How To Make Me Believe
Your Fantasy Fiction Book

Although some people think I'm a bit looney, anyway, with all those characters talking in my head. (Yes, Mom, I'm hearing voices again.)

So, if you're reading this page, I'll assume you want to try fantasy fiction writing. Good for you. Fantasy is one of the strongest fiction genres out there, even when it suffers brief lulls in popularity. After all, if you can lose yourself in a fantasy, you can forget the boss who made you work late yet again, and yelled when you got paid overtime because of it.

Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to drag reality into this!


What exactly is fantasy, then?

In general, a fantasy fiction book can include any times, places and characters that are not current reality. Or humans with abilities we don't normally attribute to humans (the five-year-old who can lift your Chevy Suburban into the air, for instance).

For many, writing fantasy fiction includes knights and queens and a feudal political system. The "swords" part of swords and sorcery. It may also include magic, witches, fairies and a host of other fantasy races. It can even include magical creatures like unicorns or flying cats.

It may also be based on world cultures that are very different from your own (the escape part I like). For me, that would include African cultures, Asian cultures, ancient American cultures and such. Taking parts of any of these more unfamiliar (to you) cultures and blending them into your creation can make a very believable fantasy world.

With a basic definition in place then, what makes a good fantasy fiction book?

Well fantasy usually starts with creating a believable world and cast of characters. And whether you think it's true or not, all fantasy is based - at least loosely - on reality. Or we wouldn't believe your tall tale for one minute.

(Yeah, I know I said I'd leave reality out of it, but what can I say?)


How do you create a "real" fantasy world?

Start with reality. I know, I said the "R"-word again... but the truth is, good fantasy depends on some reality. Or it's just some wild dream no one's going to buy. (And there may be people out there who like just that. But not many that I know.)

If you want to set your fantasy in a kingdom, study feudal societies enough to make a believable one up. Make sure you understand proper order of royalty and commoner, from kings to dukes to barons to lords to merchants to peasants. Learn about knights and knighthood. About religious orders, from popes to nuns. (Or give your fantasy a twist by inserting a less commonly used religious order into it like Hinduism.)

If you plan to use magic, study books about magic - how it works and doesn't work in various settings. Decide whether it takes rituals, a flick of a wand, or just a concentrated thought.

Same for witchcraft and other "magical" orders. Read what's been done, what's thought to be true and false about it, and go from there. (Maybe the witch hunts of the eighteenth century were really onto something, and some of those women (or men) really were witches...)

My favorite way to "study" such things is through reading other authors of similar fantasy fiction books. Yes, I read history and specifically-focused books on castles and kings, too, but other fantasy fiction writing helps me learn at least as much about how I should (or should not) set up my own fantasy worlds.


And what about those characters?

Well, as noted above, study is key. You can just make things up off the top of your head, but you'll probably do much better if you follow a few rules. There are mounds of references on elves, trolls, fairies, merfolk and other mythical races. And on dragons, unicorns, hippogriffs and other mythical creatures.

More than anything, you need to set rules for your world to make it believable. If cats can fly, then all cats can fly. If only one breed of cat can fly (the Avianese, maybe), then that Persian down the block better not take off.

In the same vein, don't rescue your hero in peril with some brand new magical ability he's never shown before page 350. That's cheating, and your readers won't come back for more. The roots of that talent, or some sort of potential had to be there, first.

So, when you set out to write your fantasy fiction book, don't forget to have fun with your world and your characters. But do remember to give them laws of behavior they have to obey, or you'll never get that novel off the ground.

Go on, make-believe!