Young Writers Society

Hi all! I know a lot of you are die-hard fantasy fans so...I just wanted your tips on fantasy writing notably "world building". I've never written fantasy before I'm more of a realistic person so to speak (which yes I know contradicts my country). I have a basic idea on how my "world" is going to be but does anyone have any tips on further developing the idea?

Just some background: My story is basically Christian fantasy where the whole thing is loosely based on the time after Jesus was crucified. Instead of "Christ followers", they are "magicians" (Jesus performed many miracles therefore "magic"). The plot centers around these 4 kids whose parents died in the "Magic Movement" and are trying to escape from the government etc etc.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

The one advice I can give you is what I tell a lot of other people:

Fantasy only means unreal or illogical.

Your story sounds so interesting, I want to explode. In fact, it's almost like my current novel without the Christian part. Just remember to keep the world as real as you can, including all the culture, government, etc. Keep the normal world normal. All you have to do is throw in your dash of magic. If you go too crazy with the fantasy part, you'll end up with Dragonlance or Eragon. You'll need your own map, your own creatures, your own everything. Keeping it in the real world and making everything seem normal and... well, realistic will make it that much better.

This is assuming you're story is focused on Earth.

If you're doing a Dragonlance or Eragon and using your own world, here are the steps I usually take:

1. Geography first. Know where the different regions are. Know your cities and villages. Know your places. You have to know this place better than the reader. In fact, authors make maps just to help them out, and if the authors need the maps, the readers will need the maps.

2. Throw in culture and technology. How are your people going to look and act [in each region]? What do kids like to play with? What types of jobs are available? What're the schools like?

3. Form the government. You can't make the government without knowing the people. What's more appropriate? Democracy? Monarch?

4. Throw in the magic that is needed for your plot/world. Remember to keep the world as realistic as you can. The magic is just another culture to play with only very alien to the writer and reader alike. Plus, it's the juice in your fantasy.

I'm willing to assist you if you have anythign to ask! ^_^

Jabber, the One and Only!

I agree with JabberHut, it does sound like you just need that one simple change you were talking about. It seems like you just need to take how the world was when Jesus was alive, and then figure out what your magic is.

Keep in mind that magic can be a lot of things, and that's part of what Jabber was talking about with 'unreal' or 'illogical.' Magic can mean anything from you step on a crack on the sidewalk and you turn into a goose (so much magic floating around that unexpected things happen, reminds me of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.) or it could be as simple as magic quietly reaching out and touching one thing within the whole novel. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke is a good example of that, only one magical thing happens, but it certainly left its mark. It's up to you to decide how much magic you want in the world, and what the magic does.

My favorite magic is Faery magic, but that doesn't quite sound like what you're looking for. Before you start panicking about the wide range of magic, don't worry about it. Just pick out what you need magic to do and make a list of it. And then figure out what needs to happen to make the magic happen. Say Jesus multiplying the fish and bread to feed everyone was a magical act, were there any magical words that he had to say? Did he have to do a ritual? Or, where the baskets the magical object, and he had gotten them before he needed to? Magical baskets that reproduce whatever kind of food you put in, or maybe it just makes fish and bread. It's all up to you. And, maybe this magical basket is what was also behind turning water into wine. Another faulty aspect, it turns water into wine. (You'll have to excuse my humor, I've been reading Discworld, which is such an amazing series.)

Basically, it all boils down to following JabberHut's advice, and then following what the story tells you. Your story sounds really interesting, and Jesus was certainly an interesting character, so you shouldn't have that much trouble.

Feel free to PM me with any questions, especially about clarity of this post, and good luck with your writing!

- Tatra

Thanks so much everybody for your tips in fantasy writing. It will help a lot. Yeah, everything is still coming together in my mind for magic etc. The world is based on Earth; they're human. No elves, fauns, or nymphs here. Though, technology is going to be different.

More specific background on my story, titled Redemption:
Prologue: A woman flees from her abusive husband's home to save her three year old child. She reaches the forest on the edge of town and finds a mysterious building. She got the chance to hide her child which was in a butter churn behind the steps. Though, the husband finds her when she gets back home. The next morning, a woman opens the doors of the building to find the child and names him Butter.

Story: The mysterious building is called Pender Academy, headed by Ms. Amelia. No one in the country (I have yet to find a name...) knows of Pender. The kids that are there do not know of its true meaning; only that it is an academy for orphans. After an unusual visit of a seemingly harmless man to play with the children (there haven't been any visitors to Pender in years), Pender Academy burns down that night. Mrs. Amelia and all of the children perish except 4 kids, Jesse, Dimitri (thanks Jabber), Syd, and of course Butter (haven't figured out why they didnt die yet...). The kids find Mrs. Amelia's body which wasn't burned at all but looked like she was choked. All of the kids know that something is different about Pender Academy and they find a clue when they look in the iron vault (not burned) where Ms. Amelia keeps important stuff.

Sorry, I have trouble getting down to the bottom of things as I can see this "summary" is getting too long. Basically they find out that their parent's were part of the Magic Movement and were "silently" prosecuted. Ms. Amelia and the man that saw the children in the beginning are part of a project called Redemption that is trying to refuel the Magic Movement and find the "Jesus" character and of course protect the children from the government which is trying to stop them.

Thanks again for all the help! I'm glad you like the plot so far : - )