like the others, but the character, the world, the way you write must be different.

You can choose other theme that are popular too such as, girl power, emancipation, conspiracy, etc. Give something new, try to write on different angle, and make sure your story keep flowing.

2. Creating Outline 

Basically outline is a story framework. It will help you to describe about the whole story, how big of your world, how many class and job, and guide you to keep writing on the right path. If you are beginners, try to make the world not so big, focus on build the story first. Try to connecting every element to your fictional world.

3. Strong Character 

People always remember for the character, that's why you must build a strong character on your fantasy story.  A strong character is a character who make decisions personally accordance with their respective interests. To make this look so real, create the past moment in the story. Where the past is the foundation of your hero for his development in the future.

For example: a child who survived the slaughter of a royal soldier certainly grow up with the hatred his soul. Every act he made contain with the resistance for the royal soldier, such as refusing to enter the house of the royal soldier, or refusing to help the royal soldier. The past can also explain for the changes of your character attitude.

4. Decide The Race Number Or The Clan

The number of race in a fantasy novel has role that is no less important than the other factor. If you decide to create a lot of race, that means you need to prepared more detailed on your fantasy story. Let see the characteristic of the fantasy race :

• Appearance (How they dress, what uniform they used)
• Origin (Where they are come from, who create them, etc)
• Territory (Where they live, why they live there, etc)
• Races Ideology (Closed politic systems, democracy, monarchy, socialism, etc...)

5. Draw The World Map 

For the fantasy genre, world map is important. People need to know a short things about your fictional world. That's why you need draw your own map or at least give something that represented your fictional world.

By drawing a world map, it will help you to describe the story more easily. Set up the battle scene, or showing the hero adventure based on the world map location.

6. Element Detail 

Fantasy need a lot of detail element on the story. This is important, you must put all of the detail, to make it easy write the details on your list. Here are some of the element of the fantasy story :

• Class (What class is there, swordman, alchemist, magician, etc...)
• Race (Describe all of the race on your shortlist)
• Culture (Write short about the culture that related to your world)
• Power (You can make shortlist the power element such as, magic, aura, energy, etc...)
• Equipment (sword, bow, hammer, armor, heavy armor, etc...)
• Fashion (kind of clothing that people wore it)
• Politic or Ideology (people society, democracy, monarchy, imperialism, or else)
• Building Structure ( Describe the structure, kingdom, empire, village, etc...)
• Setting Time (choose the timeline, middle age, modern age, utopia, etc...)

That's the detail element that you must make to help you build up your fantasy story. Of course, there is still other element that not on the list above, you can try to put the element according to your style. If you choose the middle age timeline, then traditional class more fit to your story, and the structure building must be written like the middle age era.

7. Show The Main Problem

This is interesting part, somehow fantasy get bored because of slow pace opening side. Remember guys, fantasy are different. You need to show the main problem on your prologue, a minor conflict that lead people to understand about your story. Here's some idea for the main problem :

• Rise of the evil (your main villain)
• The destruction of the hero hometown
• War between group of kingdom
• Human existence after armageddon

You can try different things for the opening, but keep remember that you must show the main problem on your prologue scene.

8. Setup Roles Of The Character

To make it easier on your project, you must written the roles of your character. Usually only two roles, Hero and Villain. But nowadays, you need third roles to help the progress of your Hero either the villain too. The third roles is the supporting roles / support roles. Here's the characteristic each roles you need to know :

• Hero: Your main character, all of your story must showing the progress of this character (don't make the hero character look strong at the beginning, let him struggle first to achieve the goals)
• Villain: This is opposite of the hero character. Villain is the character that is prevent your main character to reach his goals. You can describe this character as the evil, or the bad guy, or else (A good villain is that the one who can make the hero look frustation, destroy the hope and try to win the game by all means)
• Support: This role is a companion character for both side. A hero need someone who can help him to reach his goals ( A mentor, can be an example for supporting roles). Same like the villain side (A loyal assistant, or A strong creature usually become supporting role for the villain side)

9. Setup The Timeline 

The fantasy story become more clearly when you already setup the timeline. It become more easily when you already choose the timeline, here's some example to setup the timeline of the fantasy story:

• Progressive (Write the world early side----> Middle---> End)
• Backward  (Opposite with the progressive timeline)
• Middle age Timeline (Took the middle age angle)
• Modern Age 
• Creation of the world (before creation, progress, end of the world)
• Dark Age (The beginning of the dark age, the progress, the end of the dark age)

10. Choose The Best Ending 

To choose the best ending side, you need to know first about the climax of the story. Ending side must be related with the climax, you can choose good ending or bad ending. It depends on where you want to continue the story. The ending side can be look like this :

• Happy ending: The hero beat the villain without a doubt, all of the villain groups are destroy nothing left. The darkness gone and people joy for the rest of their life.
• Sad Ending: Hero failed to beat the main villain, or the villain killed the main hero and makes the world live in the dark age era.
• Half Ending: It's the ending when there is still darkness left behind (The main villain has been beaten, but small groups of the villain still exist.)

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 The half ending is fit for the series fantasy, it will lead into the next series and see the progress of the whole story. Okay, that's How to Write a Fantasy Novel if you like don't forget to subscribe, and feel free to leave a comment. Happy writing guys...!