• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

Creating characters, world building, and plot structure....

minstrel

New Member
...Yep, I'm new to fantasy writing. Can ya tell? *grin* New to the site, too. Nice to meet you!!

I've been writing fantasy for, hm, a couple of years, working around one specific storyline and set of characters (and a couple of other shorts and bits and pieces of stories I've started but never fully developed), but I'm really struggling with it. I'm finding it really hard to develop my characters and make them well rounded (due to my fanfic past my FMC has some Mary Sue-isms I'm trying to improve on)... and keeping the plot moving is a really big challenge.

So, I guess my questions are, what are some of your sources of inspiration, what keeps you drawn to a story as readers and writers, and what do you like to see to keep the plot moving? I'm fresh out of ideas of new challenges to give my characters, and how to develop my characters and expose my world while still keeping the story interesting (the whole show, don't tell bit).

In a nutshell, my story is high fantasy, and though my MCs are human, I've been playing with the possibility of adding elves and dwarves to part of the journey. The world is medieval (low technology, magic, soldiers, swordfighting and a feudal system class structure), my FMC is your stereotypical flaxen-haired peasant farmer, the BEBG (Big Evil Bad Guy) is a necromancer. So, yes, my world's got it all; elves, maybe fairies (haven't decided on them yet), dwarves, magic, an assassin and a looming zombie apocalypse; the trick is that I'm not sure why BEBG is running around burning villages down and the like; at the moment, he's just causing trouble. Any suggestions you might offer (I can go into more detail if anyone wants) would be very welcome. Thank you!!
 

Digital_Fey

Troubadour
If you'll excuse my saying so, your lack of inspiration could have something to do with the fact that you're treading a very well-worn path in the fantasy genre. You've got all the right ingredients for a really good story there - peasant hero, lots of magical races and a necromancer bent on destruction - but there have been many good (and not so good) stories written along those lines.

In order for you to find your true voice, which will hopefully lead to more inspiration and a greater bond with your characters, making them easier to develop, you need to ask yourself some questions. Why have you chosen a medieval setting? Do you have a particular interest in medieval history or weaponry? Is there a different time period that appeals to you more, or are there perhaps elements from several that you could mix into something new? What is the role of each magical race (elves, dwarves, etc.) that appears in the story? What makes them crucial to the plot, how do they integrate into society as a whole? What is it about this society that makes the BEBG want to destroy it? When it comes down to it, who is he? I find character profiles very useful for this sort of thing - you don't have to drown in detail, but pondering things like your character/villain's childhood, parents, studies and general personal background helps to create a three dimensional persona as well as potentially exposing new directions the plot can go in.

Hope this helps^^;
 

TWErvin2

Auror
Minstrel,

It sounds as if you have some ideas for characters and setting, but it doesn't appear you have what often drives the story forward: Conflict.

If you have the 'bad guy' who is doing things, but you don't know why he's doing it--that's a problem. One you can solve. Yes, some not so nice folks do some nasty things for no apparent reason...and I say apparent for a reason.

And then the main characters. Presumably they're not happy with/suffering because of what the necromancer is doing. Okay, what are they going to attempt to do about it...or what is somebody else attempting to do about it, and the MC's get involved? Then you have the embers of a struggle.

You can have many of the elements that are common to high fantasy, but make it your own with a unique conflict. Flank Hawk has a necromancer king (thus zombies), but it turns out that the annual crop disruption raids this year are actually something different and far reaching. That's where the main character, a farm hand talked into joining the local militia, gets involved. From there Flank Hawk's story proceeds.

One of the best ways to learn how to write a good novel is to read a lot of novels--but not simply for enjoyment. Study how the author managed it. How did they set up the conflict? How was it resolved (if it was). What hurdles did the protagonist have to overcome and how were those incorporated into the plot? How were characters introduced, how did they develop throughout the story? What POV (Point of View) will work best for the story you're preparing to tell? What did other authors use and how did they employ the selected POV to best advantage?

I suspect you have some favorite authors whose works you would not mind rereading as you study how those authors did it.

Those are the suggestions I have to go about it--to overcome what is hindering your novel writing effort.

Hang in there!

Terry
 
Minstrel,

I would suggest you step back from the plot that you are trying to put together and focus on your characters. Start with you protagonist. Figure out who he is and how he got to be that way. Is he mean and sarcastic? Is he that way because his father was that way to him? Is he nice? Is it because he had a close relationship with his mother? Does he champion the cause of feminism due to that relationship? How does he speak? What kinds of things would he say to a friend? Would he speak differently to someone of upper class than someone of lower class? You need to know your character before you decide what he is going to do. These questions will guide all of your characters actions through your story.

Now your antagonist. You need to ask many of the same questions. You defiantly need to develop his motivation. Conflict is what drives our stories (no matter what genera you are writing). Conflict happens when you put your protagonist's desires in contrast with your antagonist’s desires... You antagonist wants the village to burn because the woman who betrayed him was sheltered by the villagers and he wants to send a message to everyone in the realm. The protagonist does not want the village to burn because the love of his life (whom you have already developed and made your audience care for) is in the village under an enchanted sleep from which she cannot awaken till the moon is full. (or something like that)

You should also make your characters more realistic by giving them faults and redeeming qualities. No one believes the perfect hero, or the completely evil bad guy. Give you protagonist some secret that he does not want anyone to know about, or an internal struggle that he has to resolve before the end of your book. Give your antagonist sympathy for one of the good guys, or maybe he grows dandelions in his back yard. Something that makes this guy seem more realistic to your readers.

True, you may need to just write before your characters personalities start to make themselves known to you, but at some point you are going to have to stop and develop them.
 
Top