How to Write a Series of Fantasy Novels
Create your characters., Think about your plot., Write an outline., Start to tackle one of the main enemies of all writers: the beginning., Begin diving into your plot., After you have finishing writing your first draft, EDIT, EDIT, EDIT...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Create your characters.
The base of your novel is your characters.
Start off by creating your protagonist and antagonist, then break down to supporting characters.
When you think of The Hobbit, you remember Bilbo Baggins.
Your characters will help shape the plot and direction of your first book.
Create character profiles.
These are good to help determine your characters' backgrounds.
A useful template to use is Name, Age, Height, Weight, Eye color, Hair color, Hair style, Friends, Family, Personality Traits, Likes, Dislikes, and Wishes. -
Step 2: Think about your plot.
Your plot will not only shape your first book, but it will shape your entire series.
For example:
Harry Potter is a young wizard who battles Lord Voldemort while attending the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
That synopsis determines your entire series plot.
Think about the struggles that your main character has, and what they are searching for.
How do they achieve their goal? Or do they not achieve their goal, and your first book ends with a cliffhanger? What are some obstacles that they may face? Once you have a basic idea of your plot, move on to the next step. , You may think that you won't need an outline, but if your story suddenly starts to not make any sense, it is probably because you didn't have an outline.
Just write a basic outline of all of your chapters, but above all know that your story may go in a completely different direction, and your outline is just something that will help you keep order.
When you get stumped later on in the writing process, just go back and refer to your outline. , You must think of a first sentence that will leave your audience wondering and wanting more.
Just put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself if your beginning intrigues you.
If not, don't fret.
Try making your beginning a bit mysterious, because it creates tension and draws the reader in.
Otherwise, make your beginning something so bizarre and comical that readers will say "What?" or "That's impossible!" Just remember that what you hope to accomplish is to create a beginning that draws your audience in.
People will notice the difference between, "It was cold outside," and "The wind howled ominously as it rattled the branches of the bare trees, and then I knew that a storm was beginning to brew."
If you come to a place where your characters want to do something else than what you planned, try it out and see how it ends up.
If it isn't successful, save it on a different document, because you may find yourself wanting to go back to it later.
You will probably reach a point where you will begin to doubt your plot.
But the truth is, more people fail from their own criticism than the criticism of others.
All you need to do is keep on writing.
As said previously in step #3, you can refer back to your outline when you start to doubt yourself.
Also, to boost your confidence in your writing, go back and read a part that you have already written that you had thought was your best writing yet, and keep your faith in your writing. , Make sure that you don't delete huge chunks of your writing at a time; just fix those little errors that you may have made.
If you used too many adjectives in one sentence, take out a few so that the sentence has a better flow.
Once you have edited, you may notice that your word count is significantly lower than before you started editing.
This is perfectly normal, and later on you will have time to buff out those scratches and bring up your word count during the next step. , This is the time to analyze your writing carefully, even more carefully than when you edited.
You can add what you think would be appropriate, and your may decide that one conversation doesn't fit in well with the situation.
But this is mostly the time when you put your finishing touches into your novel and finalize the novel that you are going to submit to a publisher. , Publishing can be very discouraging to many writers, but you cannot give up hope now that you have finished your first novel! Make sure to look for a publisher that specializes in fantasy writing, or at least a publishing company that has published fantasy before.
This will help your book get more publicity.
Most likely, your first attempt you will be denied, but don't let that discourage you! Did you know that J.K.
Rowling was denied by eleven publishing companies before she published the first Harry Potter book? Now, many consider her one of the most successful authors in the world today! If you stick to it and are determined, you may have the next best idea! And who knows, maybe you'll have your book(s) made into movies someday!! , -
Step 3: Write an outline.
-
Step 4: Start to tackle one of the main enemies of all writers: the beginning.
-
Step 5: Begin diving into your plot.
-
Step 6: After you have finishing writing your first draft
-
Step 7: Finalize.
-
Step 8: Publishing.
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Step 9: Start writing your next book in the series!
Detailed Guide
The base of your novel is your characters.
Start off by creating your protagonist and antagonist, then break down to supporting characters.
When you think of The Hobbit, you remember Bilbo Baggins.
Your characters will help shape the plot and direction of your first book.
Create character profiles.
These are good to help determine your characters' backgrounds.
A useful template to use is Name, Age, Height, Weight, Eye color, Hair color, Hair style, Friends, Family, Personality Traits, Likes, Dislikes, and Wishes.
Your plot will not only shape your first book, but it will shape your entire series.
For example:
Harry Potter is a young wizard who battles Lord Voldemort while attending the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
That synopsis determines your entire series plot.
Think about the struggles that your main character has, and what they are searching for.
How do they achieve their goal? Or do they not achieve their goal, and your first book ends with a cliffhanger? What are some obstacles that they may face? Once you have a basic idea of your plot, move on to the next step. , You may think that you won't need an outline, but if your story suddenly starts to not make any sense, it is probably because you didn't have an outline.
Just write a basic outline of all of your chapters, but above all know that your story may go in a completely different direction, and your outline is just something that will help you keep order.
When you get stumped later on in the writing process, just go back and refer to your outline. , You must think of a first sentence that will leave your audience wondering and wanting more.
Just put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself if your beginning intrigues you.
If not, don't fret.
Try making your beginning a bit mysterious, because it creates tension and draws the reader in.
Otherwise, make your beginning something so bizarre and comical that readers will say "What?" or "That's impossible!" Just remember that what you hope to accomplish is to create a beginning that draws your audience in.
People will notice the difference between, "It was cold outside," and "The wind howled ominously as it rattled the branches of the bare trees, and then I knew that a storm was beginning to brew."
If you come to a place where your characters want to do something else than what you planned, try it out and see how it ends up.
If it isn't successful, save it on a different document, because you may find yourself wanting to go back to it later.
You will probably reach a point where you will begin to doubt your plot.
But the truth is, more people fail from their own criticism than the criticism of others.
All you need to do is keep on writing.
As said previously in step #3, you can refer back to your outline when you start to doubt yourself.
Also, to boost your confidence in your writing, go back and read a part that you have already written that you had thought was your best writing yet, and keep your faith in your writing. , Make sure that you don't delete huge chunks of your writing at a time; just fix those little errors that you may have made.
If you used too many adjectives in one sentence, take out a few so that the sentence has a better flow.
Once you have edited, you may notice that your word count is significantly lower than before you started editing.
This is perfectly normal, and later on you will have time to buff out those scratches and bring up your word count during the next step. , This is the time to analyze your writing carefully, even more carefully than when you edited.
You can add what you think would be appropriate, and your may decide that one conversation doesn't fit in well with the situation.
But this is mostly the time when you put your finishing touches into your novel and finalize the novel that you are going to submit to a publisher. , Publishing can be very discouraging to many writers, but you cannot give up hope now that you have finished your first novel! Make sure to look for a publisher that specializes in fantasy writing, or at least a publishing company that has published fantasy before.
This will help your book get more publicity.
Most likely, your first attempt you will be denied, but don't let that discourage you! Did you know that J.K.
Rowling was denied by eleven publishing companies before she published the first Harry Potter book? Now, many consider her one of the most successful authors in the world today! If you stick to it and are determined, you may have the next best idea! And who knows, maybe you'll have your book(s) made into movies someday!! ,
About the Author
Richard Harvey
Specializes in breaking down complex cooking topics into simple steps.
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