This week I continue with my writing fantasy fiction series where I explore writing this genre in twelve steps. Check out my previous blog on Perfect Your Character Development and use Real World Themes.

Be Specific About the Elements of Your Writing

This point speaks to the use of just enough details to give your reader a picture of a place, a character, a smell or any other element that helps the reader enter your world. You want to engage as many of their senses as you can. And any fantasy elements such as my night hounds (see the cover need to have a picture painted as they are specific to my world. Making your fantasy elements unique helps captivate the reader.

I think many of us could do more with this. I find I tend to mistakenly assume my readers know more than they do, because fantasy realms are so familiar to me.

Don’t Overwhelm Readers With Details

Having mentioned being specific and painting a picture, it’s also important to avoid overdoing it. For example, your descriptions of clothing, places, dances, people, even conversations, don’t have to delve into the minutia. You may have to reduce some scenes to sentences or paragraphs or even cut scenes altogether to avoid boring the reader.

It’s always better to drip feed details into a story than using the infodump. I find this easier if you begin with an inciting event so that your reader is drawn into the adventure straight away. They will observe the characters reacting to the situation and learn much about them if you get it right.

 

 

 

 

Keep Asking Questions as the Writer

Questions are important, not only to make sure your world makes sense but also to solve plot problems. Don’t expect answers right away. It may take days or weeks for your muse to come up with the answer to your question. However, I find my muse gives better solutions than if I force the answers because I need to meet a certain word count. I’ve been known to write my problems down and return to them later. Often, they’ve already been solved!

 

This is the final instalment of Writing Fantasy Fiction. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series.