New Ideas For Fantasy Writing

Fantasy Writing

Whether you are a beginner writer or have lots of experience in the field, coming up with an idea for your next project can be the most daunting part of the process.

Sometimes all it takes is a spark of creativity, or it can take months of planning to come up with a plan. No matter what your approach is, there are ways to ensure you can always come up with compelling and original ideas.

Read a Lot

Most Fantasy writers will admit that reading was one of their first sources of inspiration. Reading not only helps you improve your writing abilities, but it will also provide insight into popular tropes and already used concepts. Sometimes, knowing what has already been written can help you come up with ways to reinvent it, or adapt it into your particular style.

Read as much as you can and try to read obscure works as well as famous ones. When you read, it’s good to try to analyze what you like or dislike about a book. It’s essential to write about what you feel comfortable with, so getting a good idea about what you would like to include or not in your novel is necessary.

Study the Genre Basics

In Fantasy, especially, the setting is one of the most critical elements of a story: you can look into other authors’ works and see what makes their imaginary worlds so complex and immersive. You need to think beyond the rules of the real world, but you still have to make it sound believable. Every fictional world follows the rules, so you must study how other writers tackle internal logic in a fantasy setting.

You must also have to have a basic understanding of how to write original, compelling characters, as they will be the ones that carry out your story. Look into other authors’ works, and analyze their characters: see what defines them, or how they evolve throughout their adventure, and pinpoint what exactly makes a character human and believable.

Reinvent Famous Fantasy Tropes

A lot of writers nowadays love taking the traditional fantasy tropes and reinventing them in unique ways. While sometimes metaphors can be just as important as original ideas, trying to think of new ways to interpret them can be an amazing creative exercise.

A trope can be anything from the young prince rescuing a princess, to the evil overlord looking to take over the world. Write it down and think of all the ways you would like to change it. Choose an idea that seems like something you would like to read about and take it from there. You will be surprised that, with a lot of brainstorming and thinking, what was a classic, overused trope is now a brand-new idea, all yours to use for the next project.

Find Unconventional Sources of Inspiration

Another place to find inspiration is from the world around you, so an excellent way to exercise your creativity is transforming your surroundings: pick any elements you see around. Try to picture ways, as unusual as possible, in which they could be different. You can also try to look at the people around you and imagine all the different lives they could be living.
Doing something out of the ordinary can also help you become more creative: visit new places or try listening to a new music genre.

Think About the Five “Ws”

In fiction writing, The Five Ws are the pillars for any compelling plot.

• Who – who are the characters involved in the plot?
• What – what is happening, or in other words, what the main plotline is.
• When – a time setting also helps a lot in figuring out details about the story, such as how much technology is available, or how people dress or live.
• Where – just like time, a proper physical setting helps a lot with setting out the atmosphere.
• Why – what are the causes of every action your character makes?

Write an Outline

Once you have figured out these steps, you can write an outline for your fantasy novel. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone. As the story advances, your ideas will be pulled in many different directions; it is important to remember that even though you have a plan, you should always adapt your ideas (for Fantasy Writing) to make them fit your story better.