Writing Fantasy: What Not To Do

Fantasy is my first love, full stop.

You need to know this, because otherwise you might think I sound a bit cranky.

Many elements are in play in a well-written fantasy novel, but I’m going to focus on some potent DO-NOTs (the potentially cranky-sounding part). But trust me—avoiding the following pitfalls will strengthen your fantasy writing.

DO NOT Drop First-chapter Hint Bombs That Make No Sense to the Reader

I get it—there’s a lot of heavy-lifting that needs to take place when dropping your readers into your fantasy world. The key here is to offer just enough to ground them and stoke their curiosity without overwhelming them with information and terminology that will only serve to confuse them.

Bad idea:

Selarra winced as Grilla removed the blood-crusted bandage from his arm, her hands coated in amlaran and her lips muttering the chansón of the Ancient Lizard Folk. It was almost twenty-four hours since he’d taken the varna-dipped arrow, and time was running out.

There would be no returning after that.

“Stop holding your breath,” Grilla said, placing her fingers on the wound.

Of course she would say that. Breath-not-death was the ever-ready saying of the Malfeasants, who were days away from—well, from everything everyone had ever feared. The Lolans. The Uppidittydoodles. Everyone on the High Punctual’s list of lists.

And Selarra was the only one left who could make a difference.

Better idea:

Selarra winced as Grilla removed the blood-crusted bandage from his arm. It was almost twenty-four hours since he’d taken the varna-dipped arrow, and time was running out.

“Stop holding your breath,” Grilla said, dipping her fingers in pungent-scented amlaran and smoothing the healing balm over the wound. “I don’t want you passing out again.”

Hopefully the amlaran would draw out any poison that remained, though Selarra was less than hopeful. If Grilla’s ministrations failed, Selarra would lose his chance to return to his original body.

Not that he particularly missed it.

Why is the second example better? For one thing, we stay in the moment, introducing our characters and giving the readers a taste of just a couple of things from this world — varna, which in this example is clearly defined as a poison, and amlaran, which is obviously an antidote for it. For another, we are not burdened with all the clunky references to things that may well be important (the Malfeasants, the Ancient Lizard Folk…) but that we don’t need to know about just yet.

DO NOT Get Overly Creative With Names or Creatures

Nothing is quite so off-putting as having to wade one’s way through a litany of nigh unpronounceable names. I get it—it can be fun and feels kind of “old school” to come up with characters named P’lgrnorinth and Avlxx’t’qo from the province of Ztreuscz. But at the end of the day? Don’t do it.

You can be creative with names without turning them into tongue-twisters. One method is to take a common name and simply change a letter or two. Jason becomes Dason. Jessica becomes Jennica. It’s wise to avoid modern names if you’re trying to create an other-world, but it’s best done subtly and carefully.

As for magical creatures? Decide which ones belong in your world, give them a purpose, and draw the line there. Many years ago, I critiqued a manuscript that introduced a new magical creature every chapter or so, to the point of ridiculousness. Not every fantasy world needs fantastical creatures, so make this decision with care.

DO NOT Use Modern Slang

Nothing will throw your readers out of the story faster than characters who talk like they were born in the past half-century. While it’s definitely important to write natural, believable dialogue, it’s equally important to bear in mind the world you’ve created—especially if it’s set in an earlier time period on earth, or in a made-up world that mirrors such a time period.

Responses like “okay” or “whatever” won’t work as well as “yes” and “whatever you say”. Also be careful to avoid colloquialisms like “slip up”, “mess up”, “screw up”, etc. As for curse words? Play around with creating your own vulgarities—or stay away from it altogether. A well-placed “damn” never feels out of place in a fantasy world, but if your characters are rampantly swearing twenty-first-century style, you may want to rethink their habits.

DO NOT Create Magic Without Boundaries

There’s an unfinished WIP in my collection that lost its way largely because my protagonist, who was imbued with certain magical powers, ended up getting herself out of every possible pickle by, well, using her magic. I wrote an awful lot of the draft before realizing that I had put no parameters on her magical skill, so she was literally able to do anything I needed her to do in the moment.

Sound stupid? Well, yes, it was. But even if less obviously executed, magic-without-boundaries will do nothing to solidify the believability of your world or your story. Your magic system needs to be well defined from page one, which is why it’s a good idea to have this figured out before you start writing your first draft.

Ask yourself questions like: “Who is able to use this magic?” “Is the magic inborn or learned?” “Under what circumstances does the magic actually work?” “What are the limits of this magic?” And so on. It may take a little longer for you to organize all this, but it’s imperative that you do.

Need help planning your magic system, climate, creatures, cultures, and more? Becca & Angela’s One Stop for Writers® offers drag-and-answer Worldbuilding Surveys where you choose the questions that apply to your world (and you can add your own custom questions, too).

DO NOT Neglect Real-world Science and Physiology

Even if you’ve built your own world from scratch, there are basic life-sustaining principles that need to be in place so that your world is not only believable, but also relatable. Horses on long journeys, for instance, need to consume a substantial amount of grass or grain each day. An infected wound will progress a certain way either toward healing or death. Wheat is not harvested during a snowstorm. Humans cannot survive for longer than seventy-two hours without water. And unless your world is a place where everyone floats randomly around, the law of gravity will need to apply.

Just because you’re writing fantasy doesn’t mean that you don’t have to pay attention to the basics that will ground your reader in real life, even as you take them on a fantastical journey. Yes, you can create work-arounds; Tolkien came up with lembas to keep his journeyers from starving, and Butcher offers powerful magic that allows people to remain conscious after major injuries and to function for days with little or no rest.

The strongest worlds will also adhere to the rules we already know and understand, with magic being the exception instead of the rule.

Creating a fantasy world is probably one of the most whimsical things a writer can do; avoiding the five DO-NOTs will take that whimsy and make it soar.

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Summary For Busy Writers: When writing fantasy, it’s important to avoid throwing your readers out of the story. These five DO-NOTs for fantasy writers will help you achieve that.