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Creating Fantasy Worlds, Characters, and Creatures



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Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:58 am
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Harmony'sSake says...



Ok I now have it in my head that I just HAVE to write a fantasy books. I haven't started writing it yet because I am stuck in a way. Since its going to be fantasy it has to have magic and magical creatures, but I am having trouble deciding what kind of magic the characters should have. I mean compare Harry Potter with Tamora Pierce: They are both fantasy but the magic is so different. I also have no clue what kind of magical creatures to have. I know all the usuals like dragons, fairies, elves, etc but it seems most fantasy authors come up with their own types of creatures and I have no clue how to invent the creatures and names. The last problem is going to be creating the goverment. What are the laws against magic? Do they have a king? Its all so confusing! I have no clue how J.K. Rowling or Tamora Pierce can do it!!! Any tips?
"You should have died! Died rather than betray your friends as we would have for you!" Sirius Black



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Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:42 am
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Roaming Shadow says...



First things first: take it slow and take it one step at a time.

Or if you havn't even gotten that far yet, sit down and just let your imagination run loose, no matter how crappy, creepy, bizzare, dark, or absurd the ideas seem. From that you should be able to grab a couple things that are usable. And from there, you should be able to piece together at least something of whay your overall story is about.

From there, I'd personally start to make your characters. Be somewhat general so they have room to evolve as you get further into your world. Get the feel of the general kinds of people you want, and maybe try to focus on personlity at this point, as the reason for thier personality can always come what you write later.

Got that? Okay, Next, move onto the world. You don't need to make any kind of map yet, unless you think geography is going to play a big role in your story. That can usually wait untill later. Use your characters general backround for help here. Maybe you wanted one of your players to be something like a gladiator. If he/she is a gladiator, then there are likely arenas. Why are there arenas? Are slaves involved? If so, is slavery a wide practice? Is it all slave, or do some volunter for money? See where I'm going with this? As for government, try to think on how the people got to where they are? Is the kingdom long established? Is it new? What other factors played a role? Try to research existing and ancient governments and maybe pick and choose aspects that seem interesting and try to logically piece them together. You're bound to come up with something unique and interesting.

Have I lost you yet? Okay, as to magic, that can get a bit tricky. I suggest trying to forget about every way you've read magic being done. Then, figure out what it takes to cast magic. Magic word? Tallismins? A deep inner essence of power within them? Sheer force of will? Sacrifice? Partially or wholelly selling ones soul? Along that some thought line, make sure that there is always something there to make magic difficult, or else the characters will be more like gods than people. Again, work slowly and take it one step at a time.

As to creating new creatures, that can be both tricky and easy. Naming them will likely always be hard and I can't really help you on that aspect. First, start with the question, "Are they sentiet or animalistic?". Or they could be somewhere between the two. Once you have that down, try to think about how big you want this creature to be. Lizard size? Man size? Massive? When you figure out the size, think about it's mode of transportation. Is it winged? Bipedal(two legs)? Quadrped(four legs)? Six, eight, ten or more legs? An odd nuber of legs? Or does it slither or swim? Maybe it can only move by teleportation, but that may be a little deep for a start. Then, flesh it out from what ideas have surely come to you along the way, with details like number of eyes, fur or scales or something else, colors, solitary or social, intelligence, speed, habitat and so on. You'll likely be surprised at what you come up with.

Wow, I really hope that made sense and that yo ucould follow that. Just a few last words. Again, take it slow and one step at a time. Very important, or you'll quickly become overwhelmed and lost. And don't compare yourself to famous authors. Many, if not all, were once in your shoes, and you are who you are. You write how you write. Just keep at it, don't be discouraged, and believe in yourself. Who knows, perhaps one day there will be a someone who who will think that they could never write like you. "A journey of a thousnd miles begins with a single step". I hope this helped. 8)
  





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Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:52 am
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Harmony'sSake says...



WOW! Thats awesome advice! I think I am going to need more notebooks.... thanks for the advice! I gotta go bug mom to take me to the store now..............
"You should have died! Died rather than betray your friends as we would have for you!" Sirius Black



You know you are obsessed when you know enough quotes that you could use a new one everyday for almost a year!
  





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Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:02 am
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Elelel says...



http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/rules ... ntasy.html

Yay! That's a pretty good link. There's a worldbuilding one there too.

Roaming Shadow seems to have covered pretty much all I can think of. No wait, I've got one or two other things.

I'm going to have to say you probably won't get the best ideas if you force things. Let things stew in your mind for a while, go through fantasy stuff, let ideas come.

Dreams are very useful. Weird stuff happens in dreams, and you can use that.

You can do things in any order you like. World then characters, characters then world. Usually you'd hope that you have one little idea and that will give you another and that would give you another until you've got a whole chain of really big, fun ideas.

Ask questions. Roaming Shadow has asked many questions, and look at all the little ideas and things he's got in that post. Questions are good.

I always have problems because I just love EVERYTHING so much that I want it all. I want magic like in Harry Potter, I want mind magic like in Tamora Pierce, I want huge epic battles like in LotR, I want to be funny like Terry Pratchett. I guess the hardest thing when creating anything is deciding what to leave out. My art teacher said that once.

Yep. Take things slow, as Roaming Shadow said. You aren't going to get everything in one go, and you're probably going to change a million things as you go.
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Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:17 am
Griffinkeeper says...



I suggest signing up in some of our usergroups. There are some that are dedicated to fantasy, characters, plots, and other things that can help you with your story.
Moderator Emeritus (frozen in carbonite.)
  





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Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:08 am
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Roaming Shadow says...



Hmm, I seemed to have skipped over the cost of magic, and it's more important than what I put in there. So, here are a few more things while it's still on my mind.

Like I did mention, there has to be something that prevents someone from casting magic. Depending on your story, it could be drastic or it could be a simple yet effective obstacle. Some of the casting types fit right in here easily, such as a human or animal sacrifice, ot selling their soul. Both of those would surely stop the casual user and could make heroes think twice before using magic. The "power within" type of casting is also a limitatoin, as each living creature has a certain amount of power to cast magic and to overuse it is to die. Maybe accessing that inner reserve is a very difficult thing to do, and either requires immense training or an extreme situation to activate. With "words to cast", the power one has is limited by ones knowledge. But, there is still no way for someone to be all powerful, as no one could (or should) know everything. Perhaps there are millions of phrases that nobody knows, and nobody knows how to find them, and so there are millions of spells that no one can cast. Perhaps the main character speaks gibberish to himself and accidentally discovers a new and powerful magic.

Another thing to think about is why there is magic in the world. Is it everywhere and binds all life, like the force? Perhaps it's tied to "the very essence of life itself"? Perhaps it is tied to the elements, and all magic is either fire, water, air, earth, light, or dark related. Is dark magic forbidden as evil, or is it just another form of magic. Perhaps when each creature is alligned to particular element and cannot cast a spell outside it. If dark magic is forbidden, what would happedn if a good person just happened to be alligned with darkness by chance? But, don't let me influence your story too greatly.

Darn it, I'm sure I had more but I lost it. Oh well, if I think of it, I'll either post it here or as an article in the writing tips forum. I'm sure this has given you some kind of start, so good luck with the book and if you get stuck, just ask. Someone's bound to have been there before and could help you. Now, back to work with me. 8)
  





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Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:59 am
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Crysi says...



Shadow, you just gave me a WONDERFUL idea for my story. I never really thought about the magic part of my story, although it plays a rather large role... The elements thing fits perfectly. You're amazing.
Love and Light
  





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Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:40 am
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Swires says...



The way magic works in my new world is through something called the aura.

The aura is a concentration of magic, it is more dense in parts and allows sorcerers to use more forceful spells. The aura is shared by all magic users, the majority of magic users use little of the aura so it is not a problem for everyone to use it as they want. The aura is every replenishging, its like RAM i suppose.

However there is a darker magic that can control the aura and forbid anyone else from using it...

And so the story commences.
Previously known as "Phorcys"
Witherwings Harry Potter RPG
  





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Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:08 pm
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Roaming Shadow says...



Heh, a couple the things I brought up are actually story ideas I've been playing around with. Oh well. I'll still probobly develop them anyway. Eventually. Well, good luck with your works Harmony'sSake and Crysi.
"In a fair fight I would have killed you."
"Well that's not much insentive for me to fight fair now is it?" (PotC: TCftBP)

I'm probably dead already, but that doesn't mean I can't take a few scumbags with me. ~Jak
  





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Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:12 pm
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hprules13 says...



http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm


That link helped me so much with building my world. Half of the stuff it asked I had never given much, if any, thought and probably wouldn't have.
  





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Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:43 am
Elemental says...



Well, I never had a great difficulty thinking of fantasy creatures because of my system. What I do is, I think about already set creature, and then use my imagination to tweak that creature into what I think it should be and giving it a new name that complements it's new attributes. Or, just think of some attributes of animals that you already like, incorporate them together and make a fantasy creature that your proud of.
  








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