10 Steps to Creating Realistic Fantasy Animals by Ashley Lange Why do writers write? Because it isn't there. - Thomas Berger Arguably, the two most challenging aspects for fantasy/science fiction writers to conquer are originality and believability. Okay, so why use animals? The attraction to fantasy animals is obvious. The first question you need to ask yourself is why you are creating a creature in the first place. To attack the hero (wild animal) To be guarding something/a gateway To be a feature of the environment (aka, hero sees a herd grazing) To be someone's pet To oppose the hero (aka enemy orc soldiers) To aid the hero (such as friendly elves) To set the mood (glowing eyes in a dark forest) For a mount (a variant of a horse/camel/donkey, etc.) To be hunted To work (such as on a farm) To be raised for meat/milk/silk/wool To race competitively To fight (such as in an arena) To draw (Who says you have to write about it?) “All monsters need a personality,” – Peter Jackson EYES: Eyes see.
World Building 101 World Building 101 by Lee Masterson You are the ultimate creator of your fictional world. No matter where or when your story is set, regardless of what events unfold, and despite the characters you introduce to your readers, they are all products of your unique imagination. "But I write romance set in the present time," I hear you cry. It doesn't matter whether your story is set in 16th century Middle Europe, or the 28th century Altarian star-system, your story still belongs in a world created entirely by you. The good news is you still get your chance to put on your megalomaniac's hat and play God! Regardless of where (or when) your story is set, YOU have decided your characters' destinies for them. But there's a whole lot more to world-building than simply creating a nice backdrop for your characters to parade against. In short, the fictional world your characters live in must seem plausible to your readers. Ask yourself these things about your characters and your story: -
Fantasy Religion Questionaire by TheMusesSong on DeviantArt Thousands of FANTASY NAMES - fairy, gnomes, elves, goblins, mystical, magic demons, vampires, witches, dragons, beasts, pirates, creatures, giants, monsters, heroes, hippies, gypsies, clowns, Sailormoon, Jungle Book, Disney, James Bond ... endless! NAMES OF CHARACTERS IN THE OZ BOOKS Our wonderful list of exciting names - some you've probably forgotten! NAMES OF CHARACTERS IN PEANUTS Our list of characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts MAGIC NAMES This is a huge list of mystic cat names, but easily adapt to use for other pets. MAGIC FAIRY NAMESSimply type in your first and last names and this wonderful site will generate a fairy name for you! FAERY NAMES Our own wonderful list of beautiful names, descriptive and alphabetical. MAGICAL CELTIC/GAELIC NAMES Great list of Celtic/Gaelic names, male & female, with their magical meaning FAIRY & OTHER SPIRITS Long list of names and definitions FOLKLORE MYTHOLOGY Creatures, spirits, demons, characters, etc. from all parts of the world. FAERY NAMESAn extensive list with wonderful description and detail. FAIRY NAMES Not many here, but very pretty! FAIRY NAMES AND MEANINGS Long list of names including the origin & spirit & elements J.R.R. RAVEN NAMES A list of strong names
The Mythopoet's Manual Welcome to the MythoPoet's Manual . In the last half of the 20 th century, World Design has become a popular pastime. We have J. (look for Aria) Myths are not made up in laboratories or fabricated by focus groups. No god, no culture hero ever revealed a profane act. Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life by Anne Marble Return to Setting & Description · Print/Mobile-Friendly Version Description is something that gets in the way of many authors. If you're not very accomplished at writing description, then sometimes you might want to avoid writing it. At the same time, some writers err in the other direction, including too much description. How bad is bad description? Avoid Huge Lumps of Description In the past, authors could get away with including long, detailed descriptions in their stories. Unless they're seeking out writers known for lyrical descriptive passages, today's readers wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. Of course there are authors who, even in today's marketplace, can get away with pages and pages of description. Make Description an Active Part of the Story To make your stories more interesting, you must find ways to blend the description into the story. How did I come up with that line? Anne M.
Creative Uses of Magic in Your Fantasy Story Creative Uses of Magic in Your Fantasy Story by Philip Martin Return to Speculative Fiction · Print/Mobile-Friendly Version How can you create an interesting form of magic for your fantasy story? Will magic, in your fiction, be like a tool? A technique? A language? Or will you have several forms, as Tolkien did in The Lord of the Rings, where the dark forces use magic like a bulldozer to gain power, while the elves have a wonderful nature that is magic simply because everything they do is "more effortless, more quick, more complete" than the abilities of those around them? In fantasy fiction, magic is the central nervous system. Magic doesn't need to be plausible, but it has to work well. 1. Magic needs to work according to firm rules. Everything should be set in place long in advance. 2. For dramatic impact, as important as the powers of magic are its limitations. In the Harry Potter books, Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, has great powers, but even so, those powers are limited. 3. 4.
Internet Sacred Text Archive Home How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later First, before I begin to bore you with the usual sort of things science fiction writers say in speeches, let me bring you official greetings from Disneyland. I consider myself a spokesperson for Disneyland because I live just a few miles from it — and, as if that were not enough, I once had the honour of being interviewed there by Paris TV. For several weeks after the interview, I was really ill and confined to bed. Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. It reminds me of a headline that appeared in a California newspaper just before I flew here. Well, I will tell you what interests me, what I consider important. In 1951, when I sold my first story, I had no idea that such fundamental issues could be pursued in the science fiction field. Finally, in the story, the dog begins to imagine that someday the garbagemen will eat the people in the house, as well as stealing their food. I once wrote a story about a man who was injured and taken to a hospital.
Creating the Perfect Setting - Part I It was a dark and stormy night... This is one of the most ridiculed openings, not because once upon a time it didn't work, but because too many people have written their own version of it. And yet setting, the weather, landscape, the opening scene, can often lay out the feel and tone of a book brilliantly, and create an instant context, often a time-stamp, a fixed point which helps the reader find the correct emotional stance to absorb the work. The first I heard of the beach was in Bangkok, on the Khao San Road. Khao San Road was backpacker land. Almost all the buildings had been converted into guest-houses, there were long-distance telephone booths with air-con, the cafes showed brand-new Hollywood films on video, and you couldn't walk ten feet without passing a bootleg-tape stall. Note here that we don't just get setting but also information, some explicit, but a lot implicit. But Charles Dickens could lay the description on thick and yet not bore us to sleep. Fog everywhere.