How To 

Fantasy Writing: What should you not do (or 10+ things to avoid!)

By Mikkell K Khan

1. Stereotyping

Make sure your fantasy setting is as diverse as possible. This way, you can create more interesting and unique characters for your story. Diversity isn’t just about race; it includes sexual orientation, religion, social status, political views and economic background too.

2. Weak Plotting

Your fantasy story needs to have an engaging plot that ties back into your themes and ideas of the story. This is why it’s so important for fantasy writers to think deeply about what they are trying to say with their story, which is why you should always get a second opinion on your work before submitting it to a publisher.

3. Not Engaging Readers

Make sure your story is interesting and engaging by adding more conflict throughout the book. This will help readers stay invested in your story and it will make it easier for them to relate to each character too.

4. Ignoring the Rules of Your World

All good fantasy stories follow their own internal logic; things work within the world of your story in a particular way because you decided it should work that way. You can’t just make things up as you go along or else it defeats the purpose of having rules in the first place. This is why it’s important to plan out your fantasy story before drafting this content.

5. Making it Impossible to Visualize

A lot of books fail to become instant bestsellers because they don’t contain enough description. It’s important for fantasy writers to describe things in detail so that readers can form a solid mental image of the setting and characters within your story. This also makes it easier for them to visualize how each scene plays out in their mind.

6. Not Using the Right Tone

There are more than one ways to say something; you can make your fantasy story serious or more lighthearted depending on what tone you decide to go with. This is why it’s important for writers to think about their genre and audience before writing anything. If you’re already sure then you should craft your fantasy story accordingly.

7. Using Too Much Dialogue

Dialogue is important because it allows you to establish the personality of a character and it can also reveal a bit more about what’s going on within the story. However, if you use dialogue excessively then your readers will start to lose interest in what they’re reading. That’s why you should keep an equal balance between dialogue and narrative within your fantasy story.

8. Making Your Characters One-Dimensional

All good stories revolve around well-developed characters that readers can relate to or sympathize with as the case may be. It’s important for writers to give their characters a multi-layered personality so it’ll be easier for them to understand what these characters are all about.

9. Including Too Much Description or Exposition

There are certain things that need to be explained; otherwise, readers will feel confused and they may even stop reading altogether if you ramble on too much without explaining anything at all. That’s why fantasy writers should only include the bare essentials when it comes to description and exposition within their book.

10. Not Using Real-World Analogies

One of the best ways to make your fantasy story feel real is for you to make comparisons with things that are familiar within the real world; otherwise, it’ll be difficult for readers to relate to what they’re reading. If you use analogies or comparisons that are relevant to them then they’ll be able to understand what you’re talking about.

Hope you enjoyed those tips. Check out the entire article on my website.  You can also read short stories in Fantasy and Science Fiction, experience a Choose Your Adventure Story and purchase some of my novels on online booksellers.