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How to BEGIN Writing a Fantasy Script: 7 Great Ways into the Fantasy Genre

Fantasy Genre - Fantasy Script, Game of Thrones

At some point, we have all delved into the fantasy genre, whether that is through books, TV shows or movies. It’s a genre with a wealth of scope, opportunities and precedents. So much so that beginning a fantasy script can seem like a gargantuan task involving world-building, unique character work and vast imagination overall.

Typically, the fantasy genre is associated with dragons, wizards and quests to fight evil. Though this does relate to the fantasy genre, there is so much more to it than this stereotypical representation. 

The fantasy genre is one of the most fun but also the most difficult genres to bring to life. From creating characters and worlds to creating convincing stories, it requires a great deal of thought, research and planning. However, the fantasy genre doesn’t need to be overwhelming.

Here, in this guide, we will provide you with seven key ways into the fantasy genre so that you can start the ball rolling on your fantasy script.

Table of Contents

What is the fantasy genre, high/epic fantasy, low fantasy, portal fantasy, fairytale retelling, science-fiction fantasy, dark fantasy, 1. brainstorm , 2. research the fantasy genre, 3. add in originality/your twist, narrative point-of-view , a great villain’s backstory, what does your villain want, good v.s. evil, medieval setting.

  • The Quest 

Work On Your Characters

Blur the boundaries , play around with your setting, establish the type of world, what is the environment like, learn the rules of the world, how to add world-building elements into your script, create character flaws, spend time world-building, stand-alone, in conclusion: take your time, in summary: how do you start writing a fantasy script.

How exactly do we define the fantasy genre?

 “A genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, especially in a setting other than the real world.” Oxford Dictionary of English

Now there isn’t one definitive definition that perfectly describes the fantasy genre, though the above one does come close. The reason for this is the fantasy genre is split into numerous sub-genres, which make it quite hard to classify what the definition of fantasy truly is. 

It is key to understand what fantasy sub-genre you want to go into before you start your fantasy script.

LOTR Fantasy Genre

The Key Fantasy Sub-Genres

Fantasy can be split into many different sub-genres . The below list isn’t a comprehensive list of all the fantasy sub-genres in existence. However, these are the most popular and frequently occurrent sub-genres.

  • A story that is set in a magical world that is different from our own. For example, Lord of the Rings is based in another world known as Middle Earth.  
  • Or take Game of Thrones , for example, which creates an entire world, history and set of rules.
  • This is where the story is set in the real world but has the addition of magical elements. A good example of this is Pan’s Labyrinth .
  • This is where a character is transported to another world through the use of magic.
  • For example, in Alice and Wonderland , Alice goes down the rabbit hole, eventually leading her to Wonderland.
  • This is a fantasy sub-genre that includes attributes of well-known fairytales.
  • A great example of this is Shrek , which enforces many common fairy tale tropes in its narrative, primarily in order to create comedy.
  • In a similar way, Disney’s Into the Woods also incorporates a number of fairytales within its narrative. 
  • This is a sub-genre of fantasy that mixes science-fiction and fantasy.
  • A prominent example of this would be the Star Wars franchise.
  • This is where elements of horror are mixed into the fantasy genre.
  • Some good examples of dark fantasy movies include Coraline and Crimson Peak .

So you’ve familiarized yourself with some of the fantasy sub-genres. Maybe you’ve picked a sub-genre for your script. But how do you get started writing a fantasy script?

Coraline (2009) Official Trailer - Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher Movie HD

1. Understanding the Fantasy Genre and Turning Your Idea into a Story

The number one step before starting your script is to brainstorm some foundational ideas. Here are a few essential questions to consider when crafting your story:

  • What type of fantasy sub-genre do you want your story to come under?
  • Who is your protagonist?
  • Who is your antagonist?
  • What type of conflicts do you want your protagonist to face?
  • What type of themes and messages do you want to convey?

Although sometimes exhaustive, when navigating the fantasy genre, research is your best friend.

Start by looking into different areas of literature. Whether it’s novels, short stories, film or TV , each will lend you a hand in getting you one step closer to writing the core elements of your fantasy script. 

While looking at these texts, ask yourself the following questions:

  • How have these writers enforced the fantasy genre into their stories?
  • What was successful or unsuccessful about this?
  • What themes did the writers explore?
  • Why were the characters compelling?

In a similar way, look at how these texts are structured. 

  • How do they convincingly tell a story within this niche genre?
  • Is the story chronological or non-linear?
  • How do they reveal information to add drama to the story?

Don’t just copy other fantasy texts! This is obviously extremely important. Instead, what will your twist on the genre be?

The fantasy genre is vast and consequently one that is easy to get lost in. So many movies, TV shows and books are filled with the same kind of story. In order to make your story stand out, you need a sense of originality. 

But how do you achieve this originality?

  • Genre hybrids are a great way to do this, mixing together different genres and styles into one. 
  • Having a comedic or particularly charismatic character always does well to make your narrative stand out. 
  • Alternatively, you might twist the story. For example, instead of the hero being the protagonist, you could have the villain as the protagonist. 
  • Subverting your audiences’ expectations will bring out originality in a fantasy script.

Shrek (2001) - Kill the Ogre Scene (3/10) | Movieclips

A great example of this comes in Shrek . 

  • Shrek is a typical fantasy tale where the hero saves the princess… 
  • However, what makes Shrek unique is that it steers away from the conventional knight in shining armour. 
  • Instead, we have a not-so-handsome hero that doesn’t want to save the princess. 
  • The real prince is arrogant and unlikeable and the steed is well… a donkey. 

Through this subversion and play on many typical fairytale tropes , Shrek stands out, fulfilling fantasy genre elements whilst also subverting them. 

2. Creating Characters

Compelling characters are essential in creating a great fantasy script, just as they are in any other script. Spend some time drafting out all potential characters in this world. You may decide later on to keep or rid your script of certain characters.

Jon Snow Fantasy Genre Protagonist

It is important to only keep characters that are necessary.

  • How will the character aid in moving your story forward?
  • Do they have a specific role?

Stories are far more convincing and relatable when the character has flaws. These flaws cause conflict in the narrative and ultimately drive the story and the protagonist ’s ability to reach their goals.

Spend some time considering what your character’s flaws could be:

  • Do they have specific fears?
  • Did they have a traumatic childhood or adolescence?
  • Do they have particularly negative characteristics or impulses?
  • What is their relationship with the fantasy element of the story?

Traditionally, the POV is usually from the hero’s perspective. However, this doesn’t mean your fantasy script has to follow the same structure. Instead, why not subvert the traditional.  

  • For example, you could choose to tell your story from the POV of the villain like Disney’s Maleficent does.
  • Alternatively, the narrative POV could be from a supporting character or someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • Moreover, you might decide to use a close first-person narrative, which can play to your advantage. For example, you could make your character unreliable which ultimately will affect the story’s progression. 
  • Alternatively, you might decide to use a third-person narrative which means your audience will discover things before your characters. This is a great way to add tension to your script.

Whatever conflicts and flaws you choose, show how your character overcomes them. This will allow the story to develop. 

The Perfect Fantasy Villain

White Witch Fantasy Villain

Having a perfect villain is necessary for any great story and specifically for any great fantasy tale.

  • Star Wars has Darth Vader
  • In Lord of the Rings , there is Sauron
  • Whilst The Chronicles of Narnia has the White Witch.

Spending a good amount of time on your villain is important in creating a successful fantasy script. So, how do you create the perfect fantasy villain ?

  • Have your readers question why the villain has become who they are. They could be a character who is simply broken or a character who is simply un-empathetic and likes creating chaos.
  • Make your villain somewhat likeable. Then contrast this with their unlikeable actions.
  • Another great way to add depth is to demonstrate flaws in your villain just like you would the protagonist.
  • Your villain should be as well-rounded as your protagonist, otherwise, the threat they pose will not feel truly believable.
  • Give your readers insight into what your villain truly wants.
  • Do they want revenge?
  • Do they want power?

Either way, lay out your villain ‘s goals early on into the script, in order to demonstrate why your protagonist and villain will clash later on in the story.

Pan's Labyrinth Fantasy Script

3. Look at Common Fantasy Genre Tropes

In order to fit your script into the fantasy genre, you need to include some fantasy tropes . Even if you are going to ultimately subvert these tropes , it’s important to know what they are.

A great example of good vs. evil comes in Lord of the Rings .

  • The ring represents power and both good and evil sides fight over it.
  • This simple fantasy trope is made more complex in how susceptible the good side is to the evil forces the ring unleashes.

The fight between good and evil doesn’t have to be simply about pitting good characters against bad ones. Instead, it can also be about good characters fighting the forces of evil, which threaten even to take over themselves.

GOT King's Landing Setting

The medieval setting is present in a number of high fantasy movies and TV shows. For example, it’s present in Lord of the Rings, Eragon and Game of Thrones .

However, one TV series that perfectly captures the stereotypical medieval setting is The Witcher .

  • For one, the outfits and locations of the characters fit into the medieval setting.
  • Specifically, to further delve into this trope, the show incorporates taverns, knights, castles, dungeons and best of all, a bard (Jaskier).
  • Through playing around with the medieval setting, the writers of The Witcher have been able to explore different areas of the fantasy genre, as well as other genres.
  • For example, the use of the bard works to enforce comedy. Meanwhile, the knights are used as enemies, subverting the audience’s expectation of the knights automatically being the heroes.

The Quest  

The quest is essential for all fantasy genres. It helps in shaping the narrative and developing each character’s arc.

  • For example, in Lord of the Rings , the quest is to destroy the ring.
  • Whereas, in Onward the quest is to bring Ian and Ian’s dad to life.

Though the quest may change, or be interrupted, it is almost essential for your fantasy script. That being said, the quest doesn’t always have to be that simple. It can change and morph as the story goes on. For example, your character may go on a quest to save someone, but end up on another quest entirely.

The quest is as much about the protagonist ‘s quest into understanding themselves and achieving something as much as it is about a literal quest to find something or someone, for example.

Onward | Official Trailer

4. Avoid the Cliches and Subvert the Genre

Though it is good to include and riff on fantasy tropes , it is also important not to be too cliche! So how do you avoid relying on these cliches?

  • Avoid having a typical ‘chosen one’ character or the perfect ‘knight in shining armour’. Instead, play on these fantasy tropes to create something unique and less cliched. 
  • For example, instead of having the perfect ‘knight in shining armour’ or ‘chosen one’, show each character’s flaws.
  • Perhaps play on the scenario of the wrong person being in the wrong place at the right time. For example, a character thrust into an unexpected circumstance and forced to try and survive. 

Jamie Lannister Fantasy Genre GOT

Instead of having a scenario that is black and white in terms of who is good and who is evil, try and complicate the boundaries. This way you will successfully subvert your reader’s expectations.

Game of Thrones is full of great examples of this.  

  • None of the characters are perfect, and all of them are extremely flawed.
  • Yes, some are more flawed than others, but this makes it harder to determine who should be liked and who should be hated.
  • Similarly, as your characters’ arcs progress, you can change their dynamic. 
  • For example, at the start of Game of Thrones , Jaime Lannister is very unlikeable. However, towards the end of the series, he is a lot more likeable and leans towards the good side of the good vs. evil spectrum.
  • We’ve learned more about Jamie and therefore like him more. However, he has also been changed by what he’s been through, which we have also been through alongside him. This creates an intimacy and empathy that makes it hard not to attach to Jamie.

It is very typical to go into the medieval setting when writing a fantasy story. However, through looking at the sub-genres above, we can see that doesn’t have to be the case. In order to avoid creating a cliched fantasy narrative through setting, interrogate where you story can best take place.

For example, Pan’s Labyrinth is set in 1944. 

  • In doing so Guillermo del Toro creates a fantasy world of mythical creatures whilst being set in a very tangible and realistic war setting, again subverting expectations of what the story would be about.
  • This helps to add realism and believability to the story.
  • Consequently, the fantasy feels all the more convincing because of the real world it is set in, tapping into a metaphorical resonance that ultimately gives the story a lot of depth.

But where do you start with creating an authentic fantasy world?

Pan's Labyrinth Fantasy Genre Setting

5. World-building in the Fantasy Genre

World-building is a key area to consider when crafting your fantasy script. You need to know the rules of the world your characters are in and be consistently asking yourself:

  • How will this setting help or limit my character in achieving their goals?
  • How will it shape the story, its tone and the overall themes?

This is, of course, true in any genre. But world-building is a particularly important part of the fantasy genre due to the twist on the real world that a fantasy script is likely to bring.

So, how do you start building a convincing fantasy world?

Again research is an essential tool in creating a great fantasy script. This is specifically true when it comes to world-building.  

  • Spend a good amount of time looking at how different writers have developed worlds and what makes them successful.
  • Similarly, it is always a good idea to look at examples where writers haven’t been as successful in building their world. 
  • In doing so, you can learn how to ensure your world will be successful without falling into any traps that past writers might have.
  • There are so many types of worlds, so spend some time exploring what type of fantasy world you want.
  • For example, do you want your world to be post-apocalyptic, futuristic, outer-space or medieval? 

Importantly, what effect does the type of world have on your story? And is the type of world crucial to your story, or could it take place in another world?

LOTR Fantasy World

Take some time to establish what the landscape of your world is. In establishing the environment, you can then decide how it will shape your character’s journey.

  • For example, there might be storms or specific environments that interrupt your character’s journey. 
  • Or certain environments can have different resonances from others.

If we look at Game of Thrones , we can see how the North and the South have numerous implications. 

  • The North is isolated and cold, with a wall crucially separating the characters from a mysterious beyond.
  • The South is where most of the world’s sprawling cities and population lie and consequently where the majority of the power lies.

Now, this part requires a lot of thinking. You need to know what your world is made up of and what limits it has. 

  • Who is in charge of this world? 
  • What are the governmental laws? 
  • What is the social hierarchy like and what does this mean for each class? 
  • Is there magic and what are the rules regarding it like?
  • What types of religions does your world have and how will this affect your characters? 
  • Do people speak a specific language from one another and might it cause tension in the narrative, for example?

So you might have drawn up a detailed summary of your world. But how do you build your world within your actual fantasy script?

  • For one, keep your descriptions short. Excessive amounts of long world-building descriptions can easily bore your readers. Therefore, it is important to keep your descriptions nice and quick.
  • Furthermore, turn towards your senses. Instead of outlining each and every feature, you can capture your world simply through your own senses. This will allow your script to flow smoothly, without any excessive descriptions.
  • Equally, balance your description with dialogue. Conversations between characters can aid in creating the world and its atmosphere.

Try not to get bogged down in the details of conveying your world. The pulse of the story should always be the element of the script that leads the reader. All else will follow.

Trust your audience to get into your fantasy world through the story, rather than feeling you have to lay out long and detailed exposition about the details of your world.

Lead first and explain later. Don’t explain and expect your audience to follow, as without significant engagement they will struggle to follow regardless of how much your world seems to make sense.

6. Believability and Realism in the Fantasy Genre

PAN'S LABYRINTH - Official Trailer - Directed by Guillermo del Toro

The fantasy genre is easy to get lost in with its escapist ideals and fairytale stories. As great as that is, it can sometimes mean that a story lacks authenticity and becomes somewhat detached from reality in an unconvincing way. To put it another simpler way, it becomes silly.

There must be a certain level of grounding to the fantasy. So, how do you create realism in the fantasy genre?

  • Acknowledging flaws in each of your characters is extremely important. For one it helps to ensure that the story will progress.
  • However, it is also extremely helpful with adding realism. Nothing, in reality, is perfect, people and systems are imperfect.
  • Therefore, if you add small examples of imperfection it will allow your audience to envision the world and see it as being believable. 
  • The longer you spend on creating a believable world, the better it will help in shaping your narrative.
  • If everything in the world makes sense from rules to culture to the environment, then it will allow your story to become more realistic.
  • One way you can do this is by using our world as a template for your story’s world.
  • There might be familiar structures and rules shared by the real world but everything in your story’s world is a heightened version of this, for example.

7. Consider Your Time Span

The Golden Compass (2007) Official Trailer - Daniel Craig Movie

Lastly, an important question you need to ask yourself is how long do you want your story to be? There are many fantasy stories that range in length.

Many popular fantasy stories have originated from books, such as Lord of the Rings , Game of Thrones or The Chronicles of Narnia . Their epic tales have been distilled in different ways over different formats, to varying degrees of success.

So, stand-alone, trilogy, franchise or TV show? What best suits your story? And how can you structure your story accordingly?

  • A stand-alone movie is great if you want to explore your story and its themes in a limited amount of time.
  • For example, Pan’s Labyrinth perfectly explores the fantasy genre and grand themes whilst being within a time span of only 1 hour and 58 minutes. 
  • However, if you want to create a more in-depth narrative, a stand-alone may limit you in what you can explore.

One of the most famous fantasy trilogies is Lord of the Rings . Peter Jackson perfectly adapted Tolkien’s books into three long, but successful movies that tied together the fantasy tale well. 

  • Trilogies are great for exploring one storyline that one feature film isn’t enough for.
  • A TV series will explore multiple storylines, whereas a trilogy will stick to one storyline, albeit over a longer period of time than a single film.

His Dark Materials: Season 1 | Official Trailer | HBO

A TV series will allow you as a writer to truly go into detail regarding your story, characters and world. A good example of where a show was more successful than the original movie is His Dark Materials .

  • For example, the 2007 movie, The Golden Compass was highly criticised due to its underdeveloped characters and lack of detail and loyalty to the books.
  • In contrast, the 2019 TV show adaptation more successfully won the audience over. This is arguably due to its ability to follow the books closely due to having a larger time span to explore each area in depth.

Franchises allow you to create multiple stories within the same world or universe you have created. 

  • A good example of this is Star Wars . There are multiple stories whether they are in the shape of stand-alone movies, trilogies or series. 
  • The advantage of creating a franchise is that it allows you to continually add new stories to your world, and explore different areas.
  • It is also a great way to keep your audience hooked due to the growing attachment created with your characters and plots. 

Obviously creating a franchise isn’t a simple feat. However, the basis of one starts from a range of engaging characters, a detailed story world and an ambition in the storytelling. Start with these key ingredients and who knows how many different stories could eventually branch off the original.

Depending on which route you decide to go down, use your decision to help create a successful story. 

  • For example, if you choose to go with a stand-alone prioritise what you need in your narrative in order to tell your story. 
  • Alternatively, if you decide to create a TV series, consider early on what could happen in the following seasons and if it will work with the initial storyline.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer (Official)

Writing a fantasy script can seem like a daunting task, such is the vastness of the fantasy genre. Whilst the building blocks of a fantasy script are similar to building any other script, there’s a number of key areas to focus on in order to create a convincing and engaging fantasy world and story.

Start simple and embrace complexity the deeper you get into preparing your fantasy script. Let your characters and unique world sit in your brain and don’t skimp on the development process and stages of your fantasy script.

This is the fundamental ingredient to any rich and rewarding fantasy story, a depth that will only come from time, patience and interrogation. The more you know your fantasy idea, story and world, the more audiences will find within it.

Think of the vast worlds of Game of Thrones and Star Wars that fans pour over. This depth and engagement didn’t come from a quick jumpstart on a script, it came from research, knowledge of the genre and a focus on the core story elements.

Don’t rush and you could find the keys to a fantasy world that audiences will only want to know more and more about.

There are seven essential elements to find a way into the fantasy genre and to start writing a fantasy script: 1. Research and understand the fantasy genre. 2. Creating Compelling Characters. 3. Look into Common Fantasy Tropes . 4. Avoid the Cliches and Subvert the Genre. 5. Focus on Building Your Fantasy World. 6. Find Realism. 7. Consider Your Fantasy Story’s Time Span.

– What did you think of this article?  Share It ,  Like It , give it a rating, and let us know your thoughts in the comments box further down… – Struggling with a script or book? Story analysis is what we do, all day, every day… check out our range of  script coverage  services for writers &  filmmakers .

This article was written by Lily Waywell and edited by IS staff.

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1 thought on “How to BEGIN Writing a Fantasy Script: 7 Great Ways into the Fantasy Genre”

I found this article very enjoyable! I love studying opinions on how to plan and develop fantasy stories — especially pertaining to visual storytelling.

I really appreciate the attention that was given to the development of villains. All too often, fantasy villains feel rather flat, which leaves the story without any “philosophical depth.”

Even if there is a hero character I can have empathy for, these stories don’t really satisfy me… I find that I have a longing for something else than “action and adventure” by itself when consuming stories in the fantasy genre. Something of greater substance…

… This desire is an important motivational factor for me in developing my own fantasy franchise: a story where the characters come first — their emotional vulnerability and their philosophical reasoning — and where the action is second — where the “cool magic powers” and exciting turns of battle are given greater significance by the firstly established philosophical conflict.

In terms of movies, I think the Dark Knight trilogy is closest thematically to what I have in mind. But I’m proud to say that I’m mainly inspired by Japanese role-playing games and anime — some of which have a character depth I wish I’d see more of in movies.

… I really hope that fantasy movies of the future will feature greater emotional and philosophical depth to the characters involved — be they heroes, villains or side characters. I believe the movie format has amazing potential for deep and exciting fantasy stories!

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101 Fantastical Fantasy Story Prompts

writing fantasy movies

Do you want to write in the fantasy genre but need help conjuring compelling stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple story prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing .

We get our ideas from many sources — news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn’t fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind — a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen.

They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing.

Common Elements in the Fantasy Genre

The fantasy genre typically involves magical or supernatural elements (sometimes in conjunction with speculative science) within fictional worlds — or realistic worlds enhanced by magic and the supernatural.

  • Mythology and folklore can come into play as starting points.
  • History and natural laws of reality are often not needed for the story to be coherent.
  • Fantasy story and character elements do not need to be scientifically possible.

Perfect examples of the fantasy genre and its various subgenres include:

  • Lords of the Rings
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Marry Poppins
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  • The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Back to the Future
  • Groundhog Day
  • Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
  • Harry Potter
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • MCU and DC movies

In the spirit of helping writers find those seeds, here we offer 101 originally conceived fantasy story prompts that you can use as inspiration for your next fantasy story.

Note: Because we’re all connected to the same pop culture, news headlines, and inspirations, any similarity to any past, present, or future screenplays, novels, short stories, television pilots, television series, plays, or any other creative works is purely coincidence. These story writing prompts were conceived on the fly without any research or Google search for inspiration.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

1. What if a portal was opened that led to a mirror-opposite version of our world? 

2. A young brother and sister find an old door in their basement that wasn't there before.

3. A man reads a novel, soon realizing that the story is his very own — and according to the book, a killer is looming.

4. A gamer realizes that the shooter game he plays is actually controlling real people in another world.

5. A gamer learns that the soldier he is controlling is actually a real soldier in a real war.  

6. An astronaut jettisoned into the cold of space in a mission gone wrong suddenly appears at the doorstep of his family.

7. The world's population is overtaken by vampires — all except one little child.

8. The Greek Gods have returned to claim Earth as their own.

9. A brother and sister new to the neighborhood realize that their parents have moved them to a town of witches.

10. An angel decides to walk the Earth as a human for a single week.

11. A demon and an angel challenge each other to walk in the other's shows for a single week. 

12. A family moves into a suburb inhabited solely by ghosts.

13. While on a hike, a group of friends discovers a tunnel that leads into another world.

14. A child makes a wish that their recently deceased parents return from the dead.

15. During a bout of road rage, a woman puts a curse on a man that upends his life. 

16. Characters from a little girl's short story she was forced to write for school begin to manifest in her town. 

17. A little boy wishes Christmas could be every day — and his wish comes true. 

18. An app developer discovers a way to email people from the past. 

19. The world as we know it is actually the scary bedtime stories of a fairytale-like place. 

20. Wizards exist in hiding in every town and are tasked with protecting us from Dark Lords. 

The Chronicles of Narnia

'The Chronicles of Narnia'

21. A monster is terrified by the scary child who lives  above  his bed. 

22. Humans on Earth are actually the giants of the world, with ant-sized humans living underground.

23. One day, dogs begin to speak English while humans are forced to bark to communicate.

24. An heir to a recently deceased man inherits a magical castle.

25. A giant human suddenly emerges from underneath the ocean.

26. Time is frozen — all but for 100 people throughout the world.

27. A Star Wars fan discovers that the Star Wars universe was not a figment of George Lucas's imagination. 

28. During a family vacation, the worlds and characters of Disneyland come to life.

29. A theme park ride breaks down, stranding the people in the world of the ride. 

30. A stay-at-home mother makes a wish that she could have four versions of herself to share the work — it comes true. 

31. A boy is transported into the body of the boyhood version of his father. 

32. A mother and father are transported into the bodies of their teenage twins. 

33. Santa's grandchild returns to the North Pole for Christmas vacation, oblivious to her family history. 

34. Siblings discover that their nanny is a witch. 

35. Siblings discover that their nanny is actually the tooth fairy. 

36. A boy on vacation with his family finds Excalibur stuck in the rock floor of a castle. 

37. A naughty boy hiding from his parents under the water of their pool, resurfaces to find himself in the ocean waters amidst a deserted island. 

38. The ceramic garden gnomes of a neighborhood come to life to terrorize the town. 

39. A man discovers that his life is actually the dream of another. 

40. A woman discovers that her life is actually the dream of her dream self. 

Back to the Future

'Back to the Future'

41. A man and woman share the same dream world — they eventually meet in person, shocked to see their dreams coming true. 

42. When friends play Dungeons and Dragons, their campaign comes to life around them. 

43. A woman discovers that our reality is actually a simulated game like The Sims. 

44. A Viking warrior washes up on the shore of a New England town. 

45. A man obsessed with the cartoons of his youth is whisked away into their worlds after his wife begrudgingly says he spends too much time watching them. 

46. A successful stockbroker accused of insider trading claims to be from the future. 

47. A boy that wishes he could be the strongest person alive turns into a towering giant. 

48. A high school student believes that his classmates are vampires. 

49. A high school student can suddenly read the minds of his peers. 

50. Deceased soldiers return to their Civil War-era homes.

51. An 400-year-old shipwreck washes ashore in perfect condition.

52. An outcast nerd discovers that he's actually a revered prince from another planet, hidden by his royal family to escape an evil space lord. 

53. A little girl has the power to make any wish she wants to come true — and her choices are terrorizing the neighborhood. 

54. A history teacher has the power to take his students to any time and place in history.  

55. A boy who wishes he could fly wakes up as a baby hawk. 

56. A boy on a farm makes a scarecrow that comes alive.

57. The Peter Pan story is true. 

58. When Dorothy was wisked away to Oz, someone from Oz was left in her place back in Kansas for her Aunt and Uncle to deal with.   

59. When children die young, their spirits attend a boarding school that decides whether they become angels or demons. 

60. Area 51 protects a gateway into hell. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

61. Area 51 hides a portal into another world. 

62. A famous classic cartoon character finds a portal into our world. 

63.  A brother and sister fighting over who gets to play Fortnite are sucked into the game. 

64. The biggest earthquake in history opens up an underground world of humanoids. 

65. The Titanic suddenly reaches New York with all of the original passengers and crew members on board. 

66. A family visiting a cabin are stuck inside during a terrible storm. To pass the time, they play classic board games and find themselves sucked into those worlds trying to win the games to survive. 

67. A boy that torments the neighborhood pets wakes up in the body of a dog. 

68. A single father and his son are sucked into the worlds of Dr. Seuss. 

69. A disabled boy and an egotistical professional athlete switch bodies.  

70. A prince in a fantasy land struggles to find his princess, only to fall in love with a wicked witch that lives in the haunted forest. 

71.  Dragons return to Earth after a prophecy is fulfilled.  

72. A hunter discovers a unicorn deep within the woods. 

73. A scientist discovers that magic is real. 

74. After a night of creating Dungeons and Dragons characters, a group of friends awakens as the very characters they've created. 

75. A runaway boy discovers a group of real-life trolls living under his town's bridge. 

76. A teenage girl is told by a visiting elf that she is the heir to a magical kingdom. 

77. A family vacationing on a yacht is saved by mermaids when it capsizes. 

78. At a sleepover, a deck of tarot cards predicts the future of a group of friends, and everything comes true.  

79. An artist has the ability to escape into the world of classic paintings. 

80. Wax museum guests are sucked into the worlds of the displays. 

Enchanted

'Enchanted'

81. A boy living in the inner city and fleeing its crime-riddled streets escapes into a library where the books are literal portals into fantastical worlds. 

82. After moving into an old mansion, a young boy is the only one in his family that can see the ghosts that live there. 

83. A man begins to read a book that tells his life story. 

84. A woman sees a unicorn in the woods and becomes obsessed with finding it, even when her hometown ridicules her. 

85. A woman whose son was kidnapped years ago is visited by a ghost that helps her find him alive and well.  

86. A strange old man that has moved next door to a kid's family is actually that kid's older self that has time-traveled back in time to revisit his childhood before his death. 

87. A teenager receives a new superpower every day, with the previous superpowers disappearing as each new one manifests.

88. An angel knows that the human boy he was assigned to protect is due to be a victim of a travesty, and they decide to do whatever they can to keep him safe — even if it means going against the boy's destiny. 

89. A group of high school friends discovers portals to the past and future and uses them to ace their history and science exams. 

90. Two versions of the same high school student from different parallel universes discover each other through a portal and decide to swap lives for one week before the portal closes for good. 

91. The ghost of a father helps his son through difficult times.  

92. A ghost searches a suburban neighborhood for the perfect house to haunt. 

93. A writer discovers that God is actually a writer like himself. 

94. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are magically transferred into the bodies of high school students. 

95. An archeologist discovers ancient DNA samples that prove mythical creatures did exist.  

96.  A fallen angel falls from the heavens into the backyard of a young girl's house. 

97. A Wall Street broker discovers that he's the heir of the real Robin Hood. 

98. During a classic Universal Monster movie film festival, a young cinephile is transported into the worlds of those movies. 

99. A woman falls in love with a historical figure and wills herself back in time to meet him. 

100. A group of middle school friends ventures into the underground drainage tunnels of their town, only to discover a race of blind beings within the darkness. 

101. A screenwriter reads a list of writing prompts and discovers that what they've read begins to come true in the real world. 

Share this with your writing peers or anyone that loves a good fantasy story. Have some prompts of your own? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter !

Want More Prompts? Read 131 Sci-Fi Scripts That Screenwriters Can Download and Study !

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, and the feature thriller  Hunter’s  Creed  starring Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman, Wesley Truman Daniel, Mickey O’Sullivan, John Victor Allen, and James Errico. Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on  Twitter,   Facebook , and  Instagram .

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Home » Filmmaking » Making Your Own Fantasy Film: A Field Guide

Making Your Own Fantasy Film: A Field Guide

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Making Your Own Fantasy Film: A Field Guide

Darin Bradley

So you want to make a fantasy movie? Here’s what you need to know about working in the genre.

Fantasy is old. Very old. Our earliest recorded narratives all contain elements of fantasy, and it’s safe to assume that the oral traditions that informed these ancient tales were themselves chock full of fantasy.

There was a time when the planet was a magical place. Monsters and fairies and capricious beings of all kinds inhabited the forests, caves, and rivers we depended on for food and shelter.

Mysterious or confusing events often had only one explanation—magic. There were forces at work in the world that shaped how people lived their lives, and there wasn’t much else to do at night except tell ourselves stories about it.

And, this was happening everywhere. Cultures across the planet were explaining photosynthesis and meteorology and medicine and just about everything else with tales of magic—the key element of the fantasy genre.

From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the works of Homer to the Panchatantra , fantastic stories about good vs. evil have recorded the development of the human story all over the world.

The Epic of Gilgamesh recorded in ancient cuneiform

So what, technically, is “fantasy?” The term itself can mean anything, so does a fantastic story or movie just need a little razzle-dazzle ? Not quite.

Like every other narrative genre, fantasy overlaps with its neighboring categories, so we can split hairs about what is and isn’t fantasy all day. As entertaining as that sounds, we all have work to do, so let’s establish a rough idea of what we mean when talking about “fantasy.”

Defining the Fantasy Genre

At its most generic, fantasy involves magic—however it manifests. This might be supernatural, otherworldly, alchemical, divine—you name it. From there, the genre breaks down into many sub-genres—we’re only going to cover a few here to help you get your head around your particular project.

As a genre, fantasy is part of the larger speculative fiction family, where it lives with its cousins, science fiction and horror . Typically speaking, fantasy also takes the battle between good and evil as a central theme. Protagonists can often be small parts in much larger machines that pit epically powerful forces against each other.

The earliest fantasy movie is likely Alice Guy ‘s “ The Cabbage Fairy ,” filmed in 1896. In it, a fairy strolls through a garden and plucks infant babies from cabbages, and presents them to the camera.

However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that fantasy films became more frequent staples.

So, let’s look at some fantasy sub-genres that have helped shape what we think of when we think of “fantasy.”

High Fantasy

This is fantasy ‘s fantasy. High fantasy is what most people think of when they think of the genre. (The name comes from a 1971 essay by author Lloyd Alexander titled “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance.”)

High fantasy’s hallmark is the presence of a secondary world . This is a world that looks much like Earth but operates a little differently—even if it is internally consistent as its own system. Think of Tolkien’s Middle Earth or Westeros from Game of Thrones .

The worlds are similar to ours, but there a few things you can do there that you can’t here—namely magic. (If you plop high fantasy onto our own Earth, you end up with low fantasy .)

Battle scene from the movie Fellowship of the Ring

High fantasy explores some world-threatening problem—something that will kill or enslave everyone and alter life irreparably. Usually, the main character descends from royalty or some other hereditary mystery, and often, high fantasy follows the path of the bildungsroman —a coming-of-age story that takes us from childhood into adulthood as our protagonist assumes their genealogical destiny.

In high fantasy, the stakes are high, the scope is huge, and the fate of everything is on the line. We should feel swept up in the wonder of this secondary world, where magic allows us to be more human than human.

Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is to fantasy what cyberpunk is to science fiction . It’s modern, it’s gritty, and it’s nuanced. This sub-genre takes place on Earth (though you could set it in a secondary world if you want the job of extra world-building), typically in the 20th or 21st century, and with elements of the fantastic. Those elements might include supernatural beings, the presence of magic, or something arcane.

If the fantastic exists in urban fantasy in secret, then the rest of the world typically operates just like we’re used to. If, on the other hand, the fantastic exists openly, then the laws of our world will operate slightly differently.

Closeup of a vampire in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Common conflicts in urban fantasy involve humans vs. supernatural beings or traditionalists vs. magic users. Acceptance, tolerance, and repression are common themes behind inter-character conflict.

Urban fantasy typically explores more sophisticated ideas than high fantasy, as its primary focus is reconciling the supernatural with our modern world.

Sword and Sorcery

When there’s no time to talk things through, sword and sorcery will take care of the problem. Gone are the swelling crescendos and self-sacrifice that are part-and-parcel of high fantasy. Gone are the feelings and relationships and complications of urban fantasy.

Sword and sorcery is usually about one adventurer, maybe two, who’s good at kicking ass. Taking names is optional.

This sub-genre is more interested in adventure, combat, magic, and conflict. Who cares what’s going on in the larger world? This badass has problems of their own.

Sword and sorcery is about excitement, determination, revenge, and cosmic justice. People get what they deserve in this sub-genre, and it’s usually a sword through the gut or a fireball to the face.

Scene from the film Conan the Barbarian with the hero wielding a sword

The name comes from a letter written by Fritz Leiber in response to legendary fantasist Michael Moorcock , who, in the Amra fanzine, demanded a name for the type of literature written by Robert E. Howard .

Howard, the famous trendsetter from tiny Cross Plains, Texas, more or less invented the sub-genre in the 1920s and ’30s with his now-famous “yarns.” His best-known contribution to fantasy literature is Conan, of “The Barbarian” fame.

Like all narrative sub-genres, sword and sorcery didn’t just appear out of thin air, Howard’s talent aside. It has its roots in mythology, like the labors of Hercules, the heroes of The Iliad and The Odyssey , the Norse sagas, and Arthurian legend (which is, itself, a hodgepodge of oral traditions and histories).

Sword and sorcery tells us stories of men and women living by their wits in simpler times, when a sword or a staff, a horse, and a loincloth were all you needed to conquer the world.

Dark Fantasy

This one is a bit of a pickle. While the bite-sized definitions we’ve been working with here are useful for organizing our thoughts about our fantasy projects, they’re a little short to do true justice to the nuances of these sub-genres.

Writers and filmmakers of all backgrounds, from all over the world, contribute to the body of work that creates a generic consensus. Sometimes, the parts of the whole are largely similar and easy to group. Other times, however, as with dark fantasy, it’s just not that simple.

Scene from the movie Pan's Labyrinth featuring the monster up-close

The easy way to sum it up goes something like this: Dark fantasy explores the horrific side of fantasy by combining the two genres—sometimes in this world, sometimes in a secondary one.

A slightly more sophisticated way to think of it would be to intone Jacques Derrida , the post-structuralist philosopher famous for his theory of deconstruction. That philosophy seeks to erase the differences between binary opposites or expose insight when we de-prioritize how we’ve traditionally received a story or a movie (like giving us a few of the same events through another character’s eyes).

In the deconstruction context, dark fantasy erases the idea that optimistic fantasy and nihilist horror have to exist at two different ends of the spectrum. Instead, let’s package them together.

In short, dark fantasy is a fantasy story with horror tropes and magic.

Magical Realism

This just doesn’t get any easier. If dark fantasy was a challenge to pigeonhole, magical realism is even harder. There’s even a difference between magic realism and magic al realism. We could write a dissertation on this topic (it would take several, actually), but we’re not here for college credit, so let’s just hit the highlights.

Magical realism started in Germany’s Weimar Republic thanks to Franz Roh, an art critic who described the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) painting style as magischer realismus (magical realism). José Ortega y Gasset oversaw the translation of Roh’s book into Spanish in 1927, and from there, it made its way to Latin America. It has its roots in surrealism and the fantastic, which is how it ended up, of all places, in this blog post.

Scene from the movie The Green Mile with guards taking a giant prisoner to his cell

History lesson aside, magical realism does just that—it makes the magic real. Telekinesis, prophecy, flight—anything you can think of (and then some) has a place in magical realism. The sub-genre treats these fantastic phenomena as if they’re as normal as gravity. No one thinks oddly about it or even really considers the magic to be magic .

Magical realism is a good way to create symbolism or explore characters via exaggeration. When we normalize phantasmagoric attributes among people and animals, we’re really looking closely at what we already know about them, not what cool feats they’re capable of.

But it’s still cool to watch, and it’s a clever way to bring mystery and wonder into otherwise normal projects.

Portal Fantasy

This is a particular sub-genre of fantasy, but it’s also a famous one. In a portal fantasy, our protagonist leaves our world and enters a secondary world. It differs from the other sub-genres in that it acknowledges the existence of both the primary world and the secondary world, without dwelling in only one of them.

Of course, there’s magic waiting on the other side of the portal. There’s usually some quest or a mission that our protagonist must complete with the help of the magical beings native to the secondary world.

Much like Jason and the Golden Fleece , there is some talisman or some secret that the protagonist must uncover to return to the primary world as a fully-developed person.

Scene from the film The Wizard of Oz featuring Dorothy and the Good Witch

Portal fantasies are great ways to combine character growth and adventure. The Goonies , the famous ’80s film about a gang of kids exploring a seemingly magical underworld to save their homes, isn’t quite a full portal film, but it’s a good example.

Once you take your protagonists through the portal, you’ve suspended reality. Mikey sums this up quite nicely in his famous speech about “our time.”

In John Carter , based on the famous novels by one Edgar Rice Burroughs , our hero is capable of magical jumps that are attributed to his development back on Earth. Once you’ve moved your characters into the secondary world through the portal, it’s easy to attribute powers to them that make their journey more exciting.

Superhero Fiction

Speaking of people who can do incredible things once they leave their primary world and enter a secondary one (Superman, anyone?), we have our final sub-genre of the post— superhero fiction .

Unless you’ve been living in an underground apocalypse shelter for the last twenty years (which would be awesome), you already know how big superhero fiction is. Some of the biggest films of the previous two decades have been superhero fiction , and then there’s the comic book industry, the video game industry, TV, merchandise. Superhero fiction is a capitalist dynamo.

Scene from the series WandaVision with the protagonists sitting outside a shop at night

Superhero fiction is a bit of a catch-all. It can latch itself onto high fantasy, dark fantasy, magical realism, or portal fantasy. The rules are pretty simple—some people (maybe just one) have abilities that far surpass the capabilities of a normal person. This might be the result of magic, scientific experimentation, alien lineage, or even divine intervention. The backstory about why a superhero is capable of exceptional skills is usually a critical part of the narrative experience.

Giving someone abilities greater than others creates power differentials, which opens all kinds of opportunities for conflict and exploration. Do you tolerate superheroes? What keeps them from becoming supervillains? Should magical people be able to act as judge, jury, and executioner of regular people committing regular crimes? Why is a magical being bound by a particular nation’s laws?

The isolation and prejudice that superheroism causes are prominent themes in the sub-genre, particularly over the last decade. Our superheroes arise out of our cultural fears: nuclear annihilation, foreign subjugation, illness, and death. They are a way to humanize the incomprehensible, just as our forebears did with their myths about gods, monsters, and superhumans.

Fantasy Filmmaking and You

Right, so you have a palette of fantasy sub-genres you can mix to create your own, signature fantasy story. We won’t get into the specifics of camera operation , lighting , editing , and post-production that you need to actually make your movie.

We’ve got plenty of articles for you on those topics, and I’ll bet our plucky editor comes along behind me, your humble author, and links them for you in that last sentence. (Let’s see . . . ). But there are a few takeaways to consider as you get ready to make this movie.

First, the magic is not enough. It should serve your story, not suffocate it. If you just want to make a movie about sexy people doing cool stuff, get into music videos .

If you want us to wonder why you’ve given your character superpowers, why you’ve shoved them through a portal, or even why they’re willing to die in the struggle between mankind and oblivion, then the story must support these decisions. What is it about people, life itself, that you find interesting enough to capture in a film?

Scene from the film The Boy Who Could Fly with the protagonist sitting on the roof

Once you figure it out, all of this magic is at your fingertips to bring it to your audience’s attention. You don’t need a huge budget and tons of effects (remember The Boy Who Could Fly ? It wasn’t all that flashy, but he could fly ! And was it about flying . . . or was it about autism?). Practical magic effects on your low-budget or indie project are entirely possible. (Watch the bottom of this post for some suggestions.)

Just remember: The point of fantasy is the wonder . These stories are much bigger than our meager lives. Create accordingly!

Now that Darin’s called me out, I’ve swept through the blog to find you guys some awesome fantasy production elements:

  • Go Medieval With These Easy-to-Make Fantasy Props
  • Create a Stylish Walkthrough Portal Transition in After Effects
  • Tips and Tricks for Harnessing the Lighting Power of Fire
  • 15 God Ray Light Overlays for Video Editors and Motion Designers
  • Creating Scenes with Audio: Make Your Setting Appear Silent

And, of course, let’s not forget the selection of high-quality fantasy tracks available on the PremiumBeat.com library .

Cover image via Warner Bros .

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Best Free Fantasy Movie Scripts Online Featured

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Best Free Fantasy Movie Scripts Online (PDF Downloads)

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W elcome to StudioBinder’s screenplay library, your gateway to the enchanting world of free fantasy scripts. Immerse yourself in a realm of magic, mythical creatures, and extraordinary adventures as we present a curated selection of the most captivating and imaginative stories ever written. Explore realms beyond imagination, where heroes rise, and destinies intertwine. With feature-length screenplays and insightful breakdowns, this collection is a treasure trove for aspiring writers and fantasy enthusiasts. Prepare to be transported to realms of wonder. Enjoy!

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comedy, fantasy

The addams family.

Written By: Charles Addams & Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson 

Synopsis : Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.

romance, fantasy

Beauty and the beast.

Written By: Stephen Chbosky & Evan Spiliotopoulos (screenplay), based on the 1991 animated film "Beauty and the Beast" animation screenplay by Linda Woolverton 

Synopsis : A selfish Prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner.

drama, fantasy

Written By: John August (screenplay), based on the novel by Daniel Wallace 

Synopsis : A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.

sci-fi, fantasy

Donnie darko.

Written By:  Richard Kelly 

Synopsis : After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

fantasy, romance

Edward scissorhands.

Written By: Caroline Thompson (screenplay), based on the story by Tim Burton & Caroline Thompson

Synopsis : An artificial man, who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands, leads a solitary life. Then one day, a suburban lady meets him and introduces him to her world.

The Green Mile

Written By:  Frank Darabont (screenplay), based on the novel by Stephen King 

Synopsis : The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

romance, comedy, fantasy

Groundhog day.

Written By:  Danny Rubin & Harold Ramis 

Synopsis : A weatherman finds himself inexplicably living the same day over and over again.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Written By: Steve Kloves (screenplay), based on the novel by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis : An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

animation, fantasy

How to train your dragon 3.

Written By:  Dean DeBlois

Synopsis : When Hiccup discovers Toothless isn't the only Night Fury, he must seek "The Hidden World", a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first.

fantasy, musical

Written By:  Terry Jones 

Synopsis : Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth.

FANTASY, action

Lotr: the fellowship of the ring.

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Best Fantasy Movie Scripts  •   Read LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring Script

Written By: Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson (screenplay), based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

Synopsis : A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

fantasy, action

Lotr: the two towers.

Written By:  Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens & Stephen Sinclair & Peter Jackson (screenplay), based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

Synopsis : While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

LOTR: Return of the King

Written By:  Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens & Stephen Sinclair & Peter Jackson (screenplay), based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien 

Synopsis : Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.

Midnight in Paris

Written By:  Woody Allen 

Synopsis : While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

horror, fantasy

Monster squad.

Written By:  Shane Black & Fred Dekker 

Synopsis : A young group of monster fanatics attempt to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.

musical, drama

Written By:  Lee Hall 

Synopsis : A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.

The Shape of Water

Written By:  Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor 

Synopsis : At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

action, fantasy

Written By:  David Koepp (screenplay), based on the comics by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Synopsis : When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family.

ACTION, FANTASY

Spider man 2.

Written By:  Alfred Gough (screenplay), based on the comics by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Synopsis : Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius.

ANIMATION, ACTION, FANTASY

Spider-man: into the spider-verse.

Written By:  Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman 

Synopsis : Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.

fantasy, horror

Sleepy hollow.

Written By:  Andrew Kevin Walker 

Synopsis : Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people, with the culprit being the legendary apparition, The Headless Horseman.

Written By:  Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay), based on the book by Stephenie Meyer 

Synopsis : Bella Swan moves to Forks and encounters Edward Cullen, a gorgeous boy with a secret.

The Wizard of Oz

Written By: Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf & Noel Langley (screenplay), based on the book by L. Frank Baum Synopsis: Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.

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4 Tips For Directing Inspiration from Fantasy Movies Into Your Writing

writing fantasy movies

While I was flipping through the news feed on my phone on a fine Friday morning, I stumbled on a story about a young lad who, during his spare time, crafted full-sized costumes of superheroes like the “Iron Man” using just cardboard paper and some locally-made glue. One could observe his enthusiasm as he was talking about his dream to be a robotics engineer in the future. The realization of the positive impact that the science fiction movie had on him struck me, despite the general belief that movies distract kids from learning.  That fantasy movie he watched helped stimulate his creativity and future ambition.

You might be wondering how one could direct inspiration from movies to academic writing. Some wish they had the imagination on how to go about doing it. Others seek assistance by using a college paper writing service . In fact, watching fantasy movies can stimulate imagination and creativity. If you take a moment to study closely the way fantasy world movies are set, you will notice aspects of a movie that could be used as a source of inspiration when writing. Several college paper writing services employ these tips in academic writing for their clients, and one I’d recommend is studyfy .

As to how you could emulate this, here are 4 interesting tips that will help you know how to channel inspiration gotten from watching fantasy movies into writing.

1. Pay close attention to the narrative

No matter how complicated it is, the main plot of the story becomes clearer as the movie progresses. Some fantasy movies challenge well-known societal ideals. For instance, the popular fantasy series Game of Thrones shows that a woman could be trusted to take on a huge responsibility, such as taking charge of the affairs of a nation. Daenerys Targaryen was only seen as a bargaining chip by her brother, yet she rose to become the dragon queen. This example could inspire you to write an essay on why there is a need for women to be given more leadership positions in organizations or even in politics. However, this lesson only becomes evident later on in the series. Hence, the need to focus on the narrative.

2. Observe the main characters in the movie

Every movie has its main characters and fantasy movies are no different. These movies usually have an antagonist and a protagonist who are usually at odds with each other. The plot of the movie is usually centered around these characters. A typical example is the popular marvel movie the Iron Man . This movie embodies a lot of the elements that could help spark your imagination to write an essay. For instance, you could decide to write an essay on a topic about medical robotics, citing the need for more research to provide more treatment options for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Another idea is writing an essay on the economic importance of technology to man and the environment. The main character in this movie, the “Iron Man”, can provide the spark you will need to write an article about technology. You can read reviews about a character in a movie to find clues that will help stimulate your imagination and help you in your writing.

3. Take notes of the movie set

Some action fantasy movies are futuristic, and as a result, are not fully appreciated by academicians since the future is seen by many of them as an unknown. However, there are also fantasy movies where the characters attempt to correct mistakes of the past, or even try to avert problems that result from the actions of the present. While this might sound absurd to the academician who deals only with facts, such movies can aid you in writing a science paper, since most scientific publications talk about how to harness current potentials for the benefit of the future or how to find solutions to a current challenge that has resulted because of the actions of the past. If you are looking to write an essay on such a topic, a fantasy series such as The Flash will offer some inspiration for you.

4. Recognize the role of every character in the movie

The primary focus when watching a movie lies in the main characters- the protagonist and the antagonist. While these are the main characters, they would need the assistance of their supporting cast at one stage of the movie or the other just like in the movie Lord of the Rings where Frodo Baggins needed the assistance of his friends to attain his goal of stopping the resurrection of the Dark Lord Sauron. In a lot of fantasy movies, the hero does not attain his full potential until he learns to work with other individuals who help him discover it. The lesson is very inspiring as it shows the need for teamwork in achieving goals or targets. Those in leadership positions should recognize the importance of each member of their team in achieving success.

writing fantasy movies

Fantasy movies have a lot to offer in terms of inspiration if you are working on an essay. You can try out the tips above by watching any movie of your choice. Try to be open-minded and allow your imagination to roam free. These tips will help you to view fantasy movies in a way you never did before and glean vital inspiration that could assist you throughout your academic writing journey.

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Writing Fantasy Movies

  • by Sven Eric
  • 26. 03. 2023 03. 04. 2023

Fantasyfilme schreiben

To write good Fantasy Movies, we have to engage our imagination. Fantasy belongs to the genre family of Speculative Fiction , along with Horror and Science-Fiction. The classical Fantasy Story works like this: A character with a major weakness is transferred from their ordinary world to a fantasy world . There they have to confront and overcome their weakness. In the end, they return to their ordinary world and are able to live a better life. This story form is also called Portal Fantasy .

The Secondary World

Many fantasy stories take place in their secondary world exclusively, like J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Of course, this is a very different structure. Either way, most Fantasy Movies combine Fantasy with Adventure (i.e. the Hero’s Journey) , which often makes it difficult to separate the two genres. While Adventure sends its heroes on a journey, the Fantasy heroes are abruptly transported to another place. In Fantasy Adventure Movies the journey takes place within the secondary world. Here are some well known Fantasy Movies in general:

  • THE NEVERENDING STORY
  • ALICE IN WONDERLAND
  • WIZARD OF OZ
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE

Fantasy Movie Criticism

Critics often dismiss Fantasy as childish and immature. Some of them claim that fantasy lovers use it to flee from reality, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the one hand, every story is fictional, no matter how realistic it may seem. On the other hand, good fantasy screenplays use precisely this contrast between fantasy and reality to draw our attention on what we’re missing in our everyday lives. The fantasy genre takes fiction to its extreme and places its focus very strongly on its speculative world . The want of the main character in these stories is to simply explore and through this exploration of the unreal, our own reality reflects back on us.

Top Fantasy Movies 2022

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A few words about me: As a Writer-Director, I write my own stories. I wrote the eBook The Ultimate Reading Guide for students as a learning aid. I also give Writing Seminars and Film Workshops.

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writing fantasy movies

Genre Tips: How to Write Fantasy

writing fantasy movies

Last fall, I asked you to tell me what topics you’d most like to see featured here on the site. One that was repeatedly mentioned was that of genre tips. I haven’t written much about genre before, in part because most of the tips and techniques I teach here are not genre-specific and can be directly applied or modified to fit any type of story. Also, I do not consider myself a genre expert. There are some genres I read hardly at all (such as horror) that I can’t comment on. There are other genres (such as romance) that are so specialized that their guidelines are often much more specific than for other genres. And there are, simply, many genres (such as mystery) that, although I may read or watch them, I do not personally write them and therefore don’t have a great depth of experience or knowledge about their inner workings.

That said, because genre is an inevitably important topic for writers to consider and because so many of you asked for my take, I thought it would be fun to go on a whirlwind tour of five major genres: Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Mystery, and Literary. In each installment, I will be looking at unique considerations for the Big Three— plot, character, and theme —as well as any other particular pitfalls or pointers I’ve gleaned from my own experience with these stories.

5 Tips for How to Write Fantasy

We begin with one of my personal favorite genres: fantasy. Three out of five of my published novels have some element of fantasy, and the WIP I am working on at the moment is my second full-blown fantasy. The genre is broad with many subgenres but always includes some fantastical element—something magical or foreign that does not exist in reality. This fantastical element may be inserted into our own world (as in subgenres I’ve personally explored, such as portal fantasy ,  dieselpunk , or  gaslamp fantasy ). Or, more strictly, the entire world and premise may be based on a fantasy world. Classically, this fantasy world is often medieval in nature, but in recent decades fantasy worlds have become much more diverse in source inspiration.

writing fantasy movies

Fantasy is a milieu genre, which means the genre trappings can provide the backdrop to many types of stories. For example, beats of a romance or mystery can take place within fantasy milieu. More traditionally, fantasy is known for its epic stories of quests and conquests in the style of myths and legends or archetypal journeys (such as the Hero’s Journey ). In this post, I will be primarily talking about this more traditional type of epic fantasy. Other fantasy subgenres will draw upon classic fantasy tropes, but will blend them with those of other genres.

Beginnings in Fantasy: Do You Need a Prologue?

Back in the day, it seemed like a prologue was almost a required trope for a fantasy novel. Mostly these prologues were used to explain some of the world lore or perhaps ancient backstory, in order to get readers up to speed with the rules and history of the story. I feel like we’re not seeing quite as many prologues these days, and on the whole I count this as a good thing, since fantasy stories often seemed particularly prone to all the pitfalls of a prologue .

The most common pitfall is the prologue functioning as a prettified (and sometimes not-so-prettified) info dump. In a huge fantasy story, sometimes there is no good way around this. But usually there are much more artful ways to share information . One thing to keep in mind is that the readership of fantasy has evolved greatly over the past 70 years or so. This is now a mainstream genre with highly familiar tropes. Readers understand they are entering a new world, and they know how to pick up cues about the setting and the world as they follow the characters around. They won’t need to have everything spelled out for them in the very beginning; doing so can, in fact, harm your story’s subtext .

That said, many successful prologues exist to hook readers into the story, rather than to exercise the author’s self-indulgence or insecurity about the world details. The same rules apply to prologues as to the beginning of any story , but the chief thing to keep in mind is that whenever you include a prologue, you are asking readers to begin your story twice , since they will have to start all over with the story’s “real” scenario in the first chapter. Just make sure you’ve hooked them in both the prologue and the first chapter.

For Example: The prologues in Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles function solely as hooks, showing readers the mysterious and compelling contrast between the teenage protagonist in the main part of the book and the legend he grows into.

Patrick Rothfuss Name of the Wind Wise Man's Fear Kingkiller Chronicles

The Kingkiller Chronicles series by Patrick Rothfuss (affiliate link)

Settings in Fantasy: Know Your Story World and Magic System

As a milieu genre, fantasy is all about the setting. When reading these stories, readers get to enjoy seeing something new (or at least familiar elements rearranged in unexpected ways). This is also what draws many writers to the genre. Certainly, it was what drew me. My first love was historical fiction, but I grew frustrated with the confines of “the facts” and moved over to fantasy where I could retain a historical aesthetic without the constraints.

However, just because the possibilities for your fantasy world are endless doesn’t mean you’re free to do anything. The best fantasy settings firmly ground themselves within their own realities. You may not be limited, but your story should be. Your fantasy’s geography, culture, and magic system (if appropriate) must all feel just as concrete to readers as would a well-researched story about, say, Paris or Tetzcoco. Don’t kid yourself: research for a fantasy story can be just as extensive as for a historical story.

writing fantasy movies

The Magic System Blueprint by C.R. Rowenson (affiliate link)

More than that, fantasy settings and magic systems must be carefully planned to create a seamless aesthetic. Magic systems, in particular, often create symbolism, whether intentional or not, so consider what the final use of magic in your story’s Climax says about your story’s theme. Everything should pull together to create a seamless big picture.

Two fast tips for planning your fantasy world:

1. Use Patricia C. Wrede’s amazingly extensive “ Fantasy World-Building Questions ” to make sure you’re thinking through  every part of your world.

2.  To help with the research load later on, keep a running log of tidbits you run onto in your non-fantasy reading. For example, as an avid reader of history, I will often come across an anecdote or fact about historical life that I might be able to use later on to make my fantasy world feel more realistic and dimensional.

For Example:  No modern writer is more well-known for his incredible worldbuilding than fantasy maestro Brandon Sanderson. The Climax of his Mistborn series couldn’t have happened at all without the existence of the world’s particular type of metal-based magic—making the overall effect feel seamless and integral.

writing fantasy movies

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (affiliate link)

Story Structure in Fantasy: Watch Your Timing and Keep Tabs on What Happens Between Beats

One of the main questions I received about genre in general was: How does genre affect story structure? The short answer is it doesn’t. Classic story structure offers nothing more than the general shape of a story arc; the timing and the essence of the basic plot points can be applied to any genre. However, each genre then tightens itself up with even more specific beats.

writing fantasy movies

New book coming in March!

In fantasy, perhaps more than any other type of story, those beats are often most aligned to that of the classic Hero’s Journey—or other archetypal journeys (such as the Maiden, Queen, King, Crone, and Mage.) I’ve talked about these beats extensively in my series on archetypal character arcs and in my upcoming book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs (coming in March!). These beats are not exclusive to the fantasy genre, but they are played out most  literally in fantasy, since this genre often purposefully brings the symbolism of these archetypes to life on the page (e.g., a Dragon antagonist might be a literal dragon in a fantasy story).

One other major concept to be aware of when it comes to story structure in fantasy is the timing of the beats . Because fantasy stories are notoriously long, the timing of the story’s major structural turning points (which ideally divide the story into eight equal parts) doesn’t have to be as precise as in shorter stories. However, the potential pitfall here is that the extreme length between structural turning points, resulting from the long word count, can become tedious for readers.

Structuring Your Novel IPPY Award 165

Structuring Your Novel (Amazon affiliate link)

The rule here is simple:  Just make sure the plot is actually moving (i.e., the story is changing) in each scene and chapter.

Far too many fantasies fill their word counts with characters moving about and perhaps even fighting, but  nothing happens because nothing changes . A good way to trim your word count and/or tighten up structural timing is to examine each scene for whether or not it is progressing either the plot or the character’s arc in a meaningful way.

For Example:  Several well-known fantasy stories come to mind as negative examples of stories that strained readers’ patience (or at least mine) with their uneven structural timing and lack of plot-moving events. I won’t list them all, since I don’t generally like calling out negative examples, but I did offer an extensive structural breakdown of one (ironically the sequel to one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels) here . You can find structural breakdowns of Fantasy Books and Fantasy Movies in the Story Structure Database .

writing fantasy movies

Learn how to write fantasy stories by studying popular books and movies in the genre.

Characters in Fantasy: Choose Your Protagonist and Your Antagonist Carefully

Protagonists in fantasy are traditionally heroic, but can run the gamut as in any genre. Depending on the story’s stakes, the antagonist is usually a big bad, wielding a tremendous amount of tyrannical or even apocalyptic power. Characters are often purposefully archetypal in some way, but their humanity should never be taken for granted.

When I’m searching for a new fantasy to read, one of the first things I check is how dimensional the characters seem. Because fantasy  is a genre that’s all about setting, some writers get sucked into the shiny glitziness of their world but end up with cardboard stock characters. As a reader, I am always turned off by this. I want to see characters of deep humanity moving through this exciting new world.

Less obvious but sneakily just as important is the antagonist. Antagonists can make or break the logic of a story’s plot. If the antagonist’s motive fails to make sense or support the scope of the stakes, the story will stutter, sometimes fatally. Choose your antagonist with care. You can start by examining what archetypal antagonist fits your protagonist’s arc. From there, make sure your antagonist’s motivation makes sense at every step of the plot. If the antagonist isn’t personally present with the protagonist for much of the conflict, you’ll want to make sure “antagonistic proxies” show up in a way that supports and does not diverge from the main conflict with the main antagonist.

For Example:  One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels, Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song , earns that status mostly on the back of its incredibly well-realized protagonist. The book is somewhat unusual in the genre for focusing solely on its protagonist’s POV, but thanks to the depth of the character, it works stunningly.

blood song anthony ryan

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan (affiliate link)

Theme in Fantasy: Symbolism Is of Extra Importance

These days, fantasy has become so mainstream we accept its tropes as part of our own reality . However, the roots of fantasy are deeply symbolic. Seminal fantasy stories such as  The Lord of the Rings drew directly from mythology and history to create fables that  symbolized humanity’s actual structures. Other stories, such as  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , took this principle even further as deliberate allegories.

writing fantasy movies

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (affiliate links)

One of the most magnificent features of fantasy is its ability to access this potent symbolism—I call it a “hotline to the subconscious.” Not every fantasy story will necessarily dial up this hotline on purpose, but because the genre itself exists as a sort of “metaphor” for real life, it’s capacity for symbolism is almost unavoidable. If you can wield this power consciously, you can significantly up your story’s potential.

writing fantasy movies

Writing Your Story’s Theme (Amazon affiliate link)

At its simplest, what this entails is simply choosing  every piece of your story with intention: its setting, its historical influences, its magic system, its protagonist/antagonist/supporting cast and their respective character arcs , its imagery, etc. In short,  everything . Make sure they are all part of a seamless whole.

For Example: The magic system you create should directly interact with the protagonist’s personal arc, as in the Harry Potter stories, in which the love and friendship Harry cultivates throughout the series becomes crucial to the magic needed to defeat the antagonist in the end.

writing fantasy movies

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010), Warner Bros.

You can then take it all up a notch by purposefully choosing the metaphor you wish to convey through your story and crafting everything in the story to support that symbolism.

For Example: If the thematic premise you wish to explore is that of humans’ self-destructive relationship to nature, you might create a story such Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke , in which every element is chosen for its deeper symbolism in relation to this premise.

writing fantasy movies

Princess Mononoke (1997), Studio Ghibli.

What started as an often reviled genre “just for geeks” has become one of the most popular genres of our time. It combines its endless potential for imagination and innovation with deep roots in archetype and myth, creating the possibility for both exciting adventure and profound resonance. I hope these quick tips prove helpful as you spin fantasies of your own!

Stay Tuned: Next week, we’ll talk about how to write romance !

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Do you write (or perhaps just enjoy reading) fantasy? Do you have any further thoughts on how to write fantasy? Tell me in the comments!

Click the “Play” button to Listen to Audio Version (or subscribe to the Helping Writers Become Authors podcast in Apple Podcast or Amazon Music ).

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K.M. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally-published author of the acclaimed writing guides Outlining Your Novel , Structuring Your Novel , and Creating Character Arcs . A native of western Nebraska, she writes historical and fantasy novels and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

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I have a question about my recently-finished novel… it has medieval vibes, but it’s a fictional country, so it wouldn’t be considered historical fiction. But since there aren’t any mythical creatures or magic in it, I’m not sure that it could be called fantasy, either. Is there a way to figure that out?

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Check out historical fantasy under the fantasy sub-genres.

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I would call it a low-magic fantasy. Fantasy doesn’t inherently mean that there’s magical elements, just that it’s in a world other than our own.

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Definitely still fantasy. If it doesn’t happen in reality, it’s speculative fiction of some sort and if it has a historical vibe (versus a futuristic vibe), it’s more likely to be fantasy than sci fi. As Todd mentioned, historical fantasy might be a good fit–although many of those stories happen within our actual history but with fantasy elements inserted (such as His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novak).

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Check if it’s a Ruritanian Romance, such as “The Princess Bride”. Those are adventure stories that take place in fictional countries in our world. In TPB: Humperdink is prince of “Florin” which is at war with “Gildur,” and they know about Spaniards, Australians, Sicilians, and have rules that you should “never get involved in a land war in Asia.”

Readers generally expect magic in a fantasy at the very least. Note that A Song of Ice and Fire is considered “low fantasy,” but you still have dragons and walkers and magic.

I wonder if you might not call it a folktale, which don’t require magic specifically. One of the early covers of TPB had a tagline that said it was “a hot fairy tale.”

“Adventures in Made-Up-Landia “? might be a series marker or such.

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Is it historically accurate?

I write gene hybrids such as science fantasy, which differ from sub-genres. I enjoy writing about worlds in which science and fantasy work, or advanced science seems like magic, or extreme paranormal abilities appear magical. But the most fun is blending them all.

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I identify with your ideas, Todd, as I, too, write science/fantasy hybrids. The challenges are unique in making that work, especially if one’s medieval style world has to deal with invaders from the stars, lol!

Yes, the best thing about speculative fiction is that the possibilities are limitless!

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Good morning! So grateful for this series. Just attended a workshop that was supposed to be about writing mysteries but turned out to be Writing 101 (character development and plotting – nothing specific to mystery writing). One good thing – the presenter mentioned your website as a good place to learn about character arcs!

Mystery is probably my weakest genre of the five mentioned, but hopefully I can still bring something helpful to the post.

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I’m writing a fantasy poem. Wondering what special guidelines may apply to that.

I’m not a poet myself, so I’m afraid I’m not able to offer my info on that.

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Carol, Something you can do to make your poetry different (thus special) is the alliterative poem. JRR Tolkien wrote some of those, and they were part of mediaeval literature. Stress every second or third syllable in a line (it does not need to be consistent) and begin at least the first three stressed syllables with the *same* consonant sound within a given line.

Mind you, poets back then were happy to come close. So you could also just have an assonant poem, not a rhyming poem (Shakespeare wrote several of those).

Here are a few lines from King Sheave (J.R.R. Tolkein) to provide an example of alliterative verse.

“The ship came shining to the shore driven and strode upon the strand, till its stem rested on sand and shingle. The sun went down. The clouds overcame the cold heavens. In fear and wonder to the fallow water …”

I do suggest you read some of Tolkien’s poetry for inspiration (unless your Norse is good enough to read the Eddas — mine is not!!). I particularly like “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” but not everybody realizes that the H is pronounced like the CH in loch or German ach. 🙂

Disclaimer — I do not consider myself a poet (only two poems published), so *do* take anything I say with some salt.

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Remember flagon rhymes with dragon, and chalice with palace and you’re well on your way! 😉 Sorry, my inner Danny Kay got the better of me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zIWcCvQNqQ

Thank you for an overview of the fantasy genre that touches on the most salient points. I personally admire Brian Sanderson’s Stormlight Chronicles for its fabulous and original world building. In my own fantasy saga, I concentrate on my protagonist’s transformation into an archetypal hero, as he discovers he is the son of a God of Death. I like to explore the humanity (or lack thereof) of my characters and development is key. The challenge is enormous, however. I am grateful for your writing tips in your newsletter, K. M. Weiland.

Sounds fascinating!

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First, this is a fantastic summary of a genre I deeply love. It was helpful to get this fly-over look at the genre while I’m in a season of desconstructing and reevalutating how to approach the stories I want to tell.

Second, is it March yet? I’ve been WAITING for this book!!!

Glad it was useful! And, yes, almost March! 😀 I haven’t set a for-sure release date yet for Writing Archetypal Character Arcs , but I’m looking at March 8th. Stay tuned for a big giveaway too!

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My birthday is on March 2nd, so you should probably release right around then. 😉

A late birthday gift then. 😉

Sounds good to me! 😉

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I’m thrilled to see this topic. I’m editing my first book for publication and will use this to tighten elements. I love to read fantasy and sci-fi and have for many (30+) years.I cut my teeth on Issac Asimov, Stephen R. Donaldson, Tad Williams, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Like others have mentioned, I also write a sci-fi fantasy combination but with a heavy lean toward fantasy. A long ago fantasy author I have been enjoying lately is Anne McCaffrey. She has several series I enjoy. Again, thank you for this. You always have great information and suggestions.

Yes, there is such a rich legacy in this genre!

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I’m struggling with the new gender neutral fad. I am apposed to it since God made them male and female. The terms for male and female have been in existence since the world was formed. I don’t intend to change to this new fad in any of my novels. What are your thoughts?

You can do whatever you want with your own characters in your own book.

We must obey God. Acts 5:29 God bless you

Great to see the announcement for your “upcoming book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs (coming in March!)”. Yes, I did read all of the posts covering the material therein, but sometimes it is much better to have it in one easily found place (I’ll be ordering it in paperback).

As a (usually) fantasy writer, I very much appreciated this week’s post. The more I can improve, the better. Having your words percolate through my subconscious will help me be a better author. I regularly try to help verbal presenters, but the same advice applies to both verbal and written: the best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice until what you have been taught becomes second nature. Restudying, rehearing, and relearning that which you were instructed ia a big part of that.

Thank you for making that easier. .

Thanks! I’m so happy to finally be releasing this book. It has been such a passion project for me.

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As a fan of Lord of the Rings, and the Chronicles of Narnia, I do have a slight interest in fantasy. I can see that a gifted writer would have the ability to pull in some of us who aren’t willing to step through that fantasy door one hundred percent. I also love the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. I think it would be an interesting challenge to see how many of us would wonder into your fantasy world.

These days, fantasy is a highly specialized genre that isn’t always accessible to readers who aren’t acclimatized to the genre. However, I do tend to think some of the best examples of fantasy remain those that are so archetypal they can reach even those who might not otherwise be interested in the tropes.

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Thank you for doing this Katie. It’s as if you were reading my mind. There’s a lot of writing advice out there that is more directly applicable to thrillers and romance books. I write fantasy and had to chuckle when you talked about writing historical fiction. I definitely considered historical fiction. I don’t know that I’d say fantasy requires as much research as historical fiction (mess up the number of buttons on French Marshal’s vest and people are going to through the flag on you), but there is no comparison in terms of the amount of world building that’s required. I have a follow up question. I agree that you do not necessarily need a prolog in fantasy. But, I’m starting book two in what’s planned to be a two book series. I’m wondering if a synopsis of the previous story would be a good idea as this story starts about a month (which is 20 days in Tlalluum) after the first story. I feel like I’ve seen this before, but not often. What do you think?

Personally, I like it when fantasy books in a series offer a “What Came Before.” Sometimes a reader can be years between the readings, and it’s easy to forget the intricacies of what happened in the previous book.

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I suppose part of me thinks that any fiction is fantasy in a way because we make up the characters – but I get your point about genres. I have written what I consider a full-on fantasy for Y/A which has been put in moth balls for a while. I would appreciate some advice on my current WIP which is set in a real place, but has a couple of women with ‘special’ talents i.e one is considered a wise woman (witch) and the other two have special abilities. Would this be considered fantasy? And what are the pitfalls of using a ‘real’ setting i.e. a particular named place. As with others commenting here I can never thank you enough for all the advice you offer so generously.

I agree with you! I’ve often that historical fiction is particularly fantastical in its own way.

Sounds like perhaps this would fit in the paranormal genre. I would class this as living under the wider umbrella of fantasy, but there are *so many* subgenres, it can be tricky to find the exact fit. For instance, I didn’t even know I was writing “gaslamp fantasy” (or that such a thing technically existed) until I’d finished writing my book Wayfarer and was researching keywords for its publication.

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I couldn’t help but give a little chuckle at the many fantasy stories serve as negative examples where the plot does not move along and it’s filled with the characters just moving about their day. The sad part is that some of the biggest fantasy and paranormal fantasy bestsellers out there fit into this trope. And I still don’t understand it where people want to read just about the characters interacting with one another but little conflict or plot progress aside from sexual tension and introducing readers to the characters and what they eat every day and where they wander around in the castle etc.

Yes, I’ve stopped reading several fantasy authors who were once my favorites, just because their books keep exemplifying more and more of the negatives of the genre.

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Hi KM! Thanks for some tips specifically focused on the fantasy genre! I’m planning to read some fantasy books from my library, and to pay special attention to characterization and how magic is integrated into theme. I have the opposite problem of the long epic saga with indeterminate plot beats. The seed of my inspiration tends to come form shorter forms such as fables, fairy tales, the short stories of writers like Kafka and Borges, and my own dreams and nightmares. Would you have any advice around filling out fantasy writing that comes from these types of inspirations?

As a matter of fact, one of the epiphanies I had that finally helped me get back into writing after a four-year bout of writer’s block was realizing that I wanted to tell a new idea in more of a fairy tale style than the customary epic fantasy style. I just splurged on a lovely volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and another of Celtic Folk Tales for “research” purposes. 😉

For me, the main difference is keeping the causality of the magic (or whatever fantasy element) much simpler. In a fairy tale, no one knows where the witch or the fairy or the devil gets their power–they just have it–which lets the story get on with the development of the magic’s impact on the characters.

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Couple of notes: If I use a prologue my intention is to hook readers. My cyberpunk manuscript has a 132-word prologue, written in present tense, in which one of the POV characters is determined to find out who murdered her uncle and see justice done. Years ago a friend of mine came up with the idea of a novel titled “Sequel” with a prologue that simply stated, “Once upon a time they lived happily ever after.” Every so often I wonder what form that novel would take. Maybe someday….

Another thing that struck me is the mention of how long fantasy novels tend to be these days. Someone loaned me a book from a series by Robin Hobbs. A six-hundred page book. Story structure would put the ‘call to adventure’ at around page 100. Which it did. But those hundred pages were a drag to wade through. I stopped reading on page 101 and returned the book.

Anyway, great article. I shall now sally forth to “How the Antagonist Functions in Different Types of Character Arcs.”

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I’m so glad you said that about prologues – I always find you just start to get into the story and like the character when the prologue ends and chapter one then begins with a whole new character and often a new time period and frankly a rather different world and you’re left thinking, but what about ‘so and so’ (the prologue character), what happened to them?

The one prologue I have in the five manuscripts I’ve worked on over the past several years is 132 words long. Chapter 1 starts off with a different POV character (the protagonist), but the POV character in the Prolog meets up with and hires the protagonist to solve the murder. Basically, the Prolog is the Hook. Roger Zelazny’s “Amber” Series ended up with 20+ pages of prolog just to fill in the back story from the previous books. Needless to say, I stopped buying those books.

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I love this post ! It’s sometimes challenging the specific genre beats and other tips. I’d really love to see one on Sci-fi, specifically apocalyptic fiction! (pretty please, and thank you).

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What Is Fantasy Writing In Film & Literature? A Realm Of Imagination

writing fantasy movies

In the realm of literature, fantasy whisks us away to worlds where dragons soar and magic reigns supreme.

It’s a genre where the impossible becomes possible, and the limits of reality are stretched beyond our wildest dreams.

What Is Fantasy In Writing

In the realm of storytelling, fantasy stands out as a genre where imagination reigns supreme .

It’s a literary canvas where the constraints of the real world are cast aside, inviting writers to conjure epic narratives and otherworldly settings .

Fantasy writing teases out the extraordinary from the minds of its creators, morphing into a rich tapestry of myths, legends, and folklore .

Within its pages, you’ll often encounter heroes embarking on quests, the birth of sorcerers, and the construction of elaborate worlds that defy the mundane.

The characters that dwell in these realms range from enigmatic wizards to dauntless knights , each playing a role in the overarching narrative of good versus evil .

Fantastical elements like magic are not just ornaments but also central to the plot’s progression, challenging characters in their personal growth and in the conflicts they face.

Key offerings of the fantasy genre are –

  • Exploration of intricate worlds,
  • A showcase for moral and ethical quandaries,
  • The bending of traditional narrative structures.

Movies like The Lord of the Rings exemplify how fantasy leaps from the page to the screen, creating iconic visual experiences.

In filmmaking, our goal is to take the written word and translate it into a dynamic portrayal that enchants the audience’s senses, further cementing fantasy’s illustrious place in the arts.

Tailoring fantasy for film presents unique challenges but also boundless opportunities for innovation.

The task demands visual effects mastery and a commitment to world-building that matches the depth of the written medium.

We immerse ourselves in crafting scenes that will resonate with viewers, tapping into collective myths and universal archetypes .

This ensures that the fantasy worlds we bring to life are not only spectacular but also deeply rooted in the human experience, allowing for a transcendent form of storytelling that only this genre can provide.

Characteristics Of Fantasy Literature

Fantasy literature thrives on the exploration of the impossible, concocting a potion of mythical creatures, magical powers, and epic quests.

It’s a realm where the boundaries of reality are not just stretched but often wholly disregarded.

We revel in the freedom fantasy offers, crafting tales that transport readers to lands bound only by the limits of imagination.

While there aren’t stringent rules dictating what fantasy must entail, certain elements surface with remarkable consistency:

  • Complex World-Building – The attention to detail in creating the setting often includes intricate maps, social systems, and histories.
  • Mythical Beings – Dragons, fairies, and other fantastical creatures are staple inhabitants.
  • Magic and Sorcery – Spells, curses, and enchanted artifacts play crucial roles in the narrative fabric.
  • Heroic Journeys – Characters commonly undergo transformative quests that challenge their abilities and beliefs.

Adaptations of fantasy novels to the silver screen, such as the Lord of the Rings series, showcase the richness of these worlds in a visual form.

Filmmaking can enhance the allure of fantasy through stirring soundtracks and groundbreaking special effects .

Yet, faithfully translating the depth of a fantasy novel’s world into film presents its own set of hurdles, from casting to set design.

The characters we meet in fantasy stories often defy the ordinary, embodying traits of courage, wisdom, or even darkness that resonate with us on a profound level.

They navigate landscapes lush with allegory and symbolism, confronting forces that mirror our own world’s struggles.

It’s in these reflections where fantasy literature strikes a chord, fusing the extraordinary with the universal truths of the human condition.

Our connection with fantasy literature lies in its enduring power to stir the imagination and challenge our perceptions.

As purveyors of fantasy in both written and visual narratives, we understand how this genre continues to enchant and captivate.

Whether unraveling a novel’s ancient curses or bringing a dragon’s flight to life, the intricate dance of creation in fantasy knows no bounds.

The Origins Of Fantasy

To truly grasp what fantasy in writing entails, we must journey through its origins.

It’s an evolution steeped in ancient myths and folklore, with roots that intertwine deeply with humanity’s earliest artistic expressions.

Fantasy literature as we recognize it began to take shape in the 19th century.

Literary works such as George MacDonald’s Phantastes and William Morris’s The Wood Beyond the World paved the way for the genre’s expansion.

The 20th century witnessed a surge in fantasy’s popularity, spearheaded by influential titles like J.

Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings .

These seminal works established many of the conventions still prevalent in fantasy writing today.

Key elements from our earliest myths found new life in these stories – – Magical worlds beyond our own

  • Epic battles between good and evil,
  • Quests that test the hero’s mettle.

Meanwhile, writers such as C.

Lewis and Ursula K.

Le Guin expanded the genre’s horizons.

Their contributions introduced readers to the possibility of parallel universes and intricate systems of magic.

The cinematic adaptations of these literary worlds have brought fantasy to a broader audience.

Films such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter translations exemplify how the visceral impact of filmmaking furthers the allure of these narratives.

As filmmakers, we’re aware that adapting fantasy requires careful balance.

The visual elements must complement the narrative without overshadowing the intricate details that make the source material captivating.

Through innovations in special effects and storytelling, the film industry continues to push the boundaries of how fantasy is represented on screen.

This evolution maintains the genre’s freshness and relevance, ensuring that audiences remain enchanted with every new release.

Subgenres Of Fantasy

Fantasy literature brims with a myriad of subgenres, each offering a unique twist on the fantastic.

High Fantasy , perhaps the most recognized, catapults readers into entirely new worlds, complete with original mythologies and languages.

Examples include J.

Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series.

Moving from epic landscapes to the familiar, Urban Fantasy melds the magical with modern city life.

This subgenre often features contemporary settings intertwined with supernatural elements.

Works like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and the television series The Dresden Files bring sorcery to the streets.

Then there’s Historical Fantasy , weaving magic through the threads of time.

Stories set in historical periods but infused with fantastical elements fall into this captivating blend.

Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell offers a magical revision of the Napoleonic Wars.

We see a marriage of technology and fantasy in Steampunk , characterized by Victorian-era settings and steam-powered machinery.

This subgenre bends historical accuracy, often incorporating advanced technologies as a form of alternate history .

Examples include The Golden Compass and the film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes .

Here’s a snapshot of some other subgenres in fantasy:

  • Dark Fantasy – Features elements of horror and grim, dark tones.
  • Sword and Sorcery – Focuses on swashbuckling heroes and intense action.
  • Magical Realism – Blends magical elements into a realistic atmosphere, as seen in works like Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude .
  • Young Adult Fantasy – Aimed at younger readers but enjoyed by all ages, examples include Harry Potter and The Hunger Games .

Each subgenre offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to explore different aspects of fantasy.

Film adaptations must capture the essence of the written work while translating it into a visual feast that honors the source material’s heart.

With advancements in CGI and storytelling techniques, bringing these subgenres to life has never been more exciting or attainable.

The Appeal Of Fantasy Literature

Fantasy literature whisks readers away to realms of limitless imagination, inspiring us with visions of what could be.

It ignites creativity, allowing us to explore magnificent worlds that defy the mundane constancies of everyday life.

Characters within fantasy narratives often confront challenges that mirror our own personal battles.

They offer us the gift of perspective, teaching life lessons wrapped in the guise of dragons and epic quests.

The diversity found in fantasy literature invites a wide audience.

From young adults seeking escapism to seasoned readers searching for depth and complexity, fantasy satisfies an array of literary appetites.

Escape isn’t the sole allure of fantasy; the genre encourages introspection.

By presenting altered versions of reality, fantasy literature prompts us to rethink our understanding of morality, existence, and the human condition.

We see this genre’s power not just in literature, but also when it leaps from the pages onto the silver screen.

Fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series have transcended their medium, creating cultural phenomena.

Behind every beloved fantasy tale lies an irresistible blend of elements:

  • Engaging storytelling that grips us from start to finish,
  • Rich world-building that fosters immersion,
  • Complex characters that drive the narrative forward.

Technological advancements have only heightened the genre’s impact in film.

Cutting-edge CGI breathes life into the fantastical, delivering unprecedented levels of realism that enchant and captivate audiences worldwide.

Our connection to fantasy lies deep within our nature to dream and imagine.

It satisfies our craving for the extraordinary, providing a sanctuary where anything is possible and where our curiosity can roam free.

Exploring Fantasy Writing: A Realm Of Imagination – Wrap Up

We’ve journeyed through the essence of fantasy in writing and its profound ability to captivate our imagination.

It’s clear that the genre’s allure lies in its power to offer escape while simultaneously reflecting our deepest struggles and triumphs.

Whether through the printed page or the magic of the cinema screen, fantasy continues to enchant us, inviting us into worlds where the impossible becomes our reality.

As we close the book on this topic, let’s carry with us the sense of wonder that fantasy bestows, ready to explore the next adventure that awaits within the realms of the fantastic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the appeal of fantasy literature.

Fantasy literature captivates readers with its exploration of imaginative realms, allowing escape from everyday life and offering fresh perspectives on personal challenges through metaphorical battles and quests.

How Does Fantasy Literature Attract A Wide Audience?

The genre’s diversity in themes and complexity appeals to various groups, from young adults seeking escapism to experienced readers looking for depth, making it accessible and engaging for people with different interests.

In What Ways Can Fantasy Narratives Teach Us Life Lessons?

Fantasy narratives often mirror personal battles and moral dilemmas, using symbolic elements like dragons and epic quests to impart life lessons and encourage introspection about the human condition.

How Has Fantasy Literature Impacted Culture?

Fantasy literature has drastically influenced culture, evidenced by the massive success of film adaptations like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series, which have both shaped popular culture and broadened the genre’s audience.

How Have Technological Advancements Affected Fantasy Literature’s Influence?

Advances in CGI technology have significantly enhanced the depiction of fantasy worlds on the silver screen, heightening the genre’s sensory impact and drawing in a larger audience through visually spectacular film adaptations.

What Is Gothic Fiction In Film & Literature? Definition, Origins, And Traits

What Are Non-Professional Actors? Definition, Perks & Challenges

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How to Write Magic That Works for Your Story

This is how fantasy allows us to talk about how we feel about our reality through the power of magical symbolism..

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Fantasy is a genre that allows us to escape our dull reality. It's a genre that spans period pieces to the modern world, allowing us to explore what once was and what could exist just beyond the veil of reality. It’s exciting to watch fantasy worlds play out on screen, but writing fantasy is a whole other beast to conquer. 

One element is consistent in every fantasy film and TV show—the use of magic. 

The role of magic in fantasy is often not discussed, yet it is what brings the stories' themes to the surface in a way that many contemporary stories cannot do. That is the edge that fantasy has over every other genre. 

So what makes magic so special? The Closer Look examines some of the most popular fantasy films and discovers how you can write magic to effectively teach the characters and audience a lesson through a universal, archetypal truth.

Let’s break down what makes magic work in storytelling, and how you can use magic to sharpen your fantasy screenplay. 

The Ideas of Myths and Magic 

You’ve heard the Greek myth about King Midas before. In the myth, King Midas is obsessed with a life of decadence and material wealth. One day, the Greek God Dionysus granted Midas a wish, and Midas asked for the ability to turn anything into gold by simply touching it. While the gift was enjoyable at first, Midas soon learned the consequences of his greed when he tried to eat a grape, but couldn’t because the food had turned into gold. 

Crying in despair, his daughter came to comfort him. When Midas held her, she turned to gold. The myth ends in one of two ways: Midas either died from starvation or he voices true repentance for his wish, persuading Dionysus to retract the wish. 

In this story and most myths, magic is more than a plot device. Instead, it takes a symbolic meaning, representing the faults of the character’s nature. In the myth of King Midas, he must take accountability for his greed or choose to face the negative consequences of his actions. 

This is essentially the premise for Spider-Man: No Way Home . Upset that everyone knows his identity, Peter (Tom Holland) goes to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with the request for a spell that makes everyone forget he is Spider-Man. As the spell is underway, Peter starts to cherry-pick and choose the terms of his wish, avoiding the negative consequences of the problem rather than taking accountability for it. 

In the end, Peter’s failure to take responsibility and accountability forces him to make an even greater sacrifice. 

Can you imagine an ending where everything gets resolved and Peter gets exactly what he wants without issue? No, because it wouldn’t satisfy this unconscious truth of accountability. Something fundamentally human in our subconscious understands that accountability is a challenging thing to accept, but avoiding it has far greater consequences. 

This ending is only achievable because of Dr. Strange’s ability to erase everyone’s memory across the universe. Without the magic, Peter’s character arc and the final moment of the story wouldn’t have had such an emotionally impactful and cathartic effect on the audience. 

Magic allows for these universal truths we all understand to rise to the surface, manifesting into a physical action that holds symbolic meaning. 

The Symbolic Embodiment of These Universal Truths

Stories do need exciting plots and entertaining characters. But the story can be elevated by the truths explored that end up saying something insightful to the audience. 

Deep down, we want stories that have a deep meaning, revealing something fundamentally truthful about the human experience. Myths do this by speaking to a human desire and exploring the consequences of actions.

One of the best fantasy films to examine is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . In the final fight sequence, Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe ) is the only one brave enough to face off with the basilisk, while everyone else is too fearful of being petrified by the large snake. Once Harry faces off with the basilisk, Fawkes, the phoenix, uses its claws to gouge out the eyes of the snake and save Harry from being petrified. 

This scene uses magic to convey the truth of our response to fear. The basilisk is a symbolic embodiment of fear itself, and the character's response to the basilisk is either to run away, be petrified, or fight. 

Harry deciding to be brave has consequences, just as the characters who do nothing face the consequences of the monster. While the phoenix’s appearance feels like plot convenience, it does take away the power of the monster and leaves the audience satisfied that Harry is being rewarded for his bravery.

There is another truth in this sequence as well. Harry defeats the basilisk but is poisoned by the tooth of the creature. The phoenix, a symbol of rebirth, then heals Harry’s wound. This moment captures the truth that when people directly confront their fears head-on, they can get hurt. But the hurt is temporary and will allow the character to experience a metaphorical rebirth from the ashes of their former self.  

It seems simple, right? But writing something that speaks to a universal known truth that is ingrained into our collective unconscious is difficult—that is, if you are not writing a fantasy story. 

Magic can exaggerate the truth, bringing abstract ideas like fear, hate, obsession, and power into a physical being. Fantasy allows you to write a story that detaches from reality enough to mold these truths to a perfect symbolic representation and provide commentary on those ideas.

Your symbol could be a powerful Ring, a giant snake, an enchanted sword, or a throne made of iron. Whatever your symbol is, it will reveal something about the character that interacts with it, providing laser-focused, insightful commentary on the ideas surrounding the fantastical object as well as perspective. 

Magic can do so much more for your story. The trick is to not think too hard about writing an all-encompassing symbol and forcing the world to revolve around it. The story will come naturally to you once you’ve found your symbol. Moments that might seem like plot conveniences will pay off in the end, satisfying your audience. 

Don’t be afraid to use magic to transform your world. Make the magic mean something more than its physical function in the story’s world. Your story will have a lot more to say about our collective truths without you having to try. 

What are some of your favorite magical symbols in film and TV? Let us know why in the comments below!

Source: The Closer Look

Shoot Solo With Zacuto's On-Camera MicroBoom Pole

If you’re looking to shoot run-and-gun this on-camera boom pole from zacuto could be a great option for your interview setups..

Back in my day, the run-and-gun solo shooter was called a “shreditor.” We were routinely asked to head out into the wild to shoot our projects, produce them ourselves, then edit everything together at home.

Nowadays that’s just called "shooting a video," I guess (way less cool). For a bit in the production space it was a relatively new phenomenon that people could actually do that level of production and management themselves.

Still, whether you love or hate solo crew shooting, when the need does come up it absolutely helps to have tools like on-camera microphones and other stand-in devices that can help simulate the perks of having extra hands.

This is why we’re excited to see Zacuto launch their new MicroBOOM on-camera audio boom pole that should be extremely helpful for these exact situations. Let’s check this MicroBOOM out and see how it might be able to be your audio buddy stand-in on your solo shoots.

Introducing the Zacuto MicroBOOM

Launching as a pre-order audio boom pole, the Zacuto MicroBoom is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s an audio boom pole that can attach to the top of your camera or rig and provide extended boom support for your microphone so that you can better record your interview subjects or scenes—most specifically when you’re shooting solo.

The Zacuto MicroBoom is lightweight (5 ounces) and features a telescoping carbon fiber design that allows it to extend from 14 to 35 inches to help you capture audio close to your subject while keeping the mic securely out of frame.

The MicroBoom unit comes with an internal cable that comes out of the bottom portion of the bole as a coiled cable and includes a 3.5 mm connector that you can attach to your camera. The unit also includes a cold shoe and NATO rail that should provide the best camera mounting options.

Lightweight and Easy-to-Use

While the concept of an attachable boom pole isn’t anything completely new, this version of an on-camera attachable MicroBoom pole does stand out for its lightweight and ease of use. Instead of setting up a C-stand and boom pole mount and hoping everything stays in place from afar, having a steady device from a familiar brand like Zacuto should be a welcomed option for many solo video pros.

Still, this MicroBoom might be best suited for those working on web content-focused projects as it pairs best with your standard mirrorless cameras or smartphones. If you’re shooting with higher-end mirrorless or cinema cameras you’re probably going to want an actual audio technician on set too.

But since the MicroBoom can connect directly to your camera or smartphone, it’s a great tool to have if you’re looking to solo record talking head interviews and you’d like to keep everything right in front of you as you stand behind the camera—and also, of course, conduct the interview yourself.

Price and Availability

If you’re interested in the Zacuto MicroBoom at all, you’re in luck because it’s not a hugely expensive piece of equipment to invest in and utilize from time to time. If I were still shooting a ton of run-and-gun solo content I’d certainly be interested in keeping a pole like this in my bag (or trunk of my car) to use when the need might arise.

The Zacuto MicroBoom is expected to start shipping here in March and you can check out the full specs and purchase options below.

  • Lightweight On-Camera Boompole
  • Adjusts from 14 to 35 inches
  • Internal cable Included
  • Cold Shoe and NATO rail mounting
  • Rotatable mounting extension
  • Weighs only five ounces
  • Telescoping carbon fiber design

Zacuto MICRO Boompole

Get close to your subject to capture clear sound at optimal levels with this MICRO Boompole from Zacuto . The lightweight, on-camera boompole weighs only 5 oz and has a telescoping carbon fiber design that allows it to extend from 14 to 35 inches to get you capturing audio close to your subject while keeping the mic out of frame.

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How to Write a Fantasy Novel: Tips From Professional Fantasy Editors

Has there ever been a better time to be writing fantasy? Where once it was a fringe genre, now fantasy is everywhere in pop culture, from Harry Potter to the memes surrounding Jon Snow.

There’s also never been a more exciting time to write fantasy. The genre is changing daily, as authors such as Neil Gaiman , Susanna Clarke, and Patrick Rothfuss continue to interpret, subvert, and stretch it to attain new pinnacles . What’s more, the public can't seem to get enough of it, proving that there is a market for fantasy — and it’s a big one.

So, if you’re an author, where can you find a place for yourself in today’s talent-rich terrain?

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How to Write Fantasy Fiction

Learn to combine worldbuilding, plot, and character to create literary magic.

In our search for the finest writing tips in the realm , we spoke to seven of the top fantasy editors on our marketplace. They’ve worked with George R.R. Martin, James Dashner, Brandon Sanderson, and many more of the brilliant authors who are re-defining the genre. Here’s what they said.

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1. Start by researching the fantasy fiction market

If you don’t know your market, you’ve already made a mistake, says Erin Young , an agent for Dystel Goderich & Bourret, which represents authors such as James Dashner of Maze Runner fame.

“Oh, my market is fantasy,” you might say, waving your monthly subscription of Imagination And Me . But is your story steampunk , urban , or grimdark fantasy ? Is it for children or  young adults ? Are there elves or tech? Is it set in the modern world, or is it a re-imagining of an alternate past? Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell , for instance, doesn’t target Discworld ’s readers, and no-one would instinctively group Harry Potter and Stephen King's The Dark Tower in the same category.

Writing Fantasy Astra

Indeed, “fantasy” is such a broad genre that you’ll need to dig deeper to find your niche — but it’s important as your subgenre not only informs your characters and setting, it also allows you to identify your competition and audience. As Young says: “If your characters are younger, you should be writing YA or MG, not adult.”

To get a better picture of the various subgenres within fantasy, check out this guide  as well as this post on the evolution of fantasy since the 1900s.

2. Learn from the greatest fantasy novels

You should read good books, says Chersti Nieveen , a proofreader of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn , with an emphasis on  good . Your writing’s only going to be as great as what you’re feeding it. So read.

Castle Ruins, art by Jeff Brown

“You’re absorbing ideas. You're absorbing grammar. You're absorbing sentence structure and rhythm and prose,” she says. “Read books with description or dialogue you admire. Read the books that are classics—they are classics for a reason—and read the books that are bestsellers and read the books that are award winners. Read and read and read, and you'll start to see your own writing improve.”

To take specific action, Nieveen suggests picking the 10 books that you most admire. Then, it's just a matter of re-reading them and noting strengths in their plot, dialogue, characters, and scene structure. Learn from the best — and then go forth and tilt the arena again yourself.

3. Define the setting of your novel

Sometimes writers get so caught up in their world that they write block paragraph after block paragraph (after block paragraph) of description. This is a mistake. “Don't tell your reader what your world appears to be,” says Young. “Give them scenery when it relates to the story by getting your characters to interact with their surroundings.”

Writing Fantasy Narwhal

Did we ever get an ultra-wide shot showing the whole of Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy? Absolutely not! That would be boring to the viewers, not to mention meaningless. Young observes: “Instead, cinematographers carefully plan each shot to give you a view of where the actors are. This is exactly the way you should show your world.”

Worldbuilding can be a daunting task. There's a lot to consider, from geography, to ecology, to economy — and that's before you get into any magic systems or fantastical elements! Luckily, we've built a worldbuilding roadmap to help navigate this all: our ultimate worldbuilding template.

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130 questions to help create a world readers want to visit again and again.

4. Develop your fantasy world through short stories

Did you know that JRR Tolkien wrote a gazillion short stories about Middle-Earth before ever starting The Hobbit ?

He needed somewhere to begin. That’s exactly what Jenny Bowman , an editor who worked on Robert Beatty’s Serafina and the Black Cloak , advises: a good way to build your world is to write short stories that feature some of your characters. “Do this with the intention of excluding [these stories] from your book,” she says. “This gives you freedom to create a new universe with no boundaries.”

So if you can’t churn out the full-blown novel inside of you just yet, don’t sweat it. Dip your toe into the water through short stories , instead.

5. Create rules for your universe

To make a world feel real and functional, you also want to make sure that it’s grounded by rules — an internal rationale , so to speak. This should encompass everything from the workings of your society to, yes, your magic system (if your universe possesses magic).

Easier said than done, maybe. How to actually go about it? Nieveen advises you to read up on the basic and fundamental fields. “Become familiar with the basics of economics, politics, philosophy, and more, and you’ll create a believable world of your own,” she says.

Writing Fantasy Kinsea Map

Don’t know where to start with your magic system? Check out Brandon Sanderson's useful theories about magic systems, referred to as  Sanderson's 3 Laws of Magic .

6. Obey your own worldbuilding laws

That said, these rules aren’t ones that are made just to be broken. “I often see first-time fantasy writers breaking their own rules, and it really takes the reader out of the story,” says Bowman.

Let’s say, for example, you’ve made it clear that using magic is supposed to sap energy. Well, then, don’t make your protagonist go rip magic spells left and right in the final battle without tiring at all.

Ultimately, this internal consistency matters much more than realism. To ensure this consistency, Bowman suggests that you always jot everything down. “When do the suns come up?” she asks. “Can only children under the age of 10 fly? When casting a spell, does it transform the object or create an object from nothing? Know the rules of your world (what we call physics!) when you're writing fantasy and don’t break them — unless, of course, it’s on purpose.”

Looking to read more fantasy before you write? Check out these 12 epic fantasy series , hot off the press.

7. Outline your story

Stories in the fantasy genre are often complex and epic — all the more reason to plot it out before. You don’t want to accidentally trip over all 99 of your storylines. And you don’t want to be that writer who gets to the end of the book and realizes they’ve forgotten to tie a knot in one part of the plot. Hello, darkness, my old friend.

That's why Young says to get a general sense of your plot before you start writing . “You’ll know your world so much better if you know your story first,” she says. “Then, once your story is plotted out, you can use the plot structure as a skeleton to show where you want to build your world, scene by scene.”

For more food for plotting thought, you can read up on narrative arcs here.

8. Craft a plot worthy of the world

Writing Fantasy Dwarves

Plot and worldbuilding should see eye-to-eye. “You want to be original, so ask yourself, what sets my world apart?” says Alex Foster , a ghostwriter who’s penned eight bestsellers. Importantly, a rich universe can be a major player in your plot — playing as big of a role as any other character.

“In A Song of Ice and Fire , George R. R. Martin uses the environment as a plot point when describing both summer and winter seasons — as winter brings dark, dead things that can wipe out the entire Realm,” says Foster. “He also adds architecture as a plot point in the form of the Wall, a massive ice edifice separating the North and the South. How fascinating that such a massive piece of plot centers around a single wall. Sounds simple, but you can see its complexity. Stephen King also does an expert job in Under the Dome , when a small town is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a giant, transparent dome.”

9. Perfect your character development 

Good character creation and development in fantasy is no different from fiction, or any other genre. Take a minute to think of your favorite characters of all time. Walter White. Jon Snow. Hermione Granger. Rowan Atkinson in  Love Actually . What do they all share?

“The best characters are complex and original,” says Foster. “They possess very real motives and weaknesses, and they change over time due to events and supporting characters in the story. Take your character and interview them. What do they fear most? What are their ultimate goals, and where are they willing to go to achieve that goal? Do this with all your characters when you're writing fantasy: craft a questionnaire and get your answers from them. Your publisher will thank you.”

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Looking for the definitive character questionnaire? We got you covered. Here are 8 Character Development Exercises That Will Help You Nail Your Character .

10. Use real-world themes in the fantasy genre 

“Your concerns about politics, culture, the environment, technology, violence, racism, misogyny — these issues can be explored in inventive, eye-opening ways while writing fantasy,” says Rebecca Faith Heyman , an editor who worked on Elise Kova’s The Alchemists of Loom . “In this way, we want to return to our own existences with new perspectives, new solutions to old problems, or new awareness of what's at stake.”

Another way to put it: is anything, in particular, frustrating you in real life? You can explore it through your story, because the world’s your own. And, who knows, you might be speaking for other people out there in the world who read your book and share your perspectives.

Writing Fantasy The Hadler Wars

“ Carry On by Rainbow Rowell does this brilliantly,” adds Heyman. “There are undercurrents of identity politics explored there, as well as a depth of characterization that merges meaningfully with the fantastical elements of the text. The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, as well as the brilliant Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom , explore racial prejudice, ableism, identity politics, and more.”

Pro tip: Ever wanted to find out which book genre  you  are? Take our 1-minute quiz below to see!

Which book genre are you?

Find out here! Takes one minute.

11. Be specific about the elements of your writing

“What makes worldbuilding tick? Specific, sensory detail,” says Michelle Hope , who’s previously worked with George R.R. Martin and Blake Crouch. “So my advice for fantasy authors is, simply: you can be as inventive and magical as you want in your work if the writing is detailed enough to seem authentic.”

Ice Fields, art by Jeff Brown

Take pop culture’s current fantasy darling, Game of Thrones . “Crisp air, hooves clattering on ironwood planks, a warm tongue, women’s perfume, summerwine, soft fur. The writing's full of these concrete details,” points out Hope. “So when the author expands the universe to include fantastical elements, we buy it. Dragons? Sure! Face-swapping assassins? Why not? Frozen zombies? Didn’t see that coming, but the author’s sensory style already established the world as believable, so we’re primed to accept anything thrown at us.”

That said, abstract clichés don’t count . No-one’s going to be impressed by your description of a man with piercing gray eyes that are the color of a storm.

Instead, use the senses to make the reader feel like they're there. “When a reader can viscerally inhabit your world, they won’t question it when you introduce the fantastical into your story,” says Hope. “They’ll take your word for it.”

12. But don’t overwhelm readers with details

Ever want a corkboard just to keep the characters in a fantasy book straight? The number of characters in many fantasy series are so infinite, it turns out to be a mad scramble to keep track of them all — especially when the reader’s still trying to differentiate between Boldon, the protagonist, and Bolgon, the shrewish elf from Book 2.

Writing Fantasy Characters

So don’t make it even tougher on the reader by dumping all your characters onto page two. It’s one of the most common mistakes that Nieveen sees.

“Fantasy writers try to introduce too many characters on one page, or there’s an info dump to reveal how the magic system works,” she says. “They make the reader sit and memorize their world or their characters before they actually introduce the story. But you end up dropping readers that way.”

Of course, fantasy readers do expect a certain amount of detail from the genre, so you'll still want to ensure you know your world and characters well! To help distinguish the useful information from the "fun but probably unnecessary", try filling out a character profile template to  really  dive deep. You can dump all your ideas there rather than in your first draft, so you can decide what's worth keeping, and what you can lose.

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

13. Keep asking questions as the writer 

And guess what? Your #1 most powerful weapon when you’re worldbuilding isn’t a sword — nor is it a pen, or even Daenerys’ fabulous dragons .

The most powerful tool in your world building arsenal is, instead… the question. “Where do big cities pop up?” wrote Patrick Rothfuss, author of the Kingkiller Chronicles , once. “At a confluence of trade routes. That’s influenced by rivers. Where do rivers come from? There’s aquifers and stuff. I ask these questions. I go, ‘Why, why, why, why, why?’”

This will make sure that everything is rationally thought-out. “Fantasy works when you can read it like it is real, if that makes sense,” says Kendall Davis , an associate editor at Penguin Random House. “You want readers to read the story knowing there are stories and adventures and a world that exists far beyond the story they are currently invested in.”

What are your tips for writing fantasy? Leave them in the comments below. You can also check out our list of the 100 best fantasy series ever  for inspiration!

16 responses

T.L. Branson says:

01/09/2017 – 05:36

I'm doing #2 right now. I totally get it. Writing short stories has helped me tremendously in understanding some fuzzy characters who have been more in the background in my main novel. Writing their story out helps me mold them a little better and write a real person instead of just a cardboard cutout.

↪️ jennyb_writes replied:

05/09/2017 – 23:29

Awesome!! I have worked with authors who have taken this step and those who haven't - I can always tell the difference. Way to go!

Lady Adellandra Dratianos says:

03/09/2017 – 23:48

I started my series "Chronicles of the Dragon Nations" by introducing a lot of people at once in the very first drafts years ago. Now, I introduce wherever they show up, but once. If it's been twenty or so pages since the introduction, I summarize who they were, either by dialogue between two characters or by reiterating who they were. Another rule from above that I use is the "Don't break your own rules." i.e. In my books, those in the Mortal Realm cannot shift or fly, due to gravity and the laws of nature. I had to remind myself this when I had three characters from another land, shapeshifters from the Dragon Nations are able to shift. Once reading it over for edits, I remembered my Mortal Realm rule and changed it. Lady Adellandra www.amazon.com/author/ladyadellandra

05/09/2017 – 23:32

Don't break your own rules is a tricky one...way to go catching your mistake in rewrites! Sometimes those laws of nature are so subtle and it always pays to pay attention in rewrites and edits. Happy writing!

Omnipleuvre says:

16/01/2018 – 20:53

One thing I've seen a lot, even in published books, is the description featuring waaaaay too many names at once. I should be able to grasp the premise of your story without needing to know that Adriana, heir to the Kingdom of Tallyrand is about to cross the Wall of Gishegrunurman to search for the amulet of Kinscaer. Too many names all at once is almost as bad as an infodump I feel.

Jenna Hunter says:

27/03/2018 – 20:53

It was interesting to read that the environment can be a plot point in a fantasy book. I think that making a lot of detail in a book is really important. I love reading books that create an entire universe, especially full of dragons, dwarves and all kinds of mythical creatures. http://crimsonthedragon.com/

Rishabh Chaturvedi says:

31/05/2018 – 18:49

How do I make my world different from the ones that influenced me to write a fantasy novel??

Janice Swanson says:

28/11/2018 – 12:59

What a wonderful article! Once I dream about how to create its fantasy the world, write a large number of books about this world, and I hope that once on my books based the film. All of the above items are really important to know the novice writer. Point # 13 is especially important for me, because the idea to write a book came to me after I was inspired by the works of Tolkien and George Orwell. These writers have their own inimitable style, and each of their stories makes me think about a lot. I would really like to write a novel, and to get it in a new genre, it will be something between fantasy and anti-utopia novel. Thank you for sharing such interesting and useful articles.

25/02/2019 – 11:17

A very interesting article, I learned a lot of new things for myself, which I hadn’t thought about before, but unfortunately not all the tips are applicable at the moment to modern works. The market is overcrowded with a variety of short-growing love stories, psychology and other tinsel. Now there is not enough quality fiction, but what appears is read immediately and very quickly. I strongly advise you to read a series of books about the Witcher, insanely interesting books, I just could not tear myself away for several months. If you want to know more about fiction, then examine this link.

Someguy says:

31/05/2019 – 13:35

"...and no-one would instinctively group Harry Potter and Stephen King's The Dark Tower in the same category." FYI. A relic from Harry Potter's world actually appears in the Dark Tower. While not in the same category, it easily can convince a reader of Harry Potter to read The Dark Tower or vice versa. It's a bit of a unique relationship.

↪️ Nick replied:

17/06/2019 – 12:00

Also, bogarts are based on It/The Spider/whatever species it is. And while she(Pennywise is just one form and a female spider is its true form) only kind of appears in TDT, there's a character in the series that's the same species I do believe

17/06/2019 – 12:02

I absolutely hate short stories. I can't write that little!

Elijah says:

25/06/2019 – 21:24

I’ve been working on a 5 book story for about 15 years now. I took several writing classes and have become so self critical of my writing that it has been hard to progress. I also lost a lot of my original papers due to mice (I found it easier to write by hand). These tips definitely make me feel like I’m on the right path lately.

Joseph Smith says:

07/11/2019 – 07:30

I'm currently on the third chapter of a book that I hopefully will actually complete, and so far I have stuck to most of these rules (high fantasy, sword and sorcery/heroic fantasy with a touch of dark fantasy), with the only two I haven't done as of yet is re reading lotr and creating a character interview (I have made a DnD character sheet of him if that counts). The kind of story I'm going with (not going to go too far into it) is a paladin raised from the dead only to have magic that he doesn't understand return some form of life to him finds a new purpose in hunting down undead and returning them to the afterlife. Any advice I can get?

William Anthony Pitzer says:

07/11/2019 – 22:01

The issue I have with number 2 is that I generally hate short stories, so obviously I'll find it difficult to write them. If a story is too short, then it's impossible to flesh out characters and a world tremendously, which is the whole reason that I read fantasy to begin with.

Matthew R Bishop says:

14/02/2020 – 18:39

Thank you! Rewriting like eight books because of this article, ugh. But thank you ;)

Comments are currently closed.

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Home / Book Writing / How to Write Fantasy Novels: Definition, Tips, and How to Publish

How to Write Fantasy Novels: Definition, Tips, and How to Publish

I’ve been working at Kindlepreneur for some time, and I love to write nonfiction articles for authors. But my first love is writing fantasy.

Which is why I was excited when we decided to write this article.

Now, this article is just one in a series of articles about how to write in various genres, but I knew that I had to claim this one before anyone else could.

  • Why you should write fantasy
  • How to find your audience
  • Where to even start
  • How to build a plot
  • How to develop fantasy characters
  • How to world build

Table of contents

  • Why Write Fantasy?
  • Step 1: Find Your Audience First
  • Step 2: Start With Setting
  • Step 3: Craft a Compelling Fantasy Plot
  • Step 4: Create Compelling Fantasy Characters
  • Step 5: Build a Believable Fantasy World
  • Step 6: Develop Effective Fantasy Writing Habits
  • Step 7: Revise and Edit Your Fantasy Novel
  • Other Fantasy Writing Tips

Let’s dive in.

This is actually a question I’ve asked myself a number of times. Because, for a lot of people, fantasy can feel intimidating. It’s hard enough writing about the real world, much less create an entirely new one that needs to feel consistent.

But that said, here are a few reasons that I love to write fantasy, and why you might too:

  • Amazing for the imagination: Fantasy frees you from the limitations of the real world. Here, dragons fly and wizards cast spells. Create entirely new worlds with their own rules.
  • Wide appeal: Fantasy has a massive, dedicated following. From Tolkien fans to young adult fantasy aficionados, the market is substantial.
  • Escapism: In stressful times, both writers and readers appreciate an escape. Fantasy offers a break from the mundane, the tragic, or the stressful.
  • Dig into rich archetypes: Fantasy is ripe for using universal symbols and archetypes, like the hero's journey , to tap into shared human experiences.
  • Franchise-building: Think Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. Fantasy series lend themselves well to adaptations—films, TV shows, video games, merchandise.
  • Inspiration: Your tales of heroism and magical realms can serve as a powerful form of inspiration and empowerment.
  • It’s just fun!: Last but not least, writing fantasy is fun. If you enjoy reading it, odds are you'll love writing it too.

So assuming you want to write fantasy (and I’m guessing you do if you’ve read this far), let’s dig into the steps to do so.

The first step with any genre, but especially in fantasy, is to figure out WHO you are writing for.

Don’t skip this part, it’s important.

Here are a few things you should do to get to know your audience as best you can:

  • Understand the niche genre: Fantasy is a broad genre with many sub-genres—epic, urban, dark, to name a few. Zero in on the niche that interests you most. It will give you a sense of direction.
  • Read those books: Don't just stick to the classics. Dive into your specific sub-genre. By reading widely, you'll get an idea of what already exists and what readers are looking for.
  • Engage in online communities: Search for Facebook groups related to your niche. Become an active member. Listen to what people are saying, their likes and dislikes, and common themes that arise. This will give you invaluable insights into your future readership.
  • Read well-known fantasy authors: While niche reading is crucial, don't ignore the titans of the genre. Understand what makes authors like J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin successful. Examine their storytelling techniques and narrative structures .
  • Understand well-known tropes: Familiarize yourself with recurring themes and motifs in fantasy—like the “Chosen One” or the “Reluctant Hero.” But remember, tropes aren't bad; it's how you make them fresh that counts.

If you haven’t read a lot of books or understand the tropes that readers expect, you can’t expect them to like what you write. 

Yes, it’s possible to bend the rules now and then, but you can’t bend them unless you know them thoroughly, enough to really understand where and when it’s appropriate to change things up.

Once you've identified your audience, the next step is choosing a setting. This forms the foundation for plot, characters and everything that follows. Here are a few tips:

  • Pick a Portal: Do characters from our world travel to a fantasy realm through a portal? This instantly connects readers since we experience the magical world through the POV of our surrogate character. Portals can include mysterious doorways, teleporting wardrobes, whirlpools, and more. The portal trope has been a fantasy staple since Alice fell through the looking glass.
  • Construct a Whole New World: Or you can build a completely fictional world like Middle Earth or Westeros—the ultimate act of fantasy creation. This immersive option requires extensive worldbuilding since you're constructing a new reality from scratch. But total creative freedom makes it highly rewarding.
  • Blend Real and Fantasy: Urban and historical fantasy blend real and magical elements. The tensions between the mundane and mystical make for resonant fiction. For example, magicians living secretly among us regular folk in urban fantasy. Or retelling actual historical events with folkloric twists like Naomi Novik's Temeraire dragon rider books.
  • Pick a Familiar Starting Spot: Begin in a familiar setting like a medieval village, mysterious wilderness or magical academy before unfurling more fantastical environments later on. This eases readers into your world. Luke lived on a moisture farm before heading to wild planets in Star Wars.
  • Make It Personal: Most importantly, choose a fantasy setting that resonates with YOU. Tap into your own passions and knowledge like Renaissance festivals, antique maps, roleplaying games, etc.

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Once you've established the setting, you need an equally compelling plot. Here are tips for fantasy plots that cast a spell over readers:

  • External Goal/Quest: Fantasy protagonists often embark on an epic quest like rescuing a kingdom, recovering a magical artifact, overthrowing a dark lord or finding their true destiny. Make sure the external stakes are high enough to justify a novel-length adventure. Include formidable obstacles and nail-biting climaxes.
  • Internal Conflict: Layer your fantasy quest with internal conflict. For example, a heroine must overcome self-doubt and trauma from her past to fulfill her destiny. These inner struggles make characters relatable. External and internal arcs should interweave seamlessly.
  • Magical or Supernatural Elements: Incorporate fantasy/magical aspects organically into the plot. How do they influence or complicate the story events? For example, magic gifts may help the hero…but also make them reckless and arrogant. The curse that must be lifted has unexpected side effects.
  • Subplots and Supporting Arcs: Surround your protagonist with a supporting cast whose subplots, motivations and backstories interconnect with the main arc. 
  • Twists and Reversals: Layer in exciting twists, complications, setbacks, discoveries, betrayals and revelations throughout your fantasy plot. The path to victory should never run smooth. Shake things up to maintain suspense. 
  • Blend Genres: While pure fantasy is engaging, blending in other genres like mystery, horror, romance etc can create uniquely flavored tales. For example, Naomi Novik's dragon rider books add military fiction elements that complement the fantasy foundation. 
  • Outline Thoroughly: Fantasy's complexity demands meticulous outlining. Map out chapters, scenes, plot points, character arcs and more.

Now let's discuss how to people your world with multidimensional characters readers will adore.

  • Hero's Journey Archetype: Many fans love stories that echo the universal “hero's journey” template. Their structure and emotional beats resonate deeply. Key phases include the call to adventure, meeting the mentor, crossing threshold, tests/ordeals, seizing the sword, resurrection, and return home with elixir. 
  • Flawed Heroes: The most relatable fantasy protagonists have flaws, quirks or moral ambiguity rather than being generically heroic. Give them hot tempers, arrogance, addictions, anxieties, prejudices or violent impulses that force them to grow. Readers crave imperfect heroes (but not too imperfect).
  • Scene-Stealing Sidekicks: A great fantasy sidekick serves many functions: comic relief, voice of reason, protector, confidante, and more. They in turn reveal hidden aspects of the protagonist. Loyal sidekicks like Samwise Gamgee are reader surrogates along for the adventure. Give them unique bonds with the protagonist that tug heartstrings.
  • Nuanced Villains: While clearly evil, the best fantasy antagonists have complexity instead of being cookie-cutter villains. They have empathy-inducing motivations, principles, soft spots, and doubts that add nuance. Visceral moral struggles make compelling villains.
  • Supporting Cast: Populate your world with a diverse supporting cast representing different fantasy races, personalities, motivations and functions in the story. Vary relationships between characters—allies, rivals, loved ones etc. Interweave supporting arcs that complement the hero's journey.
  • Fantastic Races: From graceful elves to stout dwarves to cunning goblins, readers love stories starring classic fantasy races. Or invent your own original variations! Either way, construct different biology, abilities, cultures, histories, temperaments and societal roles for each race. But avoid obvious stereotypes.
  • Magical Companions: Fantasy heroes often have devoted magical companions like helpful fairies, wise dragons, loyal griffins or quick-witted unicorns. These companions act as guides, transport, comic relief and fellow underdogs. 
  • Character Arcs: Make sure each major character undergoes an emotional arc and transformation by story's end, not just the protagonist. 

Perhaps the most challenging yet rewarding aspect of writing fantasy is constructing an intricate secondary world. Where do you even start inventing a whole reality? Here's my advice:

  • Magic System: A defining aspect of most fantasy worlds is a system of magic. Determine its rules, costs, limitations and how it's harnessed. Is magic common or rare? Does using it drain life force or sanity? Do mages invoke divine powers or manipulate natural energies? 
  • Races and Creatures: Populate your world with original or traditional fantasy races like elves, dwarves etc. Plus invent mythical beasts and monsters. Consider their appearances, powers, temperaments, societies, histories and how they fit into the world. Give each a distinct flair.
  • Moral Alignment: What overarching cosmic principles guide your world? Is there objective good vs evil like Middle Earth? Or moral relativism like in Game of Thrones where every faction believes they're justified.
  • History and Mythology: Invent ancient histories, wars, dynasties, prophecies and mythological accounts that provide backstory. Timelines span eons. 
  • Politics and Factions: Dream up an array of factions, houses, orders, guilds, empires and more locked in an intricate web of rivalries and uneasy alliances. Detail their philosophies, customs, clothing, values, economic interests and subcultures. 
  • Languages: Invent unique languages for each race and realm with influences from earth languages like Elvish borrowing from Celtic tongues. 
  • Maps and Geography: Maps allow readers to trace and anticipate the adventure. Note major landmarks like wizard towers, monster lairs, ruins and kingdoms. How do terrain, climate and natural resources impact cultures that arise? Harsh desert clans will differ from seafaring islanders.
  • Religion and Spirituality: Is your world polytheistic or monotheistic? Do different races worship distinct pantheons? Outline core tenets, rituals, clerical ranks and holy sites. Belief systems reflect worldviews and values. And religious power structures deeply shape societies.
  • Food, Sports, Pastimes and Arts: On a lighter note, have fun detailing cultural trivia like beloved epic poems, national cuisine, celebrities, fashion trends, industries etc. This adds delightful local flavor. Maybe dwarves enjoy underground mushroom stew and beetle racing! Go wild with creativity.
  • Start Small: While Tolkien could spend thousands of pages on worldbuilding, modern readers often prefer more restrained approaches. Start with one village or city as a homebase, then expand the world's scope along with the story. Less is often more.

For more on worldbuilding, see our comprehensive article on the subject .

Now for the actual writing! Though inspiration is crucial, dedication and self-discipline are what transform ideas into finished manuscripts. Here are habits that help:

  • Set a Daily Word Count Goal: Establish a daily word count target tailored to your schedule. 500-1000 words per day is reasonable for busy folks. Hitting regular incremental targets adds up over time better than sporadic long sessions. Track progress to stay motivated.
  • Write at the Same Time Daily: Pick a set time and stick to it as much as possible to build a habitual routine, especially mornings. Writing during your peak energy hours when you're fresh and distraction-free sets you up for success.
  • Minimize Internet/Social Media: It's obvious but worth stating: turn off the internet to avoid endless distraction sinkholes! Disconnect to stay on target.
  • Write Offline: To avoid the lure of internet rabbit holes, one method is to write your first draft offline in a basic word processor. 
  • Try Writing Sprints: Sprints are short timed writing bursts like 25 minutes where you write without stopping. Take short breaks between sprints to recharge. The time pressure turbocharges your word count.
  • Write By Hand: Unplug and go old school by writing parts of your draft longhand with pen and paper. Our brains engage differently.
  • Outline The Next Chapter: Outlining your next chapter ahead of time gives you a roadmap to follow for the writing session. Stick to the major story beats and scenes. But leave wiggle room for spontaneous inspiration once writing.
  • Timeline and Tracker: Use a timeline and character tracker to organize complex story threads. This helps avoid inconsistencies and holes. Update these documents as your story evolves. Keeping detailed records saves headaches later.
  • Utilize Accountability: Find an accountability partner like your critique group or a trusted writer friend to check in on progress. Knowing someone is expecting regular updates keeps you on track. Better still, write together at coffee shops for camaraderie.

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You did it! First draft complete. But lots of work remains to polish your diamond-in-the-rough into a dazzling gem ready to publish. Here are tips for the editing stage:

  • Developmental editing: Critique and strengthen the high-level components like plot, pacing, characters, worldbuilding and voice. Fix plot holes, flesh out weak points, cut unnecessary sections, and adjust pacing.
  • Line editing: Take passages line-by-line to refine repetitive wording, clichés, weak verbs, and awkward phrasing. Inject more vivid details and concise language.
  • Copy editing: Scrutinize the manuscript for grammar, spelling, punctuation, consistency, accuracy, and formatting issues. Verify facts, dates, names are correct.
  • Beta readers: Get feedback from trusted readers on elements that need improvement or clarification. Incorporate their diverse perspectives.
  • Proofreading: Perform final checks for any typos, formatting errors, spacing issues, etc. before publication. Double check all names and facts.

Here are some final miscellaneous tips that can help you level up as a fantasy writer:

  • Prologues: Prologues are slightly controversial, as some authors don’t like having them, but other authors insist they should be used. Generally speaking, I recommend using them if you want to set up the conflict and tone of the book, and if your chapter 1 doesn’t do this on its own (common when starting from the “Ordinary World”.)
  • High or Low Fantasy?: High fantasy worlds have pervasive magic. Low fantasy settings contain only subtle magical influences. Figure out which mode fits your story best. Low magic often sustains more tension and sense of wonder when the supernatural is rare.
  • Hard vs. Soft Magic Systems: Hard systems have strictly defined rules and limits. Soft is more arbitrary and mysterious. Hard fits stories focused on mastering abilities and strategy. Soft suits tales emphasizing mysterious wonder.
  • Symbolism Resonance: Layering in recurring motifs and symbols that reinforce core themes adds depth. Eternal struggle between light/dark, decaying kingdom symbolizing moral decline, etc. Enhance resonance.
  • Study Real History and Mythology: History and myths offer endless inspiration. Adapt elements like ancient pantheons, lost civilizations and military conquests. Research also helps build realistic dynamics between fictional races and cultures. Truth provides verisimilitude.
  • Steal From The Best: Every great artist stands on the shoulders of those before. Don't copy outright, but study and remix ideas from fantasies you admire. Masterful classics teach invaluable lessons in worldbuilding and storytelling. Let their triumphs inspire your own.

And those are my best tips for writing transportive, sublime fantasy fiction! It's an ambitious undertaking, but immensely fulfilling. I hope these strategies help you turn the fantastical stories kindling in your soul into fully-realized novels. 

Your imagination is the only limit.

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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TAGGED AS: Best and Worst , Fantasy

Best Fantasy Movies of All Time

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The Fall (2006) 62%

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Solomon Kane (2009) 69%

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Conan the Barbarian (1982) 67%

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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) 63%

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Ladyhawke (1985) 67%

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) 64%

Clash of the titans (1981) 64%.

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Godmothered (2020) 68%

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Highlander (1986) 71%

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) 66%

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Sleepy Hollow (1999) 70%

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 64%

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The House With a Clock in Its Walls (2018) 65%

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The Witches of Eastwick (1987) 67%

' sborder=

Labyrinth (1986) 76%

' sborder=

Nanny McPhee (2005) 74%

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Nanny McPhee Returns (2010) 76%

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) 64%

' sborder=

Into the Woods (2014) 71%

' sborder=

Peter Pan (2003) 77%

' sborder=

Zathura (2005) 76%

' sborder=

The City of Lost Children (1995) 80%

' sborder=

The Dark Crystal (1982) 78%

' sborder=

Big Fish (2003) 75%

' sborder=

The Neverending Story (1984) 83%

' sborder=

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) 75%

' sborder=

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) 73%

' sborder=

Excalibur (1981) 72%

' sborder=

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) 75%

' sborder=

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010) 85%

' sborder=

Dragonslayer (1981) 84%

' sborder=

Stardust (2007) 77%

' sborder=

The Holy Mountain (1973) 85%

' sborder=

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) 81%

' sborder=

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) 71%

' sborder=

Pinocchio (2019) 84%

' sborder=

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 80%

' sborder=

Tale of Tales (2015) 83%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) 77%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) 78%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) 81%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 82%

' sborder=

Matilda (1996) 92%

' sborder=

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) 83%

' sborder=

Bridge to Terabithia (2007) 85%

' sborder=

Jason and the Argonauts (1963) 89%

' sborder=

Time Bandits (1981) 91%

' sborder=

The BFG (2016) 74%

' sborder=

Cinderella (2015) 84%

' sborder=

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) 90%

' sborder=

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) 76%

' sborder=

Edward Scissorhands (1990) 89%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 84%

' sborder=

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) 92%

' sborder=

The Witches (1990) 94%

' sborder=

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) 74%

' sborder=

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) 90%

' sborder=

Life of Pi (2012) 86%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 88%

' sborder=

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) 96%

' sborder=

Blancanieves (2012) 95%

' sborder=

Orpheus (1950) 97%

' sborder=

Beauty and the Beast (2017) 71%

' sborder=

The Seventh Seal (1957) 93%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) 90%

' sborder=

The Thief of Bagdad (1924) 97%

' sborder=

Enchanted (2007) 93%

' sborder=

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 91%

' sborder=

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) 96%

' sborder=

Mary Poppins (1964) 96%

' sborder=

Mary Poppins Returns (2018) 80%

' sborder=

Pete's Dragon (2016) 88%

' sborder=

The Thief of Bagdad (1940) 100%

' sborder=

Ugetsu (1953) 100%

' sborder=

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 94%

' sborder=

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 95%

' sborder=

The Princess Bride (1987) 96%

' sborder=

The Green Knight (2021) 89%

' sborder=

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 95%

' sborder=

Beauty and the Beast (1946) 96%

' sborder=

A Monster Calls (2016) 86%

' sborder=

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 96%

' sborder=

The Jungle Book (2016) 94%

' sborder=

The Wizard of Oz (1939) 98%

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The Ultimate Guide To Writing A Fantasy Novel

You just finished reading a fantasy series that has left you reeling.

You’re satisfied with the way things turned out, but the thought of saying goodbye to those characters just hurts.

You want to keep the magic going.

So now you’re looking for the best guide on how to write a fantasy novel — because you want to be the kind of writer who can work that kind of magic.

Who knew fantasy fiction could be so transformative?

Fantasy Writing Tips

Fantasy plots, how to write a fantasy novel outline, how to start a fantasy story, 1. develop your characters., 2. develop your (story’s) world., 3. develop your backstory., 4. craft an interesting and believable plot for your characters., 5. decide how your story will begin., 6. write the first chapter., 7. decide on your story’s climactic event., 8. keep writing chapters until you reach the end., 9. print out your first draft and take a break., 10. self-edit., 11. revise your self-edited draft., 12. edit your draft., 13. revise your professionally-edited draft., 14. get your novel ready for publication., writing fantasy.

Writing a fantasy novel presents some unique challenges to the storyteller. For one, you’re expected to know about the magical elements you use in your story.

writing fantasy movies

For example, if your story involves werewolves or vampires, you’ll need to research all the folklore related to both in order to portray them in a way that will build trust with your reader.

Making things up as you go when there’s already known folklore or mythology in place will irritate knowledgeable readers and likely earn you some scathing reviews.

Second, fantasy fiction usually involves an imaginary world created by the author.

Research is important here, too, since some magical creatures are associated with particular environments.

And just because it’s a made-up world doesn’t mean you have to defy every expectation.

The sky doesn’t have to be a different color unless that detail adds an essential something to your story.

But you should know this world as well as the one you live in (when you’re not writing).

Also, some — if not all — your fantasy characters will be magical or mythical beings, humanoid or otherwise.

And the more you know the mythology surrounding them, the more convincing your character building will be to your readers.

As with your setting, you should know these characters as well as you know the people in your closest circle — recognizing all the while, of course, that they can still surprise you.

If you want to know how to write a good fantasy story, learn from those who’ve written before you.

Many of them are only too happy to help fellow writers with their story crafting.

For all they know, you could be the next Rick Riordan or J.K. Rowling.

So, helping you write better stories is in everyone’s best interests. To that end, consider the following tips for writing a fantasy novel:

  • Become a voracious reader of fantasy novels — especially the kind you want to write.
  • Research the folklore and mythology related to any magical elements you want in your story.
  • Research potential markets and marketing strategies for your book based on genres that are currently selling well.
  • Choose the perspective and point of view for your story’s narrator.
  • Get into your fantasy characters’ heads.
  • Sketch out a timeline for your story’s events and key moments.
  • Get acquainted with every detail of the made-up world where your story happens.

As one of the ten key parts of your story , your plot is what gives your story its overall shape and direction.

To more clearly see how it does this, we can follow Gustav Freytag’s lead and break down your plot into the following five elements:

With fantasy plots, these elements often tie into the stages of the hero’s journey — a universal story structure based on Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

It’s because the hero archetype resonates within the psyche of every individual that the most memorable and endearing stories follow this structure.

Check out this Authority Pub post for more information on the ten key parts of writing your story.

And read on to learn how to write one of your own.

How to Write A Fantasy Novel

The writer’s journey in writing a book is similar to the hero’s journey just mentioned.

writing fantasy movies

Like the hero in your story, you’re going on a journey of your own — though at first there’s some reticence to go any deeper than your comfort level will allow.

At some point, though, like Bilbo as he listened to the dwarves’ song about the Lonely Mountains, you feel pulled out of your cozy bubble into a new and sometimes terrifying world.

And, like Bilbo, you find you have more courage in you than you thought you had.

Good thing, too. Writing an unforgettable story takes courage. No one breaks new ground when they don’t venture beyond what they know.

Outlining your fantasy novel will be similar to any outline you’ve created in the past — for other books or your English Lit class.

The key difference here is thinking ahead to determine whether or not your fantasy book will be a standalone or part of a trilogy or tetralogy.

If your book is standalone, you will need to compress the introduction of your characters and the fantasy world you create to fit into one book. So consider this when developing your outline.

For a series, you’ll have more time to unravel your characters and develop the magical world in which they reside.

You don’t have to outline all of your books initially, but if you choose a series, just be sure you leave enough action and character development for future books.

Try to think ahead about plot progression and the struggles your characters will face throughout the series.

Either way, your first book is the key to hooking readers into loving your characters and story and wanting more.

In your outline, be sure you include a cliffhanger at the end to ensure your readers can’t wait to buy the next book.

Getting started looks different for everyone. If you’re a plotter, you know that an outline helps you sort out your ideas so you can tackle the actual writing with a clearer head — one idea at a time.

See this Authority Pub post for more information on getting started with your novel.

If you’re a pantser, you might think outlines are “too stodgy” or that you won’t follow it anyway.

But even writing a bulleted list of the main things you want to happen in your story can help you write with a better sense of direction.

The following tips and questions can help you create an outline that comes to life even before you start writing your story:

  • Interview your fantasy characters. Get to know them at their deepest level so you can speak and act as they would.
  • Get clear on your character’s arcs. How will the events in this story change them?
  • Give old tropes a dash of something new . Think of how J.K. Rowling reinvented the witch’s broomstick.
  • Get clear on your story’s main events and defining moments.
  • Write a draft of the final chapter — detailing the outcome for each character.

Think of this step as simply jotting down the main elements of the plot or character that made you want to write this story in the first place.

You can also start with an elevator pitch. Tell me what will happen in your story in 30 seconds or less.

See if it makes sense to you when you articulate it out loud.

Then, nail down those critical details and leave the rest to your imagination.

How to Write A Fantasy Novel Step by Step

Once you’ve created your outline, follow these steps to write a fantasy novel your readers will tell all their friends about:

Interview them. Do some voice-journaling for them. Create character profiles.

Do whatever helps you get into their heads and make them real people to you.

The more they come to life for you, the more they’ll do the same for your reader.

The more real this world seems to you, the more easily your readers will step into and lose themselves in it.

Make it a place they won’t want to leave. And make every detail matter.

What made your characters and your world as they are now? What details from the past are essential to the story you’re telling.

Get clear on what happened in the past that created the reality of your story’s present.

Give them a problem and show how they recognize and deal with it. Show how it changes them. Show us what they want most and how far they’ll go to get it.

Show what’s at stake – what they could gain and what they have to lose.

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What inciting event will challenge your main character? What will your main character reveal in the first minute?

writing fantasy movies

What will pull your reader right into the heart of your story and make them want to stick around?

You have to start somewhere. Sometimes, the only way to get started on your story is to just start writing and see what comes out?

Maybe that’ll be your first chapter. Or maybe it’ll be your prologue (we don’t hate those, but they do have to earn their place).

If you don’t have a clear idea of your book’s climax, at least work on a vague idea until it becomes clearer or moves aside for something better.

You can either write these as a pantser or start with a bullet-point list of the main things that should happen.

I mean it. Take a break from your book baby. I know it’s hard, but you need this. And you’ve earned it.

Go through it with a red pen and make corrections, write down comments and ideas, and generally bleed all over it.

Sometimes, it hurts. Sometimes, it’s so much fun, you’ll forget to eat. Bring snacks.

Make the necessary changes to your story and rewrite what needs to be rewritten. Then take a shorter break and go over it again.

At this point, it’s best (for your story and your readers) to find a professional editor — preferably one with experience editing fantasy fiction.

See if you can find one recommended by fellow fantasy authors.

Make the changes you and your editor agree upon. Once your story is at its best yet, find some beta readers — ideally those that enjoy reading fantasy fiction.

If they’re also authors, you can return the favor by beta-reading their books.

Hire a professional formatter for your novel’s interior and a cover designer for its exterior.

Make your novel as irresistible to the eye as your story will be to your reader’s imagination.

Ready to write your fantasy story?

Now that you know how to write a fantasy novel, does a particular work in progress come to mind? And is this a new idea — or one you’ve set aside for a while?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how long the idea has been percolating in your head.

The real magic happens when you get down to the business of writing your story.

That’s when your brain gets the message, “We’re doing this.” When you keep showing up, the muse knows where to find you.

The key is to open the faucet before you expect the water to flow. Let the air out. And by that, I mean just let your ideas flow out as they are before you expect to make sense of them.

Before long, you’ll be sorting out that beautiful mess and creating a fantasy story your readers will never forget.

When you write a fantasy novel, you should present some unique challenges to the storyteller. For one, you're expected to know about the magical elements you use in your story.

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American Fiction

Erika Alexander, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, and Issa Rae in American Fiction (2023)

A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to di... Read all A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain. A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.

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  • Trivia In a 2023 interview with Esquire, Cord Jefferson explained his approach to a key scene in the film and how the actors elevated it in unexpected ways: "We've all seen that scene of the writer pounding the keyboard frantically, then taking a big sip of coffee and getting back to it. That's how you depict somebody intensely writing. But I thought, 'We can't have that. It's tropey and silly, and it doesn't get the audience's minds going.' So why not have these characters manifest in front of him? When I wrote that scene, I wrote the language to be very silly. It had to be ridiculous so that everybody could see how stupid this book is and what a sham it is. Then we got Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan , who are both such tremendous actors. All of the sudden, it wasn't silly anymore. They made it seem like the book might be good. I love what the scene became in their hands: suddenly you're questioning whether or not the book is good, which is evidence that something as ridiculous as this book could become a hit."
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Sintara Golden : Potential is what people see when what's in front of them isn't good enough.

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'Past Lives,' 'American Fiction': Writers write what they know, namely, writers

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This past film season, a number of screenwriters played close to home, creating or adapting writer characters for their movies. In “Anatomy of a Fall,” “American Fiction,” “Past Lives,” “All of Us Strangers,” “Origin,” “You Hurt My Feelings” and “Afire,” the protagonists’ careers aren’t incidental; they’re integral to the characters’ identities. In so doing, their progenitors aren’t only using their films to reflect on society; they’re holding up mirrors to their own lives and careers. The writers directed their films as well, giving them a level of control over the material that most screenwriters don’t usually have.

The Oscar-nominated “Past Lives,” by playwright and first-time filmmaker Celine Song , is arguably the most autobiographical of the group. Song mined her own background to devise Nora (Greta Lee), a married New Yorker by-way-of Seoul and Canada who meets up with her South Korean childhood sweetheart Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). “Since it really was inspired by an autobiographical moment, it felt untrue to give her some other cool job, than the cool job that I do have, being a playwright,” says Song.

She used her story to explore themes of identity, ambition and the immigrant experience, all of which are deeply connected to the writing life. “Being a writer is so often a transformative thing, because you’re so deep in the worlds of the characters and the story that you’re telling, you can dive into anything.” Song adds that historically, “most writers have been immigrants of some kind, even if it means moving to a different part of the same country.”

Notably, Nora’s husband, Arthur (John Magaro), is a writer as well — as is Song’s. Not only does Arthur understand her meeting up with Hae Sung, he jokes that it makes a great story, casting himself as the villain. “You can see she’s better with Arthur,” she says. “He gets her.”

A writing couple is also central to “Anatomy of a Fall,” but with tragic results. “It was absolutely crucial” that Sandra and Samuel (Sandra Hüller and Samuel Theis) were both writers, says director Justine Triet , who wrote the script with her husband, filmmaker Arthur Harari. It sets up Samuel’s jealousy and frustration about Sandra’s greater success, and the tales people create throughout the film.

Read more: 'It was tough for me to play that part': How six actresses tackle their fears

When Samuel dies in a fall from a window, Sandra is put on trial for his murder, and two more fictional narratives arise. “Sandra’s lawyer Vincent, played by Swann Arlaud, tells her, ‘The truth is not so important, what is important is the story we’re going to tell,’” Triet says, speaking from her home in Paris, with Assia Turquier-Zauberman translating.

The aggressive prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) makes up a fiction of his own, which includes excerpts from Sandra’s novel in which a woman kills her husband. “When you are in the writing process you are totally free, and you can make up anything,” Triet says. Picturing her own stories used against her “was the worst thing that I could imagine, because of course it’s not the reality.”

The stories forced on writers is a theme in “American Fiction,” as well as first-time filmmaker Cord Jefferson’s own experience. When he read Percival Everett’s novel “Erasure,” he felt an immediate kinship with the character Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an author simmering with resentment at the publishing industry’s efforts to put him in the category of Black Writer, with commensurate approved topics. “There’s this really limited perspective as to what Black life looks like and what Black stories are,” Jefferson notes.

He adds that, like Monk (played by Jeffrey Wright) and most creative types, “I’m deeply insecure. It’s hard to write, there is a lot of professional jealousy. Monk being frustrated that his work is not more celebrated, while also resenting the author Sintara, played by Issa Rae, those were parts of the writing life for me.”

For all the focus on writers, we rarely see anyone at work. Song shot an entire sequence of Nora writing, but when watching the edit, realized it looked like she was trying too hard to prove Nora was a writer, and cut the sequence. Ultimately, “this story is about what happens to a writer, not about writing.”

Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers,” based on Taichi Yamada’s novel “Strangers,” features one of the more accurate film depictions of a writer not writing. Sitting at his computer, isolated screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) tries to start in on a script. Haigh then cuts to Adam sitting on his couch, eating junk food and watching junk TV until the wee hours.

When Monk decides to write a parody of what’s expected of him, Jefferson wanted to show him writing realistically — even when Monk’s characters (played by Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan) appear in front of him and act out the scene as he types, occasionally stopping to discuss his choices. “I always disliked scenes where writers are pounding at their keyboard furiously as they get down this amazing piece of work, not making any mistakes,” Jefferson says. “I wanted to get at the idea that it’s a slow, methodical process, and you go back and question yourself and question the words that you’re writing.”

Monk’s prank is taken seriously, making him rich, and making his pseudonym, Stagg R. Leigh, famous. He is in the bizarre position of being resentful and jealous of his own success. So it’s only fair that, in the end, he writes himself out of his quandary. But, in a wry nod to the vagaries of screenwriting, Monk must rewrite his own film’s ending. Twice.

Get the Envelope newsletter, sent three times a week during awards season, for exclusive reporting, insights and commentary.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

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American Fiction, The Marvels, and every new movie to watch at home this weekend

The Oscar-nominated comedy starring Jeffrey Wright comes to VOD this week

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A bald man with glasses and a beard holding a stack of books in a book store.

Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.

This week, American Fiction , the Oscar-nominated comedy drama starring Westworld ’s Jeffrey Wright, is available to purchase on VOD. That’s not all, as Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence starring LaKeith Stanfield and the ecological drama The End We Start From starring Jodie Comer ( The Last Duel ) also arrive on VOD this week, along with a few other exciting releases. There’s plenty of streaming premieres as well, with Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels finally arriving on Disney Plus following its VOD release last month. Down Low , a new comedy starring Zachary Quinto and Lukas Gage, is now streaming on Netflix, while the supernatural “Dracula on a boat” horror thriller The Last Voyage of the Demeter finally docks on Paramount Plus.

New on Netflix

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Two men wearing white hazmat suits and goggles stand in front of a wall decorated in yellow floral wallpaper.

Genre: Comedy Run time: 1h 30m Director: Rightor Doyle Cast: Zachary Quinto, Lukas Gage, Judith Light

In this dark comedy, Zachary Quinto ( Star Trek ) stars as Gary, a recently divorced and deeply closeted father who forms an unlikely friendship with young masseur (Lukas Gage). Determined to help him come out of his shell and embrace his sexuality openly, the masseur sets Gary up with a date on a hookup app, but things quickly take a turn when the two must work together to avoid going to jail for murder.

New on Disney Plus

The marvels.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus

Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, and Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau stand together in costume, all looking up, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie The Marvels

Genre: Superhero action Run time: 1h 45m Director: Nia DaCosta Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani

The 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees the return of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), also known as Captain Marvel. This time around, she’s teaming up with the superpowered Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) to save the universe from the threat of a vengeful Kree leader bent on restoring her home world.

From our review :

In its best moments, The Marvels just throws wonderful ideas at the screen. There’s a planet of people who only sing, a space station full of cats that blithely devour furniture and humans alike, an animated depiction of Kamala’s internal monologue — the movie can feel like a mood board assembled by an overcaffeinated Star Trek fan, with a sense of imagination suitable for reminding the audience that comic books can be cool in the moment that you’re reading them, as opposed to for what they promise in the future.

New on Hulu

Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu

Cat Person actors Nicholas Braun and Emilia Jones gazing into each others eyes under the yellow glow of a streetlight

Genre: Psychological thriller Run time: 1h 58m Director: Susanna Fogel Cast: Emilia Jones, Nicholas Braun, Geraldine Viswanathan

Based on Kristen Roupenian’s viral 2017 short story for The New Yorker, Cat Person follows the story of Margot, a college sophomore who enters into a brief relationship with an older man named Robert (Nicholas Braun). Things seem okay at first, until Margot begins to question whether or not Robert is telling the whole truth about his life.

From our review ,

Cat Person gets it wrong so consistently, makes its points so inelegantly, and pads out the short story in such an ill-conceived way that it ends up invalidating the same concerns on which it’s built. When a cop tells the protagonist that she should stop watching murder shows, it’s not institutional indifference toward violence against women. It’s a voice of reason, as the protagonist’s own actions later prove. This is a film that includes both a therapist who appears to state the subtext as text, then vanishes, and a one-dimensional best friend of color who exists solely to drop feminist buzzwords from five years ago (Geraldine Viswanathan, who deserves better). It’s confident in its cluelessness, and not in a way that underlines that same quality in its 20-year-old heroine.

Genre: Coming-of-age drama Run time: 1h 49m Director: Laura Chinn Cast: Laura Linney, Nico Parker, Woody Harrelson

This semi-autobiographical drama follows Doris (Nico Parker), a self-conscious teenager who strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older activist (Woody Harrelson) while caring for her dying brother and navigating the pitfalls of high school.

New on Prime Video

Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video

Genre: Romantic comedy Run time: 1h 44m Director: Carlson Young Cast: Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Lena Olin

I know what you’re thinking and no, this is not the sequel to Leigh Whannell’s cyberpunk action thriller starring Logan Marshall-Green. This is a romantic comedy starring Camila Mendes ( Riverdale ) and Archie Renaux ( Shadow and Bone ) as Ana and Will; two strangers who meet during a first class flight to London who strike up a romance after Will mistakes Ana for his new boss. I think these wacky kids are gonna make it!

New on Paramount Plus

The last voyage of the demeter.

Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus w/ Showtime

Dracula, looking like a hairless humanoid bat, stands atop a ship’s crows nest in a dark rainstorm, hoisting a poor man up above him.

Genre: Period horror Run time: 1h 58m Director: André Øvredal Cast: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, David Dastmalchian

Dracula’s on a boat , and guess what? He’s PISSED. This supernatural horror thriller adapts a chapter from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel and centers on the unfortunate crew of a transatlantic merchant ship who discover an unearthly threat among their cargo. As time dwindles away, and with it their chances of survival, the crew must make a last-ditch effort to kill the creature before they reach England.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter makes very little of most of its potential assets. It’s a film with no vision, a puzzling adaptation that’s so straightforward, viewers might believe every beat comes from Stoker’s novel and not a screenplay imagining what happened between the pages. Maybe the two decades the film spent in development , being rewritten and recast, are to blame; every colorful choice seems to have been wrung out of the script. At every moment, there’s potential for Demeter to become something distinct and interesting, but the screenplay and Øvredal’s direction choose otherwise, embracing straightforward competence over any style or flair. It’s dry historical fiction, Horatio Hornblower’s Dracula .

New to rent

American fiction.

Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon , Apple , and Vudu

Jeffrey Wright in a blue shirt sits in his library giggling in the movie American Fiction

Genre: Comedy-drama Run time: 1h 57m Director: Cord Jefferson Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown

The Oscar-nominated debut from Cord Jefferson stars Jeffrey Wright ( The Batman ) as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a frustrated novelist living in Los Angeles who writes a scathing satire of stereotypical “Black” books, only for it to be sky-rocketed to the prestigious heights of literary acclaim. Feels like a shoe-in for fans of such movies as Putney Swope and Bamboozled .

The Book of Clarence

writing fantasy movies

Genre: Historical comedy Run time: 2h 9m Director: Jeymes Samuel Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop

Jeymes Samuel ( The Harder They Fall ) returns with a new film, this time a biblical comedy drama starring LaKeith Stanfield. The Book of Clarence follows the story of a down-on-his-luck man living in A.D. 33 Jerusalem who aspires to free himself from debt. His plan? Take a page out of the book of a local preacher claiming to be the son of God and proclaim himself as the Messiah, performing “miracles” in a bid for fame and glory. When Clarence’s schemes run afoul of the Romans, he’ll be faced with not only the consequences of his deception, but a choice that will shape his life and the course of history.

The End We Start From

A woman holding a child in a bear-themed hoodie in her arms.

Genre: Post-apocalyptic thriller Run time: 1h 42m Director: Mahalia Belo Cast: Ramanique Ahluwalia, Elena Bielova, Shiona Brown

Jodie Comer ( The Last Duel ) stars in this new thriller as a woman attempting to protect her infant child after London is submerged by flood waters. With nowhere else to turn, she will have to embark on a search for a way to raise her child and build a new home.

A man wearing glasses in a trench coat gestures with his hands and stands next to a young man holding a camera

Genre: Black comedy drama Run time: 2h 15m Director: Kim Jee-woon Cast: Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se

Song Kang-ho ( Parasite) stars in this period black comedy as Kim Ki-yeol, an obsessive director in the 1970s on the verge of completing his latest film, Cobweb . There’s just one problem: Kim’s suddenly has a change of heart and wants to completely reshoot the ending of his film in two days. He’ll have to get his confused and uncooperative cast and crew to cooperate, as well as escape the ire of Seoul’s censorship authorities.

A group of astronauts gaze at the earth from a cockpit in the international space station.

Genre: Sci-fi thriller Run time: 1h 35m Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr.

Imagine if you were an astronaut aboard the International Space Station during an apocalyptic event where the world is consumed in nuclear hellfire — what would you do? That’s what the characters in this bracing sci-fi thriller have to figure out, as a crew of American and Russian astronauts must decide whether to cooperate in the face of extinction or surrender to their nationalistic anxieties and resentment.

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8 Fantasy Books That Are Getting Movies & TV Shows

  • The fantasy genre has a rich history of successful TV shows and films, with many of them being adaptations of popular books.
  • These adaptations transport audiences to magical worlds filled with enchanting tales, offering an escape from everyday life.
  • Prominent fantasy novels, such as "A Court of Thorns and Roses" and "Legendborn," are currently being adapted into TV shows or movies.

Over the years, the fantasy genre has consistently delivered some of the most prominent television shows and films, with many of them being live-action adaptations of books. These narratives are full of magical world-building, which transports audiences to mesmerizing realms, that captivate a diverse range of individuals with their enchanting tales. They offer a journey through fantastical landscapes, providing an escape from the realism of everyday life. Notably, J. R. R. Tolkien's legendary The Lord of the Rings novels had Academy Award-winning cinematic adaptations that changed the fantasy genre forever across film and television.

Likewise, George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series had immense success, leading to the creation of the sequel House of the Dragon . These series and movies continue to resonate with audiences, whether delving into magical studies at Hogwarts in the upcoming Harry Potter TV show or fighting alongside Geralt of Rivia in Netflix's The Witcher . There is no shortage of fantasy novels, which ensures studios have a wealth of options to bring to life. Here are 8 fantasy novels that are currently being adapted into their own TV show or movie.

A Court Of Thorns And Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a popular book series by Sarah J. Maas, currently spanning over four novels and one novella. This novel is now in the process of being adapted into a television series on Hulu, with Maas collaborating on the screenplay alongside Ron D. Moore, renowned for his role as both writer and producer of the successful Outlander adaptation. Who will play A Court of Thorns and Roses ' Feyre Archeron remains to be seen, and the character is forced to cross the wall that separates the human lands from the faerie territory of Prythian.

Related: A Court Of Thorns And Roses: Cast, Possible Release Window & Everything We Know

A Court of Thorns and Roses immerses its audience in a fantastical universe with various courts, each distinguished by the seasons and time of day. There is a captivating array of magical abilities, including elemental powers, shape-shifting, shadow manipulation, and mind control, which pull viewers into this immense world. However, at its core, the story revolves around the evolution of the protagonist, Feyre, as she develops into the fullest version of herself. A Court of Thorns and Roses also weaves a beautiful love story into its narrative, which blossoms along the remarkable journey Feyre embarks on.

Folk Of The Air Trilogy

Universal Pictures has secured the film rights to Holly Black's Folk of the Air series, with Michael De Luca as the producer. De Luca is known for Fifty Shades of Grey , Moneyball , and The Social Network . The first book in the series, The Cruel Prince , is slated to become a movie. The narrative revolves around a mortal girl named Jude Duarte, who, along with her sister, is whisked away at a young age to live in the dangerous High Court of Faerie. Jude fights for acceptance among the fae, who subject her to torment due to her being human, with her main adversary being Prince Carden. However, as the story unfolds, Jude finds her inner strength and resilience.

The NBCUniversal streamer Peacock is set to develop a drama series based on Victoria Aveyard's book series, Red Queen . The show is being executive produced by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman, who also produced Pitch Perfect . This series unfolds within an alternate near-future America, where the traditional democratic system is instead a monarchy.

This monarchy is led by those with superhuman abilities, who rule with an iron fist over those without. At the heart of the narrative is Mare Barrow, a woman who discovers she has a rare power, thrusting her into the intricate and corrupt world of the ruling monarchy. The story is full of tension as Mare must remain true to herself and loyal to the people she grew up with while navigating the treacherous and politically charged domain of the Silver Court.

Felicia D. Henderson, who is known for writing The Punisher and Gossip Girl , is currently in the process of adapting Tracy Deonn's YA fantasy novel, Legendborn . The rights to the series have been acquired by Black Bear Television. Deonn's novel offers a contemporary reimagining infused with a unique twist on the timeless Legend of King Arthur . The narrative revolves around Bree Matthews, a determined young woman, who infiltrates a team of demon hunters in pursuit of the truth behind her mother's mysterious death. The story centers on Bree's relentless quest to secure her place among the Legendborns to find out the truth of the past.

Ninth House

Amazon Studios is currently in the process of developing a Ninth House TV show based on Leigh Bardugo's novel. Bardugo herself will be taking on the roles of both screenwriter and executive producer for the project. The show is being produced by Pouya Shahbazian, who is best known for the Divergent Trilogy , Love, Simon , and Shadow and Bone .

Related: Shadow And Bone Season 3: Is It Happening? Everything We Know

The collaboration between Bardugo and Shahbazian isn't their first, as Bardugo is the creative force behind the Grishaverse, which turned into the show Shadow and Bone . The upcoming adaptation of Bardugo's novel, Ninth House , follows the story of Galaxy "Alex" Stern, a high school dropout who is offered a mysterious scholarship to Yale, providing her with a second chance in life. Her benefactor, however, entrusts her with monitoring the eight Houses of the Veil, which harbor dark magic and power.

Starlight Media, which is known for backing films like Crazy Rich Asians and Midway , has secured the rights to Rebecca F. Kuang's fantasy novel, The Poppy War . This gripping trilogy is currently undergoing an adaptation into a television series. The narrative centers around Rin, a war orphan from Southern China, who aspires to gain admission into the prestigious military institution, Sinegard Academy. Rin discovers that she has an ancient ability, which may be the only way to save her people from the impending Third Poppy war.

The Atlas Six

Amazon Prime has secured the rights to the enchanting fantasy novel The Atlas Six , written by Olivie Blake. Amazon is developing the show with Brightstar, which is a London-based production company. The company was founded by Tanya Seghatchian, who produced The Crown , and John Woodward who produced Cold Wa r. The storyline revolves around six exceptionally gifted magicians, who are chosen for a rare opportunity to secure a coveted place within the esteemed Alexandrian Society. This opportunity only comes around once a decade. Within this narrative, a captivating array of characters are pitted against one another, as they strive to survive and prove their worthiness for membership in the secret society.

From Blood And Ash

Amazon Studios is in the process of developing Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash into a television series. Anne Cofell Saunders, who is known for The Boys and Star Trek Discovery , is writing the screenplay and serving as showrunner on the project. The story follows Poppy Balfour, who holds the prestigious position of Maiden and is destined to Ascend, marking the dawn of a new era.

From Blood and Ash offers a paranormal romance with a unique twist on the traditional vampire and werewolf stories. As Poppy embarks on her journey, she unravels the truth behind a lifetime of deception, ultimately transforming her into the person she was always meant to be. Her journey will be represented in the live-action adaptation of the popular fantasy novel.

8 Fantasy Books That Are Getting Movies & TV Shows

In a black-and-white portrait against a dark curtain, Wright has one hand over his head and another under his chin. The image is somewhat blurred.

Jeffrey Wright: Hiding in Plain Sight in Our Favorite Characters

The veteran has played everything from an artist to a general to a professor, the role in “American Fiction” that finally landed him an Oscar nomination.

Jeffrey Wright’s roles seem to come through a combination of serendipity and chutzpah. For “Basquiat,” he was asked to audition for a side part. Instead he “read the role as I would play Jean-Michel Basquiat,” he said. He got the lead. Credit... Dana Scruggs for The New York Times

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Sarah Lyall

By Sarah Lyall

  • Feb. 13, 2024

A couple of years ago, Jeffrey Wright got an email from the screenwriter Cord Jefferson, who was preparing to direct his first film. Jefferson wanted Wright — a cerebral actor known for his commanding, indelible presence even in supporting roles — to star in “ American Fiction ,” his adaptation of Percival Everett’s mordant 2001 novel, “Erasure.”

“In the letter, Cord described how immediate and personal he found ‘Erasure’ to be,” Wright recalled recently. “And he said that he had begun to hear my voice in his head as he read the book. And then he said, ‘I have no Plan B.’”

Wright, who is 58, took the job. His exquisitely calibrated performance as the irascible novelist Thelonious Ellison, known as Monk, recently earned him his first Oscar nomination. It is a recognition, among other things, of his ability to elevate any movie or TV show simply by appearing in it. He has a way of burrowing so deeply into his characters that he seems almost to be hiding in plain sight.

From the bracing opening scene of “American Fiction,” in which a slur appears on a blackboard as part of the title of a Flannery O’Connor short story Monk is teaching to a class of college students, the film wades into thorny issues of race, authenticity and what white audiences demand from Black artists — and has great satirical fun doing it.

“It’s a conversation that’s at the center of the national dialogue right now, but we lack a fluency in how we discuss race — gasp! — and history and language and context and identity,” Wright said. He was being interviewed at the Four Seasons in Manhattan before flying to Britain to receive the London Film Critics’ Circle’s top award .

While (obviously) the film doesn’t solve the problems it identifies, he said, at least it’s willing to engage with them.

“We’re talking about hot-button issues but doing it in a way that’s inviting,” Wright said, “because we aren’t necessarily taking ourselves overly seriously and we’re having a laugh about it and allowing the audience to have a laugh, too.”

But what most attracted Wright to “American Fiction,” he said, was the story at its core, in which Monk grapples with a cascade of crises that have nothing to do with race — his mother’s dementia, his siblings’ disarray and the revelation of painful family secrets. Wright’s own mother died of cancer several years ago, and he said he felt a connection to Monk’s struggles.

“What I was most moved by was this man at the center of the film who was flawed and complicated but compelled by the responsibilities to his family,” he said. “I understood that and was able to find myself within the character maybe too easily.”

In an outdoor scene from the movie, Wright, carrying a box, walks beside another man toting a small suitcase. Behind them a woman carries another box.

Wright began his career on the stage in the late 1980s — he won a Tony at 28 for his performance as a drag queen turned nurse caring for a dying Roy Cohn in the original Broadway production of “Angels in America” — and has since played an astonishing array of characters in theater, movies and television. He was Jean-Michel Basquiat in “Basquiat” (1996), Gen. Colin L. Powell in “W” (2008) and Muddy Waters in “Cadillac Records” (2008.) In “Shaft” (2000), he played a Dominican drug lord with a zeal and swagger that stole the show .

He has had one-off parts in many TV series and starring roles in “Westworld” and “Boardwalk Empire.” He has appeared in big-budget movie franchises, as the C.I.A. agent Felix Leiter in three Bond movies, as Beetee in the “Hunger Games” movies and as Lt. (not yet Commissioner) Gordon in “The Batman” (2022).

He has a way of vividly training attention on his characters, but not on himself.

“He’s a consummate actor in that he disappears so fully into every role that you barely recognize it’s him,” said Lisa Joy, a creator of “Westworld.” Wright played the chief programmer of the lifelike robot “hosts” in the show for four seasons, eventually learning, in a shocking twist, that he himself was a robot. “He’s many people’s favorite character in whatever he’s acting in, but they don’t know that he’s actually their favorite actor,” Joy said.

The director Wes Anderson conceived characters in his last two films specifically for Wright. “We were completely counting on him from the moment we wrote the first sentence of that role,” Anderson said of Wright’s performance as Roebuck Wright , a kind of amalgam of James Baldwin and A.J. Liebling, in “The French Dispatch.”

Playing Gen. Grif Gibson in Anderson’s “Asteroid City” (2023), Wright had to deliver a rousing, fast-talking oration in a single magisterial take. “There’s not very many people you could ask to do what he does there,” Anderson said. “It’s just too complicated to do that much dialogue in one take with that much moving around and the sort of technical complexity of it, but that’s what he’s there for.”

Despite his insistence on “Jeffrey or nothing” for “American Fiction,” Jefferson said he wasn’t quite prepared for the experience. “To be honest, I was a little terrified of directing him,” he said. “It felt like telling LeBron James how to dunk a basketball.”

But “he’s great not because he says, ‘I’m Jeffrey Wright — leave me alone to do my work,’” Jefferson said, “but because he says, ‘What do you think about this line, what about my emotions here?’” Wright “did two things in this role that were spectacular and that needed very little guidance,” Jefferson continued: He allowed audiences to see the pain and hurt beneath Monk’s anger, and he played the comedy subtly rather than broadly. “His eyebrow acting is better than what some people can do with their entire bodies,” Jefferson said.

Issa Rae, who appears in the movie as the author of “We’s Lives in Da Ghetto,” a novel that infuriates Monk because he feels it caters to white readers’ stereotypes of the so-called Black experience, said it was fascinating to watch Wright improvising and riffing on different options for each scene.

She added that “the layers of his intimidating presence fell away” quickly, as he hung out with the other actors, told the story of an earlier theatrical rejection in a moment of downtime and marveled about American history, inspired by his bike rides along the Paul Revere Ride to Freedom bike trail in Boston, where the movie was filmed.

Tracee Ellis Ross, who plays Monk’s acerbic sister, Lisa, recalled their first scene together, set in a car. “I’m trying to smoke and roll the window down and drive, and I’m saying my lines and improvising a little,” she said. “And I look over and Jeffrey’s laughing. And he said, ‘You’re cracking me up,’ and I thought, ‘I made Jeffrey Wright break character!’”

“Lots of people would intimidate you with the body of work he has and the skill he has,” she said. “But you feel incredibly welcomed, and there’s a sense of play as you work together.”

In person, Wright is thoughtful in his responses and playful in his ideas. His path to acting was not an obvious one. He grew up in southeast Washington, D.C. His father died when he was a baby, and he was raised by his mother, a lawyer for the federal government, and his aunt, a surgical nurse — the first people in his family to go to college. His grandfather was a “southern Virginia oysterman and whiskey maker,” he said, who pitched in the Negro leagues.

As a child, Wright played peewee football, practicing “on this tiny little scratch of dirt at a triangular medium off of New York Avenue,” he said. After playing (and losing to) St. Albans, the tony boys’ school across town, Wright fell in love with the campus, applied and got in.

On the first day of sixth grade, he said, his mother drove him and he arrived a few minutes late. “I walked through the school and into the door that was to be mine, and as I did, the entire classroom of boys stood up” in greeting, he said. “I’ll never forget that. I felt from the first day that I was a St. Albans boy.” (One of his schoolmates was Senator Michael Bennet, the Colorado Democrat.)

Wright majored in political science at Amherst College and abandoned his plans to be a lawyer after performing a monologue in a production based on “Bloods,” Wallace Terry’s oral history of Black Vietnam War veterans. His mother had taken him often to the theater, and the play sparked something in him. “That seed planted early had been quietly germinating over many years and I just acted upon it,” he said.

After graduation, he returned to Washington, waited tables, did children’s theater, got a job as “the liveried guy in the corner” in “All’s Well That Ends Well” at the Folger Theater and then talked his way into a part in the Lorraine Hansberry play “Les Blancs” at Arena Stage. He enrolled and dropped out of acting school at New York University to take a series of theater jobs in and out of New York, culminating in “Angels in America.”

His roles seem to have come through a combination of serendipity and chutzpah. Asked to audition not for the lead in “Basquiat,” Julian Schnabel’s biopic about the artist, but for the role of Benny, a friend of the title character, he cheekily decided “to read the role as I would play Jean-Michel Basquiat,” he said. Eventually he landed the part. (Benicio Del Toro ended up as Benny.)

Wright, who lives in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn — two neighborhoods away from movie-star-packed Brooklyn Heights — has two children in college and is divorced from their mother, the actress Carmen Ejogo.

Race is essential to who he is, of course, but he said it hadn’t limited his professional life.

“Race is a sociopolitical construct,” he said. “I’ve always understood that to be Black in America was a political idea, and likewise to be white. I’ve played a range of things, but all my work comes from the perspective of my own experiences, and that doesn’t imply limitations — I feel the scope of what I am able to do as an actor is pretty wide.”

He sees “Basquiat” and “American Fiction” as “bookends” to his career, a way of coming full circle.

“‘Basquiat’ came from a place that was familiar to me, this young Black creative man who’s making his way around Lower Manhattan and finding and expressing his voice,” he said. “And with Monk I felt a personal intimacy with his journey, too.”

He added: “They’re both stories about a man who is trying to express his authentic self in the face of external resistance. They just want to be free like any other human.”

Sarah Lyall is a writer at large, working for a variety of desks including Sports, Culture, Media and International. Previously she was a correspondent in the London bureau, and a reporter for the Culture and Metro desks. More about Sarah Lyall

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Author Interviews

Police raided george pelecanos' home. 15 years later, he's ready to write about it.

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Andrew Limbong

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Writer George Pelecanos reads The Washington Post every morning in his home. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

Writer George Pelecanos reads The Washington Post every morning in his home.

It was August 2009 when the police raided writer George Pelecanos' home in Silver Spring, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C., with a no-knock warrant.

He was performing his daily ritual of sitting on the couch reading The Washington Post when he saw cars enter the driveway. "I saw these guys wearing black and holding automatic rifles and battering rams," he said in an interview at his home. The police broke down the door overlooking the driveway, and the basement door, too. Pelecanos said they put him on the floor and zip tied his hands.

The police were looking for his then 18-year-old son, Nick. The younger Pelecanos was a part of the robbery of a weed dealer, with a gun involved. So, the cops executed the no-knock warrant looking for evidence of guns or drugs.

After not finding anything, George Pelecanos said the officers started needling him about his liquor cabinet, his watch, his home. "One of the SWAT guys was looking at my books, and he goes 'maybe you'll write about this someday.' And he laughed," Pelecanos said. "And right then I knew that I would write about it. He challenged me."

No knock warrants have been banned in multiple states

Pelecanos is known for his gritty, realistic crime stories. For television, he co-created The Deuce , about the burgeoning porn industry in 1970s New York City, and We Own This City , the mini-series detailing a real-life corrupt police ring in Baltimore. As an author, he's known for his deep catalog of stories set in the streets of Washington, D.C.

His new short story collection is titled Owning Up . And it features characters grappling with events from the past that, with time, fester into something else entirely. There's a story about two guys who knew each other in jail, crossing paths years later. Another has a woman digging into her own family history and learning about the 1919 Washington, D.C. race riots.

writing fantasy movies

Many of Pelecanos' crime fiction book are set in Washington, D.C. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

Many of Pelecanos' crime fiction book are set in Washington, D.C.

But Pelecanos said he wanted to write about the August 2009 incident because he wanted to further show the effects of no-knock raids. The Montgomery County police department confirmed they executed the warrant but they didn't immediately provide any additional details. Pelecanos did share a copy of the warrant, which states: "You may serve this warrant as an exception to the knock and announce requirement."

The practice of issuing no-knock warrants has been under increased scrutiny since the police killings of Breonna Taylor in Louisville in 2020, and Amir Locke in Minneapolis in 2022. They're banned in Oregon, Virginia, Florida and Tennessee.

"They don't accomplish anything except mayhem and violence," Pelecanos said.

The story "The No-Knock" starts with a journalist named Joe Caruso drinking his coffee and reading the morning paper when the vehicles pull up. The same beats follow — the guns, the zip ties, the pinning down on the floor. Pelecanos writes like he remembers every sensation from that night, because, he said, he does.

It deviates further into fiction from there. Caruso wants to write about it, but he can't. He's too close. He starts drinking heavily, instead. Pelecanos, on the other hand, knew he could write about it, easily. But he waited for over a decade on purpose. He wanted his son's permission, first.

"I wanted my son to grow up," he said. "And so that I could say to you today – he's fine."

Owning Up to the past

"He allowed time for me to grow as a man, and develop myself as a responsible person," said Nick Pelecanos in an interview. He now works in the film industry as a director and assistant director. He got his start working on jobs his dad helped him get. So he's attuned to his father's storytelling style — how he favors details and facts over sepia-toned nostalgia.

"When he writes something, you know that it's technically correct," he said. "And has come to his objective, as non-biased as possible opinion."

writing fantasy movies

In Owning Up , Pelecanos writes about a non-knock incident inspired by real events. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

In Owning Up , Pelecanos writes about a non-knock incident inspired by real events.

As personal as "The No-Knock" is, Pelecanos calls the title story in the collection his most autobiographical. It's about a kid in the 70s named Nikos who works a job where he gets in with a bad crowd, and eventually gets talked into breaking into a guy's house.

"It's just the way my life was in that era and on this side of Montgomery County," Pelecanos said. "It was about muscle cars, playing pickup basketball, drinking beer, getting high."

Listening to Pelecanos talk about this story, it sounds familiar. You get the sense that history does repeat itself. That the same lessons get taught again and again. But that's O.K., because some lessons bear repeating.

"I got in trouble occasionally," he said. "But I always came home to the warmth of my family, you know? That's all you need."

Meghan Collins Sullivan edited this story for radio and the web.

The 10 Best Fantasy Movies With Zero Oscar Nominations

While they have a positive impact on the industry, the Oscars often ignore fantasy films in major categories.

The Academy Awards are an important institution that helps celebrate the best achievements in cinema each year. In addition to serving as a way to highlight the industry’s best work, the Oscars ceremony helps to shed light on underrepresented crafts, such as editing, cinematography, visual effects, sound, and costume design. While they have a positive impact on the industry, the Oscars often ignore fantasy films in major categories in the same way that they deny sci-fi films major nominations .

There are relatively few fantasy films that have won Best Picture , with only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Shape of Water, and Everything Everywhere All At Once taking home the top prize. It’s an odd discrepancy considering that the fantasy genre has existed since the inception of the medium, and has resulted in some of the greatest films ever made. Here are ten of the greatest fantasy films that received zero Oscar nominations.

10 ‘The Seventh Seal’ (1957)

Directed by ingmar bergman.

Antonius Block in 'The Seventh Seal portrayed by Max von Sydow

While he is responsible for making thought-provoking dramas , The Seventh Seal may be the most iconic and influential film of Ingmar Bergman’s career . A profound examination of the afterlife that utilizes both metaphorical imagery and allusions to medieval history, The Seventh Seal is an emotionally overwhelming experience that is impossible to entirely comprehend after just one viewing. A film of such grand ambitions that manages to flesh out its story in such depth certainly warranted Bergman a consideration for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominations.

Although it’s often cited as an achievement entirely of Bergman’s creation, The Seventh Seal features one of the greatest performances of Max Von Sydow’s career . While the brilliant European actor was recognized for his outstanding work in Pelle the Conqueror and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close , it’s a shame that his emotional performance in The Seventh Seal did not earn him a Best Actor nomination.

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9 ‘Groundhog Day’ (1993)

Directed by harold ramis.

Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in 'Groundhog Day'

There aren’t many films that can say that they single-handedly created their own subgenre, but Groundhog Day is one of them. Harold Ramis’ 1993 classic inspired many other “time loop” movies that adopted the same format, as the premise served as a perfect means of creating a unique character arc. While comedies are ignored as routinely as fantasy films in major Oscar categories, Ramis’ thoughtful, inspiring script deserved a Best Original Screenplay nomination for merging the two genres so successfully.

Although he’s often thought of as a broad comedic performer, Groundhog Day featured an Oscar-worthy performance by Bill Murray as the pessimistic news reporter Phil Connors. Murray did a great job at showing how Phil is confused, yet ultimately changed by his experiences, showing a real sense of character development. Unfortunately, Murray would have to wait until Lost in Translation to receive his first Academy Award nomination.

Groundhog Day

Rent on Amazon

8 ‘All of Us Strangers’ (2022)

Directed by andrew haigh.

Harry (Paul Mescal) and Adam (Andrew Scott) leaning in to kiss one another in All of Us Strangers.

While the Oscars have expanded their membership in recent years to reflect more modern sensibilities, there is still a lot of work to be done in accepting LGBTQIA stories in the major categories. While the Academy Awards had the opportunity to nominate a powerful romantic fantasy that speaks to the challenges of accepting one’s identity , Andrew Haigh ’s emotional film All of Us Strangers was shut out of the awards nominations entirely. It was a baffling omission considering the film had already scored major nominations at the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards.

In addition to the clever blend of fantasy and reality in Haigh’s screenplay, All of Us Strangers featured incredible performances by Andrew Scott, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy , all of whom were denied their first nomination. Scott’s snub is particularly upsetting considering how few openly gay actors are recognized by the Oscars.

All of Us Strangers

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7 ‘The Green Knight’ (2021)

Directed by david lowery.

Dev Patel in 'The Green Knight'

While it hardly wasn’t the first film based on Arthurian mythology , The Green Knight recontextualizes a classic by transforming it into an existential fantasy about accepting one’s death . Writer/director David Lowery proved once again why he is one of the industry’s most exciting new voices with his inanimate reimagination of a quest narrative; synthesizing such rich mythology into an exciting new version should have earned him nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Green Knight is an aesthetic marvel that could have easily earned Oscar nominations for its craftsmanship . While the Best Visual Effects category tends to reward blockbuster films made on a massive scale, The Green Knight proved that lower-budget films were equally deserving of recognition in the category. It’s also surprising that the stunning cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo , which turns nearly every frame into a painting, was overlooked for the Best Cinematography nomination.

The Green Knight

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6 ‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997)

Directed by hayao miyazaki.

San and her wolf brothers ride alongside the boars into battle

The Academy Awards did not introduce the Best Animated Feature category until 2001 , as it had previously overlooked a majority of animated films in major categories. While it certainly would’ve been a top contender had the category existed during its window of release, Princess Mononoke should have made history as a Best Picture nominee . Hayao Miyazaki ’s fantasy adventure is rich with visual detail and profound in its message of environmentalism. On a purely aesthetic level, it’s one of the most beautiful films ever made.

As with many of Miyazaki’s films, Princess Mononoke featured an Oscar worthy musical score from composer Joe Hisaishi . While Hisaishi has routinely written beautiful music that enhances the emotional quality of Miyazaki’s films, his work on Princess Mononoke remains one of his most iconic works. Considering the long-standing nature of his partnership with Miyazaki, it’s unfortunate that Hisaishi is still awaiting his first nomination.

Princess Mononoke

5 ‘my neighbor totoro’ (1988).

Mei Kusakabe and Satsuki in My Neighbor Totoro

Often cited as one of the best films that Studio Ghibli has ever produced , My Neighbor Totoro deserved Oscar recognition for its thoughtful screenplay and strong direction from Miyazaki . While films aimed exclusively at children are rarely recognized in major categories at the Oscars, My Neighbor Totoro shows that a truly great family film can entertain audiences of all ages. The iconography of My Neighbor Totoro has stood the test of time and remains intrinsic to the success of Studio Ghibli as a brand.

Unfortunately, the technical merits of animated films are often overlooked , as many are serving nominations outside the reductive “Best Animated Feature” category, which did not even exist at the time of My Neighbor Totoro ’s release. The film’s unique sound design, delightful score, and now iconic cinematography were all certainly deserving of Oscar nominations. Although it's been hailed as a classic in retrospect, it’s an unfortunate reality that Studio Ghibli films have historically been undervalued by the Academy Awards in favor of Western animation.

My Neighbor Totoro

4 ‘where the wild things are’ (2009), directed by spike jonze.

Where The Wild Things Are

While it was faced with high expectations based on the iconic nature of its source material, Where the Wild Things Are managed to seamlessly adapt one of the most beloved children’s novels of all time . While the original novel’s simplistic construction made it an odd choice for an adaptation, writer/director Spike Jonze did a great job of expanding the original text with a profound story about broken families. While Jonze would eventually take home the prize for his work on Her , his rich, intelligent writing of Where The Wild Things Are should have earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.

Beyond the brilliance of its story construction, Where The Wild Things Are is a tremendous visual masterpiece that was overlooked for its technical achievements . The Oscar-worthy makeup, visual effects, sound design, cinematography, and editing helped create a transporting experience that speaks to the universality of childhood imagination.

where the wild things are

3 ‘labyrinth’ (1986), directed by jim henson.

Jareth-The-Goblin-King-Labyrinth-featured

While it didn’t achieve the widespread popularity that his work with The Muppets franchise did, Jim Henson created an instant cult classic with his 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth . While Henson is often praised for the comedic value of his work with The Muppets , Labyrinth was a more mature narrative that used its fantasy elements as a metaphor for the transition from childhood to adulthood. A technical marvel, Labyrinth should have earned Henson his first Best Director nomination, as well as nods for its intricate makeup, costumes, production design, sound, and cinematography.

What’s most surprising is that Labyrinth ’s excellent musical score and original songs were overlooked at the Oscars , as the film’s rock soundtrack is essential in creating its unique tone. While David Bowie delivers fantastic renditions of the film’s great songs, his terrifying performance as Jareth, the goblin king, could have scored him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

2 ‘A Monster Calls’ (2016)

Directed by j.a. bayona.

Conor and the Monster looking ahead in A Monster Calls.

The best fantasy films have the power to both engage and educate their audiences, and J.A. Bayona ’s 2016 fantasy drama A Monster Calls contains powerful insights on dealing with trauma and loss . While centered around a young boy’s experiences dealing with the prospect of losing his mother, A Monster Calls utilizes breathtaking fantasy visuals to bring to life stories of fanciful imagination. Bayona has never created a more emotionally stirring or visually dynamic project and certainly deserved a Best Director nomination for his extraordinary vision.

While its visuals and cinematography were equally deserving of award consideration, A Monster Calls features one of Felicity Jones’ best performances ever. While Jones had received a Best Actress nomination for her work in the 2014 biopic The Theory of Everything , her performance as a young mother grappling with her impending death in A Monster Calls was just as worthy of recognition.

A Monster Calls

1 ‘stardust’ (2007), directed by matthew vaughn.

Charlie Coxx and Claire Danes in Stardust

The work of author Neil Gaiman has been popular on television, but Matthew Vaughn ’s Stardust proved that its eccentric source material was worthy of a big-screen adaptation . This hyper-sincere, sporadically comedic action-adventure is a throwback to the fantasy classics of the 1980s. It featured absorbing visual effects, lavish costumes, beautiful cinematography, and lush production design that transported the viewers to a fantasy realm, yet was completely shut out of the Oscar nominations.

The Academy Awards serve an important role in highlighting films that audiences may have passed over upon their initial debut. Despite Vaughn’s intentions to make a sequel , Stardust failed to illuminate the box office, despite its strong reviews. While a series of Oscar nominations could have generated more enthusiasm for the project, Stardust ’s merits as a potential modern classic were completely ignored by the voting body.

KEEP READING: The 10 Best Classic Western Movies With No Oscar Nominations

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    1. Develop your characters. 2. Develop your (story's) world. 3. Develop your backstory. 4. Craft an interesting and believable plot for your characters. 5. Decide how your story will begin. 6. Write the first chapter. 7. Decide on your story's climactic event. 8. Keep writing chapters until you reach the end. 9.

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