A Girl who wrote Fantasy

More Tips for Writing!

Do you want to be the next JK Rowling and write a smashingly good fantasy novel that will earn almost as many good reviews as it does money?

Or maybe you want to tap into the creative half of your brain and let off some steam before smoke starts spouting from both ears?

My motivation for writing a fantasy novel came from the unadulterated joy I experienced as a voracious young reader of fantasy novels. In school I would be scolded for reading underneath my desk while the class was supposed to be learning arithmetic. My grandmother, a reading teacher herself, helped nurture and feed my increasing appetite for new books. I simply could not get enough of the wizards and magical creatures swirling around inside these pages. The time I had spent pouring over these different fantasy novels meant so much to me that I realized I wanted to share it with others.

At 10 Years Old (Aka a really long time ago) I started Designing my first Fantasy Novel: Alexis of the Moonlight.

Sure enough after I finished my Classmates laughed at me

Alright, That was my first time writing a Fantasy Novel. I still have the Original Copy and when I read it I realize that First, My writing was SUPER Messy and my Punctuation was bad.

 Before you lift a pen or lay a finger on that keyboard you need to do some reading. The best way for any writer to improve his or her craft is to read, so start tearing your way through those books. Even if you consider yourself well read, there is simply too much fantastic material out there, and every year more is being published.

Since this cornucopia of literature would take more than one lifetime to sort through, writers should focus on materials that inspire their writing. What piques your interest? If your interest borders on the dystopian, maybe try a best seller in that genre such as the Hunger Games  or the Maze Runner  series.

If you appreciate traditional fantasy, make sure you are schooled in the essentials such as The Chronicles of Narnia  or Lord of the Rings .

A Google search of successful writers in your genre always provides plenty of new reading material. One resource you can use is BestFantasyBooks.com, which creates lists based on votes from users. A great place to start would be their all-time top 25 list.

I know you want to write and tell an original story, and that you didn't come here to do some boring fact checking. This is always the most difficult part for me too.

At the end of the day writing a fantasy novel and selling it is still a business, and if you want to be successful, you need to see what the currently trending authors are doing right.

Pay attention to what genres are selling, and what it is about each series that makes it so successful. Do fans fall in love with the characters or the complex plot twists? Although it is important to produce your own unique ideas, poking around success stories can always offer inspiration or give you an idea of what the market is getting excited about.

Will this novel be a standalone? In this case the world you create and the characters in it must be introduced and developed much more quickly in order to allow room for plot progression. If you decide on fashioning a series, more planning is involved.How will the passage of time affect each book? Will it be a trilogy or a tetralogy?

Since the survival of a series is determined by the number fans drawn to its first book, you will want to hook as many readers with your opening novel. Be sure to introduce your characters and the concepts/ struggles that they may face in your fantasy world as methodically as possible. Don't forget to save some room for some nail-biting action and maybe even a cliffhanger ending to ensure fans have no choice but to buy the next book.

So you hit your stride and everything is working in perfect harmony. Relatable characters, gripping plot points, and an immersive setting. You fell so madly in love with your creation that you decide to pump out one extra book, then another, then one more.

Here's a warning: Don't muddy your original idea by trying to keep it alive for too long.

Author's have fell victim to this affliction before, such as with the Magic Treehouse Series, which was painfully stretched to over 50 books. With an idea as inventive as a treehouse that has the ability to transport its inhabitants throughout time, it is easy to imagine getting lost in all the different scenarios the main characters could wind up in.

However, it's important to keep concepts fresh, or eventually your readers will get tired of the same show with a different background. It's important to never fear cutting the umbilical cord and moving on to your next series.