How to Write Fantasy

by Greg Strandberg

  Lighting of the Dark

  Dark’s demise

  Dark be gone

  Dark’s End

  Curses

  Dark be damned

  Dark’s shadow

  Dark you all

  Dark’s honor

  Dark’s Born

  Born

  – This is the god of life. It is thought of and represented as a small baby boy

  – He is presented as lucky and favorable

  – Women, children, and gamblers view him favorably.

  – Temples exist in most major cities and many small towns and villages. Many homes will have a small shrine or icon depicting him.

  Blessings

  Born’s blessing

  Born be bright

  Born’s Light

  Curses

  Born’s blood

  Born’s curse

  Born’s hurt

  Born’s folly

  Death

  – This is the god of the dead and the dying. It is thought of and represented as a withered and decaying old man.

  – He is presented as harmful and crippling

  – Only those of the most foul and evil temperaments view him favorably.

  – Temples in cities have been banned, although there will be some hidden away. In the deep forests, dry desert depths, and coldest tundra one can also find an occasional temple.

  Blessings

  Death’s demise

  Death be gone

  Curses

  Death’s wish

  Death’s seed

  Death’s friend

  26: Character Ideas

  Now that you’ve got your world complete, your setting squared away, the protagonists and antagonists all charted out, and the history and religion suitably detailed, you’ll be ready to get to your characters.

  Now, most of the time you’ll have some pretty good character ideas for your fantasy novel well before you even put anything down on paper. Perhaps the whole idea behind your fantasy novel started with just one or two characters.

  Whether the world or the characters came first, the thing you’ve got to do now is get down some basic information about them. Listed below will be basics of what I’ve done with my characters in the fantasy novel, The Jongurian Mission.

  Defining Your Fantasy World’s Characters

  You’ll have both primary characters in your fantasy novel and secondary characters in your fantasy novel, and different types of planning will go into each of them. I’ve written articles on creating both, and I highly suggest that you make yourself a character outline.

  A character outline for your fantasy novel will allow you to get a basic idea of how many characters you have, perhaps what their names are, and a general idea of how much you still need to create in the way of characters.

  A character outline will also make it easy to begin getting the details of your story down. From there chapters begin to fall into place. But at first try to start small with some general ideas; it’ll be easy to expand after that.

  And let me tell you, the fantasy character outline below changed a lot from my final book. Many of the names are different, and lots of characters changed or didn’t appear at all. Remember, none of this is set in stone; it’s just a way for you to get started.

  Here’s what I did to define my character outline in my fantasy novel:

  Character Ideas

  – A main character as a grizzled, middle-aged fighter/soldier who is from Adjuria, but is living in Jonguria, although he wants to go home after so many years away.

  – Having lived in both regions of the world for a long time, this character will provide a balance between the opposing viewpoints of Eastern and Western philosophies.

  – A young man/boy who is also from Adjuria and traveling through Jonguria. Possibly he came on a trade voyage by sea, and is now stranded in Jonguria, or decided he wanted to see the region.

  – This character will express the ideas, interests, and institutions of Adjuria. He will promote the Adjurian philosophy in conversations, and extol the virtues of that society.

  – He’ll be very young, a youth in his late-teens or early-twenties. Therefore his world view will be very one-sided and limited. He will be unreceptive to other points of view, and will be most unwilling to listen to any arguments against his views.

  – An old sage from Jonguria who has met with disgrace, or has decided to shun society and now lives on his own. This character will exhibit the ‘power,’ which is a tai-chi like exercise that gives incredible strength in hand-to-hand combat.

  – He’ll express the ideas, interests, and institutions of Jonguria. Through his conversations and actions he will promote Jongurian philosophy.

  – This character will be an old man, and therefore he will have seen many aspects and changes, or lack thereof, in his society. Because of this he will allow a bit of skepticism to enter into his philosophy of Jonguria, while perhaps acknowledging, or at least listening to, some of the ideas of Adjuria.

  Character Names

  Bryn Fellows

  – A young peasant from the province of Tillatia. He’s recently been summoned to the capital of Plowdon to learn from his uncle Halam Fiske. Headstrong, eager to learn, and un-traveled, Bryn is wide-eyed toward the world, each experience being something new.

  Halam Fiske

  – Halam is a lesser noble who attends the court in Tillatia. He is the uncle of Bryn, and has recently called his nephew to come to court in Plowdon to learn more of the world.

  Dilon Con

  – A noble from Duldovia, whose skill for compromise has done much to unite the provinces of Adjuria.

  Yuan Jibao

  – Eastern imperial representative and trade delegate on the island of Nanbo. Holds an unfavorable view toward Adjuria.

  Leisu Tsao

  – Imperial military commander stationed at Nanbo who reports directly to Yuan Jibao.

  Wen Wubai

  – A mysterious old man living in Jonguria. He exhibits the skills of both a great warrior, but also those of a learned scholar.

  Zhou Lao

  – A rebel mercenary group captain in Jonguria. He fights against the imperial government in the Pudong province, but has the support of some members of the imperial court, unbeknownst to the Emperor

  27: Story Ideas

  If you don’t have a good story for your fantasy novel, who’s going to want to read it? It’s therefore critical that you devise a great story that keeps people guessing, gives them something to identify with emotionally, and makes them want to read more books by you.

  I made detailed outlines for each book in my Jongurian Trilogy, and that helped me get the three books published. My goal with this post is to give you examples from the first book in that series so that you have a roadmap to follow.

  There are many ways you can come about getting that great story, but all of them will start with simple ideas. Perhaps these will come to you over a long period of time, or maybe you sit down and plan them all out in one sitting. Some people find that outlining the whole story works well, while others prefer to let all of the details come out in the writing. Still others use a combination of the two.

  Defining Your Story Ideas

  When it comes to writing a fantasy novel, I find that making a detailed outline works best. Oftentimes this outline will change a lot between when it’s first written and the finished book is put out; it’s all part of the creative process.

  What works well for me is that I’ll have something to come back to when I get stuck. That’s the main reason why I write an outline. I also find it works well at giving me an ending to my story, or at least a general ending point. Lots of fantasy novels get started, but not as many get finished. I think this happens a lot because people don’t know how to end their story.

  That’s why I think a basic story idea or outline is great, and I encourage you to give it a try, either for some of your small and detailed scenes or for your whole fanta
sy work.

  Below is what I did to define the story ideas of my fantasy novel:

  A Ship from Adjuria

  – A trading ship sets out from Portinia in the west to a treaty port in the Jongurian province of Pudong.

  – This treaty port was established at the conclusion of the last war between Jonguria and Adjuria as a link between the two regions.

  – The port is actually on the tiny island of Nanbo, which Jonguria views as a safe distance from the mainland for the barbarians of Adjuria to step foot on Eastern soil.

  – Besides overland through the land bridge, this is the only area that trade is allowed between the two continents.

  – There are many different people from different provinces on the ship.

  – On the ship is a young man, a youth, from the principality of Tillatia. He is traveling with his uncle on an exhibition to secure a trade agreement with Jonguria to sell the principalities excess grain.

  – The boy has never before left his province, let alone the continent.

  – Also on the ship are envoys from Culdovia and Duldovia, the two chief negotiating provinces for Adjuria, on a mission to secure more dialogue with Jonguria.

  – A group of soldiers from Allidia and Mercentia are traveling with the hopes of gaining permission to view the famous military training schools of Pu’lao.

  – A noble from Shefflin travels to work out more trading agreements for their valuable resources.

  – After an uneventful voyage, the ship docks in the treaty port on the island of Nanbo.

  – Going against previous acts of protocol, all of the people from Adjuria are ushered into a government office upon landing.

  – They are told that no more trade deals will be discussed at this time, and no entry will be allowed for any of them to the mainland.

  – They are given the rest of the day to unload their current cargoes of trade goods and re-provision their ship for the voyage back.

  – The group argues against this, but a large showing of military force is called forth, and it is apparent that for some reason negotiations between the two continents have once again deteriorated.

  – The ship sails that night heading back home.

  – During the night while most are asleep, the ship comes under attack.

  – It is very hard to tell what happens, but most of the crew is killed. Many of the group is able to board a small boat and flee to safety while they watch the ship fall into enemy hands.

  – It is apparent to the more experienced that they will not make it home in this small boat, and that a trip back to Nanbo is also unlikely. They decide to head for the mainland.

  Intrigues in Jonguria

  – Meanwhile, in Jongurian province of Laojing, there is unease in the imperial court.

  – The previous emperor died a short time ago while making a tour of the southern province of Pudong

  – The death was sudden, and many think that rebel groups had a hand in his demise, possibly through poison.

  – The Current Emperor is a small child, incapable of ruling. He is the son of the fallen emperor.

  – The emperor’s widow takes over as regent until the boy comes of age. She is not the boy’s mother, she having died in childbirth. Instead she was the favorite concubine of the previous emperor, who took her as his wife shortly before his death.

  – There is concern over the widow’s motives. Some think she wants to keep power for herself, or give it to her own son from a previous marriage, a teenage boy.

  – Many also think she had a hand in her husband’s death, possibly through dealings with some rebel groups.

  – The imperial court has many functionaries, the foremost among them being royal eunuchs. These men see to the day-to-day functions of government, but yearn for greater power for themselves.

  – One among them, the chief eunuch would like to pull the strings of the new emperor and those of the widow as well.

  28: The Character & Story Outline

  We’ve seen how you can develop basic character ideas and then basic story ideas to get your fantasy novel off the ground. Now it’s time to figure out how we can make each of those characters from the basic outline more fleshed out, detailed, and real.

  I like to create a detailed character outline for my fantasy novels for the simple reason that it allows me to keep track. I followed this route with The Jongurian Mission and the other two books that followed. Oftentimes when you’re writing a fantasy novel you’ll find that you have a lot of characters. This becomes especially true if you’re writing a trilogy.

  Each of those characters will have a certain look, unique mannerisms, and distinct motivations. I read in an interview with George R.R. Martin that one of the biggest problems he has is keeping the eye color of his characters straight. I can understand why that would be a problem; who can remember eye color when there are so many more important things to keep track of? But many of your readers will notice, and perhaps point those errors out to you, if not complain outright.

  Basics of Your Fantasy Character Outline

  That’s why a character outline is a good idea for your fantasy novel. Here are a few things that I usually put for each character in my fantasy character outline:

  – Basics: These will be things like name, where they’re from, age, and similar items. You’ll usually remember these for your main characters, but when it comes to all the secondary characters that might only appear a few times in a book, it’s hard to keep track.

  – Appearance: Probably the single biggest reason I go back to my character outline is to see what a character looked like. I list things like eye color, hair color, general height, usual clothes color and style, distinctive features like scars or facial hair, and anything else that might help me describe them quickly in dialogue or another area of the story.

  – Motivations: Each time I outline a character I’ll list down why they’re in the story. What is it that brought them into my story, and what do they hope to get out of it? What are their main goals, motivations, fears, and desires? What do they want, and what do they need?

  All of those simple points will help get you started, and I know from my own experience that they’ll probably help you once you’re well into your story.

  Below is what I did to outline in detail the characters in my fantasy novel:

  To Baden

  Bryn Fellows

  – A young peasant from the province of Tillatia. He’s recently been summoned to the capital of Plowdon to learn from his uncle, Halam Fiske. Headstrong, eager to learn, and un-traveled, Bryn is wide-eyed toward the world, each experience being something new.

  – At above-average height, with short-cropped brown hair and a slight build, though well-muscled from countless hours of exertion in the outdoors, Bryn Fellows could, at the same instant, strike an imposing figure, but also one of quiet composure. He was still quite young, only fourteen summers now, but a lifetime of struggling against both the elements thrown at him by nature and those by men’s demands had given him an outlook and wisdom beyond his years.

  Halam Fiske

  – Halam is the uncle of Bryn, and also the younger brother of Trun Fiske. He left home to fight in the East-West War after the conflict had already seen five years of fighting. He was stationed at the captured city of Bindao, and fought for five years. On his return to Adjuria he fought in the Adjurian Civil War, and led a successful charge at the Battle of Baden which proved decisive for the Culdovian cause. Afterward he was appointed a government position in the provincial capital of Plowdon.

  Taller than Bryn by a hand, Halam was also a bit wider around the waist, no doubt from the amount of time he sat at his desk, papers strewn before him. His arms were still thick from years in the field with his brother growing up, but he lacked the sun-baked lines which his brother possessed from doing that work still. His short brown hair, balding on top, with the finely-trimmed beard of the same color covering his face, was just as Bryn remembered, although no
w going grey around the chin and sides.

  Trun Fiske

  – The uncle of Bryn Fellows, who lives on a small Eston farm in the Tillatia province. He is the older brother of Halam Fiske. Trun left Eston at the start of the East-West War and fought for ten years along the Baishur River. On his return to Adjuria unharmed, he then fought in the Adjurian Civil War, suffering a permanent wound to his right leg at the Battle of Baden. Afterward he went back to the family farm in Eston.

  – Whereas Halam had a sizeable girth around his midsection, however, this man was rail-thin, and possessed none of the muscled arms or legs like those of the rider Bryn sat behind. His skin was well-tanned from countless hours under the sun, and his hands were strong and rough from working the land. He was clean-shaven, with long, grey sideburns stretching the length of his face. Large, bushy grey eyebrows jutted from under his round straw hat. He is nearly bald with grey tufts of hair on his sides.

  Lily – Bryn’s Mother

  Shep – Bryn’s Father

  Rodden Stor

  – A provincial trade official based in Plowdon who accompanies Halam and Bryn to Baden

  Rodden was a tall man, taller than Halam by a hand or more when he was standing tall and straight, as he was now, a great change from the initial sight of him stooped over his desk. His hair was blonde but going to grey and cut very short, so that it stood up strait on top of his head. His arms and legs were long and wiry and he was also very thin, possessing none of the muscles of Halam, nor the large belly. He was dressed in a tight-fitting brown linen doublet with long sleeves, and matching leggings.

  Juniper

  – Halam’s horse

  Ash