Fantasy, Part 2

Heyo! Monday we started this week’s discussion in A Study of Genre by talking about Fantasy. It’s an incredibly fun genre, both to write and to read. If you ask me, it’s one of the most fun genres out there. And today, I’m here to tell you three things I’ve learned not to do with it.

Don’t.

1. Don’t make it cheesy

That’s one of the biggest things with Fantasy. A lot of writers try too hard with it, they take it way too far into the realm of… well, cheesy. If you put in too much magic, nothing is real. If there’s too many creatures, it’s hard to follow the story and see what you’re supposed to be seeing. And if you do both of those things, it just gets weird and nobody wants to read it. So try to make it real, in that your readers can see what you’re describing, not in that it ends up not being Fantasy at all. At the same time…

2. Don’t make it too realistic

Yes, I just said to make it realistic. But I also said that you should be walking a fine line between realistic and whimsical. It’s one of the biggest selling points of Fantasy, that it can be both whimsical and deadly at the same time. So try to make a blend between the realistic and the completely new and unheard of to anyone. Your readers will like it.

3. Don’t go over the top

Essentially, this is what points one and two boil down to. Don’t go too fantastical, but don’t go too realistic. Don’t be cheesy, but don’t be too vivid. Extremely vague, isn’t it? Annoying? Yes. I agree. But it’s the best advice I can give you.

You have to find your own blend between fantastical elements and those that relate easily to the real world—and really, you have to find a blend that works best for your own story. If it takes place on Earth, you’ll probably want more realistic elements. If it’s on a world that you made up, then you might want to limit those elements.

Once you start writing Fantasy, you’ll see. It’s all about walking that line and trying not to fall off.

[love]

{Rani D.}