If you ask a group of writers how they approach a part of their writing process, you’re going to get as many answers as there are writers–and sometimes more.
Today I’m reviewing a discussion by a group of writers on how to make fantasy feel real.
No matter if you prefer:
- to write a story based on reality — with just enough fantastic elements to make your story work
- to create your world from the ground up
- to mix it up a bit
and no matter if:
- you’re a pantser with no magic system
- a world builder who adds the characters later
- a white rabbit chaser til the end of the plot, when you look back and realize everything happens in ‘white rooms’ (before you edit…)
- or your approach changes from world to world
these tips for writing fantasy worlds should work to help you draw your readers in, without invoking their sense of disbelief!
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Top 5 Writing Tips For Making Fantasy Feel Real
- Keep it internally consistent
- The effort used to invoke the magic and the scope of the magic should match from spell to spell, no matter the scale.
- Look at economics
- If magic gives someone an ability, someone else will come up with a way to:
- counter it
- sell it
- steal it
- If magic gives someone an ability, someone else will come up with a way to:
- Make sure your character’s motivations make sense
- Both for them,
- AND for the world they live in
- Different norms and cultural expectations exist in different times, places, social classes, and worlds
- Avoid Anachronisms
- You don’t want to mentally throw people out of your story
- Check the weaponry in that time AND place
- Stew takes four hours to cook
- EVEN if you’re right, if most people don’t think that happened in your technological period or location, they’ll be pulled out of the story
- NOTE: Ignore this tip for diversity. People in the dominant culture tend to paint everything in their history with a brush to match themselves. The real world isn’t usually that segmented.
- You don’t want to mentally throw people out of your story
- If you can’t be true to a period, write around the edges
- There are always the fringes of society, where the ‘norms’ break down
- If your character doesn’t fit in, there’s usually SOMEWHERE they can go
- If they’re willing to pay the price
***
How much are you willing to give to enthrall your readers with your world?
These notes are from the Balticon 52 panel, “Making Fantasy Feel Realistic”. The panelists were Leah Cypress, Lisa Hawkridge, Brenda Clough, and Jean Marie Ward.
Do you have any favorite tips for making fantasy seem real that I missed? Feel free to comment!
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WRITING TIPS & WRITERLY MUSINGS 
Reblogged this on Viv Drewa – The Owl Lady.
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Most often my characters are just bumbling along, with no direction, intent, or goal other than to ‘get along’. Allows me throw them into a lot of fun chaos.
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Hopefully there’s some sort of character growth or self determination?
Or is yours more episodic in nature?
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Excellent article, you covered a lot of detail and things that so many people don’t consider.
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I’m glad that my notes we’re helpful for you! It’s always good to know that what I’m sharing has struck the right chord.
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Interesting article. Touching on your third point (and this depends on the story), I would say not having your antagonist be evil for the sake of being evil. For me personally, I like stories with antagonists I can sympathize with. Even if they’re doing terrible things I want to feel like I understand the reasoning, regardless of how flawed it may be.
Piggybacking slightly off of that, I would say not skimping on the creation of secondary characters. Sure, they’re not the primary focus of the story, but they are still extremely important; they should not be in the story simply to fill a role, a la the sarcastic best friend.
I hope you find this insightful. Again, interesting article! 🙂
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