The elusive muse. Long considered dead by some, still widely sought after with hounds, nets, and harpoons by others, the concept of “invoking the muse” still lurks out there in the writers’ ether.
Inspiration can be fickle: it doesn’t always necessarily come when you want it. There are some tried and true methods for getting ideas and motivation to write. These have been discussed in multiple “killing writer’s block” and other such advice columns.
What I want to propose are ways to find inspiration for writing fantasy, some of which may be obvious and others not so much.
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Often writing advice comes at a price. You don’t always know what works and what doesn’t unless you actually put it into practice and get results.
I’m here to say that every situation is different. So understand that as a writer, it’s up to you to find out what works.
Below, I’ve presented 15 alternative ways to approach your writing. Despite many of them going against what other professionals may preach, I think you’ll find some wisdom in each step.
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World-building is a topic that comes up often in fantasy writing circles. If you’re writing epic fantasy, most often it’s going to be in a world of your own creation. Even if you’re writing in our own world, if you have fantasy elements in your story (e.g., magic, mythical creatures, necromantic hamsters), then you have to do at least a tad bit of word-building.
However, how much world-building is too much? How much is too little?
Some people may be extensive world-builders, laying out ten thousand years worth of history, historical texts, dead languages, extinct races, etc. Others may be minimal world-builders, relying only on a handful of elements to power their story forward. So which method of world-building is better, both for your readers and for your writing?
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The key to finding your way as a writer is to discover what kind of writer you are.
Are you the type that talks about writing but doesn’t really do it much? Are you the kind that works diligently every day, but always ends up deleting or scrapping the whole manuscript? Are you the perfect planner, but awful at execution? Or vice versa?
Finding your strengths and weaknesses as a writer can help you navigate your way along the path to being the perfect “you.” Sound flaky? Maybe, but the sooner you can chip away at your problems the earlier you can fix them.
I’d like to preface this by saying I’ve fallen into every one of these categories before. So if any of these describe your current writing situation, I feel your pain.
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You’re working on your current project when a beautiful faerie lands on your laptop and says, “Hey! Why are you writing this boring story? Look over here!”
Wow, a story about elven wyvern hunters in 18th Century Central America is much more interesting than my current Work in Progress (WIP) about mutant horse-thieves in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by centaurs.
The faerie grabs your hand, hovers it over a new Word document, and jumps up and down on your finger until you left-click it. Ah. Like sinking into a warm bath. The feeling of cleansing away your dirty, stinky WIP and starting a pristine, new document, that little blinking cursor sending shivers up your spine.
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I’m not wearing pants. However, when writing novels, sometimes I like to sit in my jeans or maybe pajama bottoms. Wait a minute. I know what you’re thinking. “Is he really going to talk about the benefits of writing with or without pants?” Well, I was going to…
I think the more appropriate question might be, “How do you write?” Do you write with no pants (aka “seat of the pants writer” or “pantser”) or do you write with all your clothes laid out (aka “outline writer”)? This is an age old question that is often batted back and forth between writers of all types. When it comes to fantasy writing, boy, do you have a lot of work to do.
I’ll go point by point (with no pants), explaining why just making stuff up as you go along vs. outlining and world-building every minute detail can be both a pleasant and horrifying experience: like getting drowned by mermaids.
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So first you may be saying, “Film classic? Conan the Destroyer? Ha!”
Hear me out.
This isn’t going to be a glowing review of why Conan the Destroyer is the best movie ever made. Nor will it be a review trashing a movie that is maligned by most fans of fantasy cinema. It will be “balanced.” Meaning I will give both points and counterpoints to why I love/hate different aspects of this movie.
Come along with me on a journey. Not a journey to slay Dagoth, but a journey nonetheless.
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With self-publishing on the rise, you can now bypass the traditional route, but there are still some of us out there that prefer the “submit, submit, submit” method.
So why won’t you get published either way?
Well, let me tell you, young grasshopper. It could simply be that you’re not finishing anything.
Here are five reasons why:
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“I’m stuck.” These two words ring in your ears.
That blank page. The blinking cursor. After three hours of hard-work, all you have is this:
The Knight of Moonberries
by John R. R. R. R. Johnson
The knight walked…
And that’s it.
That blank page is waiting for you to blow it up. Fill it full of holes. Slash it, burn it, run over it with a tank.
So here I am to tell you how to forever and ever, eliminate writer’s block from your vocabulary. These are 5 ways (maybe not the Top 5, but nevertheless 5 ways) to smash writer’s block in the face and send it spiraling out into the cosmos.
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Tired of waiting months, weeks, or even days to hear back about your manuscript? Is that 500,000 word door-stopper just desperate to get immediate feedback? Do you like fast food, Twitter, and teleportation?
For those of you that want feedback from an editor yesterday, this is your guide to immediate success. Until recently, I’d never been published, but it wasn’t because of lack of talent. It was because I didn’t use these steps to woo the editors over. Now that I’ve done so, I finally got my short story collection, “Stories that Start in Inns,” published. Go buy it! Now!
You too can pursue your publishing dreams. Just follow these five easy steps and wait for the money to roll in!
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