The #1 Fantasy Writing Tip

Last time I gave my lifeline for writing fantasy, today is my #1 tip for how to write and survive writing a fantasy story. Well in reality it is five tips that are summarized with one phrase:

Get Organized.

Wait, that’s not a writing tip.

Actually, yes it is. When writing fantasy you need to write author’s notes. If you don’t write author’s notes there are inconsistencies, and a book riddled with inconsistencies isn’t going to be a best seller. Tip: readers hate inconsistencies. If a book has too many inconsistencies, there is a 95% chance the book will be tossed or returned.

Also, when you write these things down before the first draft, you will save yourself grief during the rewrites and editing. Author Notes is your story’s bible. It will keep you on track and helps you catch your loophole writing (AKA sections in the story’s plot where it is weak or moments you missed writing that is mentioned in a scene).

So what are the author’s notes categories one needs when writing fantasy?

 1.   Notes about the fictional world. 

  2. Magic rules.

  3. The world’s history.

  4. Weapons list.      

  5. Languages.

  6. The world’s cultures (sub folder for each culture’s background, weapons, language, architecture, style of clothing, society, people’s appearance, and an inspiration dump of what the landscape looks like). 

   And 7. The rules of the society your protagonist comes from.

Do you need all of these? Maybe not but if a book is a part of a series, you will need all of the above in your notes. I can list on my hands the number of projects I had to scrap because I didn’t do my AN while writing fantasy. World building is the major thing when writing fantasy even when writing a contemporary piece. A world is built with culture and rules; to not develop those key things makes the foundation of a story weak. If you write the pros and cons to the world you’re going to be writing in, you not only save time but you save yourself from writing a document that an editor, proofreader, and betas hate.

Next Time: Fantasy Exercises…

The Grad Life

So yay I’ve been a grad for almost three months. Boo to the fact that life has me busy and such though.

Things I’ve noticed since graduation:

1. I love my internship at the magazine more now that I have extra time to write articles. (Wasn’t aware of that? Here’s a link to the articles I’ve done.)

2. There are going to be months in the future where working your butt off is for a paycheck around $100. (No, not fair but it’s better than nothing.)

3. I’m more thankful for that Accounting 101 class. Also, I am really glad that business math is the one thing that doesn’t make me confused out of my mind. (Says a person who is near tears when a decimal or fraction problem is part of homework.)

4. Ebay is my best friend during spring-cleaning.

5. The count down on my education contract is leaving me panicked – and therefore grabbing every freelance job I can get a grasp on so my self-employment counts as legitimate work in the funder’s eyes. (And therefore I’m not stuck with a job that feels like making a deal with the devil.)

Since graduation I’ve managed to get one more book published (you can find it here), taught two classes on essential oils, and got around to start writing that cookbook I keep saying I’ll write. Just being able to write and catch up on neglected fixes is what I’m enjoying about being a grad. Plus there’s been time to get reacquainted with sketching, crafting, sewing, and a handful of other things. (Some of which are going to be in a shop soon.) Nothing is normally ideal but the pace of life at the moment has me content and ready to dive back into blogging.

I’m once again stricken with the “I have too many ideas” syndrome so bear with me as I work on them. While I work on getting the next few posts ready you can catch up on the blog-a-books or see what I’ve been up to on Tumblr or even on the internship.

By the way, here’s a short list of in the works projects that are on the publishing list for the summer.

S. Holmes I (You can still read the second draft here.)

Magic Antics – book #3 in the Fae Favors arc.

Mythology Sequels – A series of tales inspired by the idea of ancient gods and goddesses coping in the modern era. Number one in the series is called Last Chance, featuring an escaped Loki and Sigyn’s reincarnated form.

And coming Winter of 2015: The Child Who Feared Santa – a revised version of a short I did a few years back with some illustrations to make it into a children’s book.

Keep an eye out. This summer and autumn is going to be a busy one with publishing and art.