writing-worlds-and-tips

[writing-worlds-and-tips]

[writing-worlds-and-tips]

Doing Effective Research

Many WIPs involve an element of research. Some genres involve more research than others (eg. historical fiction, sci-fi, and non-fiction). Fantasy involves less research because you can create the magic system however you want. Research can be fun, but it can also be a way to procrastinate.

Determine how much research you need. It really depends on the genre and how detailed you want it to be. If you’re doing a complicated non-fiction book, you’ll need more research than if you were doing a casual fantasy novel.

Determine your topic(s). You might need to research multiple topics, like if there are multiple conflicts in realistic fiction or if you’re writing a non-fiction with multiple topics. There should be a main focus if you’re writing a realistic fiction or sci-fi novel, but you can include multiple categories.  

Use reliable sources. The Internet is our main source of information in the twenty-first century because it is easily accessible, especially if you’re able to be reading this now. However, some sites are more reliable than others. You should fact-check with multiple sources, especially if this research is vital to your topic. Also use outside-Internet sources, like books, to ensure more reliability.

Stay organized. One way of organization is using a notebook so you can write things down and separate your research into different sections.  You could also organize digitally if that’s what you prefer. OneNote is a very good program for organization online. Staying organized can make it easier to find information and avoid losing things, rather than writing notes on random scraps of paper you’re likely to lose.

Save your sources. If you’re writing non-fiction or historical fiction, you probably will have to include your sources in your book. Rather than having to rack your brain and comb your Internet history later, make sure you saved the locations of what you used to research.

Decide which research to use. You probably won’t use all of you research that you found, because there would be no room for all that in a book if your book isn’t huge. Some of it won’t be necessary for your book, and it’s up to you to determine which one for you to use.

Ask for help. You can interview people who know a lot of the topic or has been through the event themselves. Librarians can also be glad to help you. Your teacher may also be able to help you with your research skills.  

Improve your research skills in general. Research is an important life skill to have. If you’re still learning to research, there are many places where you can learn. You can read other research articles besides this one or talk to your teacher.  

Create a schedule. Research is not a process that can go on forever. You need to stop your research sometime so you can actually begin the writing. Create a schedule for what you’re going to research on each day and when the deadline to finish research is.

Don’t fall into that black hole. Raise your hand if you’ve already fallen into that black hole of researching random information, where one article leads to another. *raises hand* If the research is not important, do it another time. And while drafting or editing your WIP, if you’re looking something up, don’t go too far into the topic.

Research is a difficult part of writing. It’s also easy to get trapped in the black hole I mentioned in number 10. It’s also important to learn to research, for future education/jobs, especially if you’re a young writer. NHD taught me some great research skills! Happy researching!

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Historical Fiction Tips

Some say historical fiction is the hardest to write. It involves introducing characters and some creativity along with research to make sure you book is historically accurate. Research is key to being sucessful in this genre. You can also write from personal experience if you’ve experienced the event, (eg. 9/11).

Read historical fiction books. You know the drill. This is where I recommend some books I love. In that case, my favorite historical fiction books are Fever 1793 (Laurie Halse Anderson) depicting the epidemic of yellow fever, The Lions of Little Rock (Kristin Levine) about the Civil Rights Movement, and Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys) about the Stalinist Repression. Other historical fiction books about your topic are even better.

Research. Research is key to writing historical fiction. You don’t want to mess up any historical facts, and there are also many myths that some may believe are true but actually are false. Even though this is a work of fiction, the historical facts should be accurate. Get your information from trustworthy sources.  

Find primary sources. Primary sources are among the most reliable of sources for a historical event. It provides information from the mind of someone who experienced that event themselves and can help with creating your character’s feelings and experiences. If the event is recent enough (such as the Vietnam War or 9/11), you may be able to find interviews with survivors.

Create characters that suit the time period. People may talk, act, dress, and behave differently in the old times than they do now. Your character will grow up differently, without the influence of modern technology and the norms of society at the time. They may not also know some information that is obvious today (medical technology was not obvious at the time).

Build your setting realistically. What I mean by realistically is not how things are in our current time period, but how the setting was during the time of the novel. Research about how the environment looked at that time, and primary sources can help with this.  

Put your plot together in a reasonable order. Sometimes historical fiction novels don’t follow every event in the right order (you should mention this in an author’s note if you have one). However, try to keep the events in a reasonable order that would both benefit the plot and is close enough to the actual event.

There are still subplots. Even though there’s one big issue going on with the world at the time, there are still smaller plots. Romance and conflicts with other people in these dire times can be examples of subplots in a historical fiction novel. Just like any other genre, there is a main plot and other subplots.

Be descriptive. You want to add sensory details in your world so people will know what it was like to live during those times. Primary sources can provide details, because many letters and diaries will discuss personal feelings and descriptions of the setting. Your reader should feel like they’re in the event.  

Be careful with gore. Many historical novels are about war or disease. These can be very gory events, and some younger readers may not be comfortable with this. Depending on whether you write middle-grade, young adult, or adult novels, a different level of gore is okay. Be careful with the blood and violence.

Get someone to check it. An expert should check over your manuscript to make sure it doesn’t mess up information and the characters, setting, and plot are appropriate for that time period. It can be someone close to you or a professional you hire.

Historical fiction is a downright difficult genre to write about. There’s a lot of research and creativity element involved. It’s a fun genre to read and brings awareness to events that happened a long time ago. It’s weird to see how our world has changed!

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Contemporary Romance Tips

I recall doing a post about writing romance as a subplot a while ago. I’m doing a series on writing different genres, and I thought I’d add this in. This one applies to when romance is the main plot. I’d say this mostly applies to contemporary romance novels.

Read romance books. Basically, this part of every “how to write each genre” post is a space for me to put book recommendations in that genre. I love romance novels, and my favorites are The Redemption Series (TK Leigh), To All the Boys I’ve Loved (Jenny Han), Aristotle and Dante (Benjamin Alire Sáenz), Everything Leads to You (Nina LaCour), and Annie On My Mind (Nancy Garden). The last one is probably my favorite book of all time.

Follow realistic fiction rules. Last week, I wrote a post on how to write realistic fiction. Because this post is about contemporary romance novels, it’s technically a subgenre of realistic fiction. Make sure the events, setting, and characters are realistic. Check out that post.

Make the characters. Contemporary romance is a genre that is mostly character driven. The couple you create should be relatable. They should also have their fair share of differences and disagreements because no relationship is perfect. Both of them should be deep and well-built.

Create outside conflict. Romance, like any other genre, has to integrate conflict. The conflict could be many things that are threatening to take the couple apart. Whether one person has to move somewhere or their parents don’t approve of their relationship, something should be keeping them apart. They have to fight against the force to stay together.

Create conflict within the relationship. Because both of your characters in the relationship will be different, there will be disagreements. Some of these arguments will be minor (such as about a movie they are choosing tonight), while some will threaten the relationship (such as cheating).  

Create internal conflict. When you’re in a relationship, it’s nice to pretend that there’s nothing going on around you but that particular romance. However, each partner will be fighting something. That could be one partner fighting a mental illness or struggling with the loss of a family member. These could also break your relationship.

Remember your subplots. In most genres, romance can be a good subplot. However, romance novels have their subplots too. Whether it’s conflict with family and friends or overcoming a character flaw, there’s something that your book should tackle besides the main romance at hand.

Pace is important. As I mentioned before in the post about romantic subplots, love at first sight does not exist. It could be lust at first sight, then slowly turn to love. Love needs work, and it definitely won’t happen right away. Relationships that move too fast also are more likely to break apart in the future. Write patiently, even if you’re characters are not together by chapter six, breathe and be patient. They will eventually get together.

Careful on the intimacy. Intimacy is an important part of relationships. Kissing and hugging is generally okay to talk about but remember the audience you’re writing for. You may need to black out on some scenes that may be inappropriate. Some scenes may be too explicit for teen readers but okay for adult readers. I’d argue that The Redemption Series is a little explicit, but that might’ve been an adult novel.

Be careful with tropes and clichés. Romance is the genre with the most clichés and tropes. Tropes are less overused than clichés generally are. You don’t have to avoid them completely, but try not to add too many and try to be creative with them. Love triangles and insta-love can be considered annoying clichés to many readers if not done well. Enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, and some drastic change are some tropes that readers may not be turned off by. Add your own create element to them.

Contemporary romance is probably one of my favorite genres. I mean, it is a part of realistic fiction. I have never finished a contemporary romance novel, but a lot of my favorite scenes to write involved romance. I’m getting a new idea to write a romance novel about two girls falling in love, and who knows? Maybe I will pursue that idea if I have time.

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Realistic Fiction Tips

If you don’t want to world-build a lot, realistic fiction may be right for you. The world you need is already built in the real world. Even though not much world-building is required for this genre, it’s still complicated because you have to tackle everyday issues.

Read realistic fiction books. Again, you might ask? I know I’ve said this far too many times, but I’m just going to reiterate. Whenever I tell you to read a certain genre, I usually give out book recommendations as well. My favorite realistic fiction books are Wonder, Speak, and I Was Here.

Find your audience. Different themes and issues will be relevant to different age groups. Middle grade realistic fiction can be about bullying and transitioning to middle school, while young adult books can tackle issues like mental health. A middle grade novel is Ghost, while a young-adult contemporary novel is The Fault in Our Stars.

Find an issue to tackle. What do you want to write about? If you’re looking for a middle grade novel about the transition to middle school and bullying, try writing something like Wonder. If you want to write about grief, you could write something like Counting by Sevens. Mental health is effectively tackled in Some Kind of Happiness. These can be based on your experiences or not.

Do research on your issue. Especially if you’ve never experienced what you’re writing about, you should do research. Many of the topics written in realistic fiction are sensitive issues to a lot of people. Keeping that in mind, do your research to stay respectful. Even if you’ve had experience with your issue, you should do research to get a different perspective. Talk to people who’ve been through it and are comfortable sharing. Use trustworthy sites to get information. Laurie Halse Anderson had to do research for Wintergirls.

Make the setting realistic. You can write about places that actually exist in your world, like New York City. You could also make up cities where your character lives, but it has to stay realistic. Ask yourself: can this happen today? When describing your setting, your reader should be able to understand the world from personal experience. Blended is set in a realistic place but has places that are not real, like stores.

Make relatable characters. Even if you’re writing about disabilities that not all your readers have, your characters should be relatable. This is especially true in realistic fiction, when things are supposed to be realistic. Melody from Out of My Mind has cerebral palsy, she loves words and language just like many other kids.

Keep it realistic. It’s called “realistic” fiction for a reason. It’s supposed to be able to happen in real life. Even though it may not be normal, and some events seem unlikely to happen to people, it can happen and that’s what’s important. Diary of a Wimpy Kid has way too many crazy events happening that it’s practically impossible to have a family that crazy, but it could happen.

Remember to make a climax. Your climax may not be when your protagonist defeats the magical villain. That’s cannot happen in a realistic fiction story. These climaxes usually involve having to confront their worst fears or something disastrous testing their character. In If I Stay, the climax is where Mia makes up her mind that she will go to Julliard and squeezes Adam’s hand.

Create a theme. Realistic fiction should have a theme that your readers can take away after reading your book. In Hate List, Valerie learns many lessons along her journey to moving on from the school shooting. The story is about forgiveness and moving forward.

Use internal conflict. Internal conflict is a good way to create conflict in realistic fiction novels, particularly if the struggle is self-acceptance or mental illness. In Finding Audrey, Audrey must overcome her struggle with social anxiety to live her best life. However, some books, like Hurricane Season, can have more external conflict with Fig’s dad having bipolar disorder.

As you could probably tell from the example above, I LOVE realistic fiction. When I was in sixth grade and elementary school, I preferred fantasy and sci-fi. I got to seventh grade and found dystopian the most appealing. Now I honestly find the most appealing genre to be realistic fiction and I will eat those books up. If you need any realistic fiction recommendations, always feel free to ask because I have a lot of them, both middle grade and young adult. I’ve got to admit I’ve never written a full story on realistic fiction, but I have this WIP sitting around that has about a couple thousand words that I may finish someday. I might also make a Wattpad, and if I do, it’ll be mostly realistic fiction stories.

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Dystopian Tips

Dystopian is also a genre that takes a lot of world-building, but its elements are more realistic than sci-fi or fantasy. Common topics that dystopian novels will be centered upon are war, corrupt governments, and diseases. If you want to try this genre, here are some tips that will hopefully help.

Read dystopian books. I say this about every post that is about a specific genre, and you might’ve gotten sick of it by now. But this is extremely important. If you’ve never read a dystopian novel, there’s no way you’ll be able to write a good one. Take inspiration (but don’t plagiarize) from your favorite dystopian novels. I recommend The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Matched.

Find your issue. Do you want to write about war (in that case, check out my post on writing about war)? Most dystopian novels have government systems that are...questionable. What other problems are facing your world? Poverty? Disease?

Think about the current world. Think about current technologies, the current government system etc. There are also many problems facing the environment today, such as climate change. It’s beginning to affect our world slowly, if we don’t fix it fast enough.

Think about your future world. The future should definitely be different from it is now, because dystopian tends to be in the future, when things have become corrupt. Regarding the climate change issue in the point I discussed above, maybe the world is slowly dying because of climate change and your protagonist has to fix it.

Think about what changed. Worlds don’t magically get destroyed overnight. Something has to have happened between modern life and your future dystopian world. You should be able to explain that in your novel, without info-dumping. Maybe the government’s refusal to solve the climate change problem caused the world to slowly die.

Your protagonist should be pushing for change. Because things are normally corrupt in a dystopian novel, your protagonist is the one tasked to change it. They shouldn’t do it by themselves, however, because one person cannot change the world alone. Maybe a teenage girl is tasked to save the world from meeting its doom, and she works in a lab to help climate change subside a bit, along with older scientists and mentors.

World-build effectively. Dystopian is one of those genres that require intense world-building, like fantasy and sci-fi. However, it can be easier than the two genres above because some of the elements you need to world-build can be rooted in current realities. A world where the consequences of climate change has taken over is based on our current issue here. There should also be rules for the government, economy, etc.

There has to be a breaking point. What makes the public or government realize that things really need to change and they can’t put it off anymore? Maybe your protagonist and their friends expose a secret government scheme so everyone knows just how corrupt it is. Or maybe the president dies as a cause of climate change, which leads to the government to want to change. This is normally the climax of a novel.

Be descriptive. People should be able to imagine the events of your book happening in real life. After all, it could happen in the future. Describe your world with sights, sounds, feelings, smells, and tastes that your readers will never forget. It’ll make the world you built and your characters’ emotions come alive. Make them smell the dirty air and the panic among the citizens in the example I used.

Remember to edit well. Editing is important in dystopian novels, because there are many rules that you have created that world. It’s easy to accidentally break a rule without reasonable explanation somewhere in the middle or towards the end. Like any other novel, you should edit well.

If you love dystopian novels, maybe you should try to write one yourself. I’m planning to write one at the time I wrote this (March 10, 2020), but it might be started already after I wrote this. (I’m going to start in April). Read dystopian books, build worlds and characters, and have fun!

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Editing Tips

For some writers, it would be a dream to keep writing first drafts and never have to edit. For others, editing is the best part of writing a novel. But whether you enjoy this part of the writing process or not, it’s important if you want to get published, unless you had superhuman abilities to write a perfect first draft without editing (so far I’ve never met any writers like this).

Take breaks. If you keep writing and editing without a break in between drafts, you’ll never be able to look at the story with fresh eyes and notice mistakes. During breaks, you could work on something else to gain a different perspective when you come back.

Read first without editing. It’s recommended that you print out your manuscript, so you can get a clearer view on what you may need to fix, but I don’t do that, since I don’t want to waste my parents’ paper. Read it through and don’t Highlight and comment on different sections that you want to change.

Fix the big elements first. It’s much more convenient to edit the big things and fix the grammar later, than have to edit the grammar, fix the big things, and then edit the grammar again. In this stage, you usually will be cutting/adding characters, changing major events, or basically an element you’re unsatisfied with. This is when you could be deleting big sections and rewriting.  

Tackle individual scenes. It’s time to finally dive deeper into the scenes! If you find a scene that you don’t really like, try to examine what the issue might be. Maybe it’s that you didn’t really describe the setting or it wasn’t action packed enough.    

Work on sentence structure. When you’re typing a first draft, you might have too many adverbs or redundant words. Or your character descriptions could be plain and boring (like mine often are). Try reading your writing aloud to test if it flows.  

Do a proofread. This perhaps could be considered the easiest draft, because the hard parts are mostly done. Make sure you don’t confuse two similar-sounding words or spell words wrong. The WIP tends to not look much different at the end, but it’ll be easier to understand.  

Get feedback. This book may be yours, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have outside help. This is especially true if you want to publish a novel. Other people will notice things you won’t. They’ll also be less attached to the original events/characters and may be able to offer valuable suggestions. This can look like a professional editor, beta reader who is also a writer, or a friend or family member.

Take your time. Writing is an art, and it shouldn’t be rushed. (Though sometimes drafting can be). But editing is when you have to be careful, because this is when things can go to messy first draft to published novel. Don’t rush this process, and do multiple drafts. You can combine the things to edit into less drafts or do one things for multiple drafts. (Common number of drafts are three, five, or seven). When starting out, it’s best to start writing more drafts. Keep the drafts in separate files, so you can always put in things you cut out if you decide you like them.

Don’t be afraid to change. I’ll admit, my biggest editing struggle is that I get too attached to the first draft. I’ve never cut out a character, because I’m too attached. This is one thing I want to work on, because sometimes taking things out or changing events is for the best.  

Decide what you want to do next. After you finally finish your novel, it’s time to celebrate! You could tuck your novel in the deepest corner of your computer to never look at again, share with family and friends, or go about traditional or self-publishing.  

The series on writing process is now almost over! Editing is a super important part of writing a novel, because you will not recognize your first draft in the final edits as it undergoes many drafts and different rounds of changes. Personally, developmental editing is hard for me but proofreading is actually pretty chill. I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and good luck editing your WIP!

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Outlining Tips

Some writers enjoy outlining more than others, but even for pantsers, it’s extremely important. I really enjoy planning things out because it makes me feel more confident as I’m writing my novel, but I’m really busy jumping from one novel to another. There was one novel where I truly felt like I had enough outlining. The rest were just...chaotic. Regardless of how busy you are, however, there are tricks you can use to make a more meaningful outline in a shorter amount of time.

Choose which idea to write. When planning your next novel, there might be a couple ideas that sound awesome. It’s good that you’re thinking of so many awesome ideas, but sometimes, that can make things harder. How you choose your ideas is totally up to you. The only thing I’d say is follow your heart.  

Know how much time you have to outline. Especially if you do NaNoWriMo events, they’ll might a clear starting date to when you have to begin writing your first draft. You typically have the time after you finish your last book to the first day of the new first draft to outline, unless you multitask (which I normally don’t). It can be helpful to know how much outlining time you have so you can plan accordingly.  

Start small. If this is the first book of a series or a standalone, I would suggest writing one sentence that summarizes your book. If it’s a book that has books preceding the title, try drafting events you want to happen in the next part of the series. Before you dive into the deeper details, you should get a bigger picture of what you want the story to look like.

Remember the elements of a novel. Each story cannot exist without world-building, characters, plot, and theme. Try writing something about each one. It doesn’t have to be precise or detailed. It can be just a few sentences.  

Plan out at least a little bit of your arc. Plot is one of the most important things in the story, and you want to know at least a little bit of what the plot will look like. I find those story mountain things that you get in elementary school helpful, because it includes important points like the exposition and climax. It’ll flow smoother if you know some of what you’re going to write about.  

Use tools. There are many tools used for creating characters. You can make Pinterest mood boards or create character theme playlists to get to know your characters better. There are many templates on Instagram that you can use to interview your characters. But caution: do not use these to procrastinate and make excuses.  

Create a deadline. You need to eventually finish the outlining; you cannot simply outline forever and not start your first draft because of your fear of drafting. Set a date to when you will be done with your outlining. Then you cannot forever use the excuse of creating character mood boards to not write. You will start drafting eventually. Doing NaNoWriMo will already create a date for you.  

Take your time. Some writers may hate outlining because it’s time consuming and may seem like a waste of time. But I assure you, it will make your story flow better and can help to avoid mistakes and lighten the workload for future drafts. It can also build confidence and steer you away from writer’s block. Take your time for outlining, and you’ll thank yourself later.  

If you do not have time, you can outline as you go. I had absolutely no outlining for a 125K novel I wrote back in July. Though it was summer and school, I still the obstacle of vacations and no personal computer. It was chaos, but I spent a lot of time in the car and decided to use that time to think about what would happen. I brought a notebook with me and outlined whenever my family went on a road trip. I would plan what happened tomorrow every day.  

Remember the outline is not set in stone. You can always change things or even stop following your outline completely, things happen and you will get new ideas as you draft. Don’t feel pressured to follow your outline. People change their minds, and that’s completely normal. Imagine if you’re in the same place now as you wanted to be when you were five. You probably would end up somewhere...unpleasant. Sometimes new is good. Sometimes you have to let your immediate instincts take over.  

Outlining is actually where a novel is born, an interesting process if you ask me. There’s no one-size-fits-all way to do it, or else it would’ve been discovered long ago and given to all writers. Some writers or novels need more outlining than others, and that’s okay. Just do you and find what outlining is best for you.  

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Sci-fi Tips

Sci-fi is a fun genre for those who like science and imagination. It’s a bit like fantasy and some tips still apply, but this genre has more science. If you don’t like science, you can try fantasy instead. I’ve written a sci-fi novel, so here are some really helpful tips.  

Read sci-fi books. If you want to know how to write sci-fi, you should start by reading sci-fi books and watching how the author builds worlds and conflict. I would suggest reading A Wrinkle in Time, The Maze Runner, and Ender’s Game to get you started.  

Find a science concept. Common science concepts for sci-fi novels are time travel (mine is), technology taking over the world, and aliens. These topics are based on science, however they cannot happen today. Maybe your science idea will be able to happen a hundred years into the future, but it shouldn’t be possible today. You can Google ideas on how to write a science fiction story.  

Do your research. Unless you know this topic like the back of your hand, and even then, you should probably research a little about your topic, whether that be life on other planets or effects of zero-gravity on humans. Researching can make sure you’re accurate in adding facts in your novel. Just don’t fall into that weird trap of getting redirected into irrelevant topics and wasting a ton of time.  

Build your world. Like fantasy, sci-fi requires a lot of world-building. You need to create a time period for your story. This will typically be in the future, when technology and life has evolved greatly. You should also create some locations that could’ve changed since now.  

Create your characters. Is your main character the only person who can time travel? Or are they just normal characters who are tasked to save the world form a conflict? Sci-fi need meaningful characters, like Ender from Ender’s Game, who’s brave and determined but also human at the same time. Build your characters like you would in any other novel (except they might have powers).  

Create an effective plot and conflict. Sci-fi readers are VERY picky about plots. They will be turned off if the plot is weak. Your plot should be strong enough to support the world. It should have a resolution, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. There should also be effective conflict, in any of the conflict types. Read my post on conflict for more information.  

Make sure you follow the rules of your world. Especially if you have a lot of small rules, it’s easy to forget something. Following the rules is important because it establishes the world and plot. For example, if your characters can breathe underwater, don’t make them drown.  

Add subplots. Subplots are a part of every novel. Sci-fi novels may have romance, character development, and other character relationships. These subplots may be realistic or they may be sci-fi. Just remember to include some realistic elements to this, such as a romance or friendship.

Edit and fact check. It’s important to edit when writing sci-fi because you might forget something or get some of your information wrong. Editing can help reduce some of these mistakes. Getting someone who knows a lot about the topic you’re writing about to read your story can help you clarify the misinformation that you may have given.  

Plan and outline. Sci-fi novels are pretty hard to write without an outline or at least a vague idea of what you’re writing about. Not every plot you think of will fit the rules of your world, and that’s what you have to watch out while writing sci-fi. (Well, maybe I’m a little biased because I’m a planner at heart).

Sci-fi is an amazing genre when you can weave real science along with possibilities that we can’t dream of! It’s also one of the hardest genres to write, possibly because it has the most demanding readers and mixing science with imagination is HARD. My story has less sci-fi than a lot of sci-fi novels, so maybe you should also look for other sources on how to write sci-fis. I wish you good luck!

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Fantasy Tips

I think I’m going to start writing tips on how to write certain genres. There are many different genres that writers may choose, and fantasy is a common one, especially among first time writers. I think fantasy is the genre when you’re given the most freedom, which can be a good thing, but the lack of expectations can make it harder to do it correctly. 

Decide the types of fantasy you want to write. There are many subgenres of fantasy, but the most common ones are high fantasy, low fantasy, and portal fantasy. High fantasy, (ex. Throne of Glass) is an entirely fantasy world with different rules and structures in society with conflict. Low fantasy, (ex. Harry Potter) is discovering a magic in a seemingly normal world. I wrote portal fantasy novels when the characters found a magical portal to go to (Land of Stories, anyone?)

Weave magic into your story. Fantasy is mainly magic, including spells, magical people, and animals. There should be a magical system in place, whether secret or open. I have a whole post on tips on writing magic on my profile somewhere. 

Weave conflict into your fantasy. Obviously, there’d be no story without conflict that the characters have to solve. Whether it’s a single antagonist trying to take over the world or a corrupt magical government, you should create a conflict (remember my types of conflict post?)

Time for world-building! Fantasy is one of the genres that require the most world-building, hence most sucessful fantasy authors have great world-building skills. I’m actually really bad at world-building, so you should take this point with a grain of salt. World-building in a fantasy world usually would include the magic, the government and rules surrounding magic, and the important locations within your world while also adding religion, values, climate, etc.  

Your character needs a place in all this. It’s definitely a big, big world in your fantasy story. Your main character is just one person in all this (or if you have multiple MCs, a few people). But that doesn’t mean they aren’t special. Maybe your MC has a special power that no one else has, or perhaps they’re just an ordinary person in the world who has a creative solution to the problem. 

Create effective subplots. Subplots are a part of novels to enhance the main plot and characters, but they aren’t there to take the focus away from the main conflict. Common subplots include romance, friendships, and character growth. Some of these plots, such as romance, don’t even need magic at all. Just don’t turn this into a romance novel instead of a fantasy (unless you’re writing a paranormal romance like Twilight). 

Plan ahead. Fantasy requires lots and lots of elements, so it’s always handy to plan beforehand, especially if you’re starting a new series. This genre commonly has series instead of standalones, and this is when you’ll have to balance the events in your arc over several books. Even if you’re a pantser, it’s really helpful to at least have an idea about what you’re going to write about, especially the world-building.   

Edit carefully and effectively. Trust me, I’ve written fantasy and you’ll find many world-building mistakes. For my first novel, a lot of the conflicts didn’t get solved because I thought I could just put it off to future books when I forgot. Editing will be tough, but it’ll surely clear up the patches in your novel that you may have missed in your first draft. 

Read fantasy novels. The best way to learn how to write a certain genre is to read a lot of books in that genre. You can get the inspiration (but not plagiarism) from a book that you can twist into one of your own. My favorite fantasy novels are Twilight, Throne of Glass, and Red Queen. 

Write like you would write any other novel. Fantasy is a foreign genre for some, but there are a lot of tips that apply to any genre. The writing process is pretty similar, even if the outlining is more complex and the editing may take more time. Fantasy novels also tend to be longer because of the world-building in its pages. Grammar rules still apply to all novels.

I’ve done a trilogy of fantasy novels, but that doesn’t mean I’m the best person to ask about it because I was a little bit bad at it, especially the world-building. However, what I can say is that fantasy is an extremely fun genre to write because of all the different elements and action. A lot of writers on Instagram write fantasy as well, so you’ll probably not be short of tips at all. Hope you have fun with this awesome genre!

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Diversity in Writing

In literature, it’s important to have diversity. If every character were a cishet white man, people who aren’t cishet white men will find it hard to relate. In order to attract wider audiences, diversity is key. But sometimes writing diversity can be hard or seem forced, and that can be a turn off for some readers as well.  

Make sure there is at least some diversity. As mentioned in the introduction, if every character were a cishet white man, readers and publishers would quickly be turned off. Like people, characters aren’t all the same, and it is important that your writing shows that.  

Do your research. If you’re writing about a group that’s different than you, it’s important that you have the correct information about that group to avoid negative stereotypes you may not be aware about. The next few points will talk about research.  

The internet can be helpful, but don’t believe everything you read. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard that the internet isn’t 100% reliable, and that’s true. Make sure you use more than one source, and be wary of information that sounds suspicious. Hate groups might try to set up sites that can mislead people.  

Read books about what you want to write. Books are a great resource for researching when you want to write about someone who’s different than you, especially if they’re by authors who are minorities. Take note of how the author portrays the diverse character(s).  

Embrace it as a challenge. It’s normal to be nervous when writing about a group you’re not familiar with, but there’s no need to overcomplicate it or overthink. Just do the best you can, and try to stay away from stereotypes. Think of exploring a diverse character as a fun challenge instead of as a barrier.  

Add characters naturally. For example, when introducing a black character, you don’t need to make a big deal of their race. When writing a gay character, you can introduce his boyfriend and not make a big deal of his sexual orientation. You don’t need to make a big deal that you’re writing about a diverse character, because that defeats the point. It should be normal to have all types of characters.  

How are they treated? Other people may look down on the minority, which can be the case if you’re writing about racism or sexism. Or sometimes they can just be different and respected, if discrimination is not the main point of your novel.  

Don’t force it. Forced diversity can be a huge turnoff for many readers. You don’t need to add every minority group out there, because that’s impossible and that makes the diversity seem forced. Diversity is supposed to be a good thing, so don’t force it.  

Ask for feedback. When writing groups of people that are different than you, it can be helpful to get your work checked by someone who knows a lot about the minority group (or better yet, is part of the minority group). This can prevent errors and accidental disrespect.  

All characters are still people! I cannot stress this enough! At the end of the day, we’re all humans, no matter our race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, health status, or anything else. Treat your diverse characters like you treat all your regular characters. The minority they’re belonging to is only part of their identity, there are a lot more.  

Pro-diversity vs. anti-forced diversity is a controversial topic in the writing community. I believe that diversity is good, but it’s the authors responsibility not to force it. As closing points, I’d say, do research, be respectful, and get feedback. And most of all, have fun learning about a different group of people!