1. Objective: write a fantasy story.
2. Personal choice: the word fantasy is very broad. It is important that you decide the subgenre that your story is linked to. Analyze the ones that I propose below and choose the one that suits you best, then I will explain why.

The best known fantasy genres are:

• Epic fantasy: medieval setting with magic component.
• Fantasy of the future: fantastic aspects intertwine with technological ones.
• Interrelated fantasy: when the imaginary world and the real world are related in the same time space.
• Child/youth fantasy: the characters are children or youth.
• Dark fantasy: mix of horror and fantasy.
• Magical realism: where there is a continuous interest in making the fantastic as real as life itself.
• Steampunk – mix the Victorian era with technological aspects.
• Urban fantasy: all developed today.
• Adult fantasy (young adult) riskier than juvenile.

Depending on the subgenre you choose, it will lead you to develop a story in a different way, just as your characters will have to carry out their actions in a very particular way.

PLANNING

1. INITIAL PLANNING

• Main idea
• Secondary brainstorming
• Annotations
• Ideas mature.

It is important that you look for the medium that best suits your needs to write everything that occurs to you. Write down any idea, no matter how far-fetched or useless it may seem at first. You do not have to develop the complete idea, if you make a minimum summary is enough, the time will come to expand.

What do I write down?

Write down scenes, magical and mythological beings, characters, names that attract your attention, beasts, food, clothing. Anyway, everything you can add will come in handy later.

2. PLANNING THE CHARACTERS

Depending on the fantasy subgenre you have chosen, this is how you should plan the characteristics of your characters:

• Decide if your protagonist is female or male, if he has a rival and what he is like, if he has a physical, social, adaptive problem.
• It will be necessary to identify the races, physical and psychic characteristics, fears, values, aptitudes, hobbies, abilities. We all have defects and that can give your character an original touch.
• It is important that there is a growth in our characters (at least the main ones), from when they appear in the story until it ends. Remember that the good is not always good and the bad is not always the villain. To do this, he creates questions like: what learning will he do at the end of the story? Has your shyness improved (for example)? Have your values ​​grown? Have you managed to overcome your fear of?
• Write down the moments in the story in which your character is faced with a problem or conflict, and achieve a goal in his own growth. That way you will control everything without losing any detail.
• Define what will be your main objective and perhaps a secondary one, what you want to achieve, put obstacles to achieve it and in each one write down a new knowledge, value or acquired ability.
• Bring it closer to reality so that the reader feels more identified with him / her.
• Make up a past. Although that information does not appear in the novel, everyone has one, indeed, it is the culprit that I am who I am: my experiences, my mistakes and successes, the people around me … everything is part of me.
• Give him a particular way of speaking, perhaps he is used to constantly naming the gods, to cursing, to repeating words, to stuttering his expressions before strangers …
• Draw his face, if you can, with his typical expression and if not, find the photo of someone who reminds you of your character and place it in front of you so that you can see it while you write. May their eyes speak to you, may they help you avoid stagnation, may they guide you.

 And since we are at this point I am going to reveal something personal:

To create my Eidyn and Dana characters, I invited two people for coffee. Yes, I did. Do you wonder how? From the moment I imagined my characters, two young people who I knew perfectly well came to mind. Separately (so that one would not coerce the other or they would be self-conscious) I sat them in a relaxed atmosphere, with time and some music. I was telling them scene by scene and letting them talk. They told me how they felt and what they would do if it were real, what they would like to see happen, what they had, what they knew was going to happen … As they talked, I recorded them. In the tone of their voices and in their totally different ways of speaking, they obtained infinite data: fear, shame, ease, doubts, ease when acting, decision in their actions, and regret for having thought about something that they later decided to change.

All this gives you tables to create your character. They do not decide for you, you have not written anything yet, it only clarifies the idea, many ideas.

3. Planning Your World. World building

From my point of view, the most important thing in a fantasy novel is Word building. I disagree that you have to elaborate it so meticulously that it takes months (there are writers who even years) to have everything to your liking. Another issue is that you want to do it for fun or for some special reason.

To start, make a simple list with the most important things in each section and expand it as details emerge or new ideas appear.

Here is a list of the main aspects that you should outline before starting to write, which is the most important (they do not have to appear all).

• Magical and mythological beings
• Place: new planet, kingdom, another dimension …
• Weapons needed
• Key places for history
• Habitable buildings
• Terrain maps
• Language
• Feeding
• Magic items
• More important main and secondary characters (more will appear, perhaps, as the story unfolds)
• The magic
• Political, economic and social situation
• Education
• Customs and rituals
• Celebrations
• Clothing
• Family tree of your protagonists.

You can use cardstock. Write the title at the top, fasten it with a ring and you can take it everywhere. Review it continuously and write down each thing that comes to mind. Then it will serve as a documentation base that you always consult. On these cards you can also add drawings, sketches, symbols.

4. Visual Planning

This section does not serve everyone, but I can assure you that it was essential for meIt’s about giving real presence to your world. Being imaginary, it is only in your head and, as the days go by, sometimes you lose details. However, if you have a visual presence, everything changes. I call it “my documentation material.”

In addition to becoming visible documentation material, it will come in handy later. You can prepare the space in which to carry out the presentation of your book and decorate the table with a whole arsenal of fantasy objects, including the world building one. Afterwards, the readers will love it and the photoshoot will turn out divine.

If you are thinking that you are not good at drawing or that you do not have time for that, you can always turn to one of the best social networks for this: Pinterest. Find images related to every aspect of your world building and store them together, creating organized dashboards that will later become your favorite place for documentation.

On the other hand, drawing a map of your territory is more than necessary, since quality information appears on it:

• Distribution of population
• Exact location of rivers, seas and lakes
• Mountains, forests, cliffs …
• Establish distances
• Existence of towns and cities
• Caves, waterfalls, desert …
• Shows zoning of animals, common and magical plants, bridge or strategic doors
• And many other things

Surely your main character makes a route in search of something or someone. It would be convenient for you to draw it on the map. This will help you get a clear idea of ​​distances, possible places where the characters should stop to rest to recharge their batteries, what is the best way to travel the route (I may not be able to do it on foot and should find another method. magic maybe? It seems that in fantasy almost everything is solved with magic, right? Well, it is not always like that and that brings me to the next point.   

5. PLANNING THE RULES

Is there magic in your world? Develop it as much as you can and for this I advise you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Where does it come from?
• Who controls it?
• Can you learn or are you born with that power?
• Does it pass from parents to children or how?
• Is it inexhaustible?
• Does its use have consequences? Which are?
• What special characteristics do apprentices have (if any)?
• What are the main rules for the proper use of magic?
• Is the help of an object needed to do magic?
• How do you get this item?
• Who has the right to have it?
• How does it work?
• Is it desired by the townspeople?
• Can magic be stolen?
• If someone steals it, can he freely use magic?
• Can you break the rules of magic? What happens in that case?

Create your own magic system and break it down as much as you can, because that will depend on whether your story is credible or the reader decides to think that you are kidding him.

6. PLANNING THE PLOT

This is one of the most important steps when it comes to writing fantasy. Perhaps your world is very clear in your mind, but I assure you that if you do not organize yourself well, you will end up losing a character along the way, placing the enemy on the opposite side of the river or having dinner when others have just woken up.

• A good planning of the plot will depend that you do not stay blank, do not waste time going back to previous chapters and do not have to stop looking for better scenes. To do this, use the plot diagram. It is a template that will help you to be clear about the beginning, the end and all the important events that are going to happen. It is very possible (it has happened to me) that you change scenes or situations as you write the story, but if you are clear about the essentials, it will serve as a guide. This step is also known as a “rundown.”
• I advise you to organize your scenes and chapters according to your needs. For this you can use an A3 and write down a brief summary (by color) of what is happening. This will give you an overview of how many times magic is used, in which realm or territory a certain action occurs, which characters intervene more and who less, in which places the last action of a character took place, what happened to whom and when…
• Review the principle well. According to Book Writing Inc The first twenty pages are very important and decisive to hook the reader and continue reading. Start with something compelling, dramatic, or shocking that happens in your world or with a specific character. That will help you present not only the problem, but the protagonist and his world.
• Before deciding the end, think if it is the best alternative or if there is another. There are many different endings and it doesn’t have to be the typical happy ending of the boy who saves the planet and rescues the girl. Do not rush either, it is not convenient that you write the ending in five pages when you have created a novel of four hundred.

7. Plan the Timeline

Once you have the time framework of your planet or territory established and fixed in your mind so as not to make mistakes, draw a timeline on a piece of continuous paper (if possible. If you can’t, glue several strips together). Start by scoring three points: past, present, and future.

Fill in all the important events that occurred on your planet or territory before the protagonists appeared, the kings that appeared over time (or whatever kind of hierarchy you have implanted), catastrophes (if any), important births and deaths … Until we get to the present. From there, add each event that you write so you don’t get lost.

If your story takes place in two times at the same time, you will have to draw two time lines. The same if things happen simultaneously in two different kingdoms or zones.

TIPS FOR WRITING FANTASY

• Read all the fantasy that falls into your hands and do not worry about whether it is good or bad. Everything teaches you something in this life.
• Underline, point with post-its, place small pieces of paper or bookmarks … do whatever, but highlight what you like: descriptions of magical beings, smells that appear in a kingdom, sounds, places, dialogues … It is not that you are going to copy them , it’s just to learn. Then you will put your own voice in your writing.
• Add different texts. Fantasy does not shine only in descriptions and dialogues. Enter into your novel legends, letters, spells, lists of magical materials, cooking recipes from your world, prayers to the gods, ritual phrases, notes from a diary, blessings in front of the table, lyrics of songs, poems … There is an Endless different texts that will not only brighten the reader’s eyes, they will break the routine, bring them closer to your world and they will thank you for sure.
• As a last piece of advice, I invite you to read a lot not only to other writers but also to blogs or writing courses that detail each of these sections in a thorough way and that give very clear examples of what there is and what not to do in each case.