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Writing Lessons from the Best Fantasy Series – Michael R. Barbour


Knights of The Wind 978-1-95-163054-6 by R. B. Michaels is the first part of the series of the same name. The story follows a skillful knight and a powerful mage, as they come together and journey through the kingdom to save it from an evil entity. The evil entity, which has returned after centuries, threatens the peace and lives of the people within the kingdom. In Michaels’ fantasy world, mythical creatures such as elves and dragons hide among the humans. There are power and magic unlike any, in this kingdom. It is up to the mage and the knight to protect the kingdom from all that is evil.


 

Writing fantasy and building extravagant worlds, with rules and magic, for your stories is not easy. This literary genre requires a lot of attention to the details from writers. If you are looking to work on your worldbuilding skills or giving history to your characters, here are a few writing lessons picked from some of the best fantasy series of all time, by Novel Now:

· Create magic with the details

The ‘rules’ for world-building are similar to the rules for writing realism. Details, large and small, help to bring an invention to life.

Fantasy worlds that have attention to detail allow us to imagine a different creature under every rock, a different set of traditions and beliefs in every town.

R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings epic fantasy cycle, was a linguist and invented entire languages (including his Elvish languages, Sindarin and Quenya).

J.K. Rowling’s academic background in Classics helped her create details for her Harry Potter universe. Such as names for magical phenomena that sound ancient (e.g. the Latin-sounding ‘Patronus’, a summoned guardian).

· Give settings character and mystique

Creating your own fantasy world gives you opportunities to create places as weird, wishful, and mysterious as you can imagine.

The best fantasy series is full of places that add mood, atmosphere, wonder, and surprise.

For example, the cozy Shire, the homeland of the Hobbits, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is memorable for its rolling green hills and distinctive, round-doored dwellings.

The mysterious Dark Tower is Stephen King’s dark fantasy series of the same name is a fabled building that is the meeting place of all universes.

· Explain origins

Much acclaimed fantasy series takes place in alternate universes. The archipelago of Earthsea in Ursula K. Le Guin’sEarthsea trilogy. The world of Middle Earth in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings cycle or the parallel version of the Old West in King’s Dark Tower series.

There are many different ways fantasy authors explain their worlds’ origins.Sir Terry Pratchett and Tolkien often use prologues to give details about how their worlds came to be or the people who live there.Many modern fantasy novels eschew prologues and instead weave backstory into the narrative.

· Give characters depth

It’s easy to think of fantasy characters in terms of tropes. Orphan-who-must-save-the-world. Power-crazed villain.

The best fantasy series teaches us that every character should have depth. By depth, we mean they should be three-dimensional, with explicable motivations.

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