Lewis' Book of Reviews and Writing Advice

Writing Fantasy (Part 1)

Greetings, Ink Jars, Professor Lewis here. It's been a while since we had a lesson! Yes, I did just publish a chapter either yesterday or the day before, but the thing is, I wrote that about three weeks ago and apparently never published it...that was unfortunate.

Here's a quick update: My writing is almost back to normal. I'm no longer in a constant state of lack of interest or of failing imagination. However, I've not quite bounced back. The reason I have not published much in this advice book lately, is that I'm just about out of things to talk about. Therefore, if you have suggestions, I'm definitely willing to take them. Plus, I would be interested in doing more reviews! ALSO: Steve and my book club is up and running! GO JOIN IT! IT'S AWESOME AND WILL BENEFIT YOU!!! It's called "The Book Cult."

Anyway, dear Ink Jars, today we shall discuss Writing Fantasy. To some of you (naïve jars of little ink who have never attempted it), fantasy may sound like the easiest genre to right in. Incorrect! Fantasy is extremely difficult! You have to create a world, or devise all the laws of parallel universes and magic! Ough! It actually is quite a commitment to write a serious fantasy. Though, I have not written many here on Wattpad, it is interestingly enough, my predominant genre. I've written a five book series which, though it still lies unpublished, remains my most important writing.

So here are some tips on how to write a fantasy and general rules:

1.) Don't worry about copywrite. "But Professor Lewis," you say, politely raising your quill pen. "I don't want someone to copy MY works!" And yes, this sounds terrible, but let me finish my point. Lots of people write fantasy and therefore lots of seemingly original ideas will overlap!

EXAMPLE: In Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling one of the Horcruxes (special evil items...it's a long story) causes its wearer to become agitated and irrational. In the same way, the One Ring in Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien has a strong pull on people and creature's emotion.

The whole point of this is: When you're starting out, you're going to have an idea or a name or a concept which you find AWESOME and then you'll see a movie with that same theme. Yeah...we've all done that. You come up with an epic book title and realize that it was actually the title of that one library book you saw on the way out...

Now, don't confuse this with gaining inspiration! Gaining inspiration from other writers in the same genre is VERY important we just do not want to exactly COPY them. As I said though, my point is, you're GOING to copy them in your first books and first drafts. These will not be published and by the time you actually do publish, you'll have found and edited those copied pieces out. See what I'm saying now? Good. If not, talk to me in my office later.

2.) Read other fantasy books and watch fantasy movies. This sounds like a given, but honestly, it really does help! I've gotten ideas from simple movie quotes or places the characters go. My inspiration for my short story: "The Shadow Vile," or "Vile of Shadows," was gained from a very random movie quote. The plot and concept of the story actually has nothing to do with the quote. It just made me dream it up for some reason. Honestly, if I try to remember how the two even connect, I actually have to think really hard.

These things will show you how other writers or directors tell stories similar to what you want to achieve. In addition, it will just get you in the mood.

3.) Don't go too big. Start small! As I've probably mentioned, fantasy is complicated. There are so many layers and pieces that you didn't even really consider before beginning. Seriously, if you dive straight in, you're going to get overwhelmed. If you want to know more of what I mean, return to my chapters on world building. You'll see what kind of differences there can be between diving write in and starting small.

4.) You have to love it. I feel like fantasy is a very particular genre. Like any other project, you must be fully dedicated.

5.) Don't worry about being too random. INVENT! Invent creatures and laws and people and places and plants and animals! Truly, as long as you explain things properly, you'll be fine!

HINT: Find a couple people who will read your book and tell you if things are too random or confusing. I have a couple processes in my series that I take for granted because I know what they are, but they apparently never got explained in the beginning of the book so my beta readers were confused. They let me know and I fixed things. It's SUPER HELPFUL.

6.) Go easy on those names. It is extremely fun making up your own fantasy names. I do it all the time. You don't want to use lots of real names because then the world you're building won't seem very separate from ours, but it's important that you don't overwhelm the reader!

HINT:

     a.) Make a little list at the back of the book with all the names and how to pronounce them (at least the difficult ones)

     b.) Make a dictionary of names/titles and how they're said AND what places or creatures they belong to. You may even want to add the page number of this creature's original description which the reader can refer back to.

7.) WAIT PROFESSOR LEWIS! Yes, I know, I should have done this at the start, but I'm doing so now instead. You have to decide what you want: a parallel universe or something completely separate.

HINT:

a.) Parallel universes are HARD! You have to figure out how to explain EVERYTHING! Why can't magic be seen? Are there people who can see it? What are the laws? Are there portals between worlds? What's stopping people from passing through portals? How? Why? What? If you're not careful, you'll flop!

b.) Completely separate worlds are easier. They simply are. You don't have to explain as much. The problem is, you have to invent more! You have to strive harder to make it seem separate and different! And then, you do unfortunately have to explain all of that.

8.) LAWS! This is something I mentioned earlier a couple times which, once you get a little more advanced in your series, you'll seriously need to consider. At the beginning you'll want basic implied laws depending on your type of fantasy (connected to the real world or separate).

Here are a couple questions you'll want to answer which I've hinted to over the last few paragraphs:

FOR PARELLEL UNIVERSES:

a.)Are there non-magical people?

b.) Who decides who the non-magical people are?

c.) Can non-magical people see the magic? If not, does it affect them and how?

d.) Is there a way to get between the magical worlds? If so, who can and how?

e.) What can and can't people do with magic? (bring people back from the dead, use telepathy, refill glasses, etc. Basically, how far can they go?)

FOR PURE FANTASY:

a.) What can and can't people do with magic?

b.) Are there laws of magic?

c.) Who can use magic?

As you can see, there are many rules which overlap, but I still believe that pure fantasy is easier.

This has turned out to be a longer chapter that I afore thought. I apologize for the length, but what can I say, I'm Lewis. I'll write a part two as well on more in depth and extra fantasy thoughts. Perhaps, more on pure fantasy.

Your faithful writer, Lewis E.P.