Other How to Write a Fantasy (novel) With Melpomene

[Melpomene]

Welcome!
​

It is I, the Inquisitor. I have come here on a mission, and that mission is to help writers and roleplayers improve on their craft. I have a large passion for writing and through planning and writing the first book of my own fantasy series (currently rewriting because, like many first drafts, the first draft of my series was ass) but I have learned a lot over the years and I am now a fresh and new woman with a new passion for writing and I wish to impart some of that knowledge on to all of you. I do hope that we can work together and that I can help many others craft masterful stories that I will be very excited to look at and read. For now, I am simply going to stick to the very bare-bone basics, but slowly I am going to try and go more in depth for genres I am more knowledgeable about (fantasy and medieval/ancient history) but in the first "chapters" I am going to stick to more barebones basics, such as the creation of characters, plot development and the three-act (and five-act) story structure, along with basic advice on how to make detailed writing.

You all probably want me to shut up at some point, but I have not been kicked off the site yet so I don't think I will.

As an idea of what we will be getting into later, I will talk about what real medieval sieges were like (mostly waiting, but other than that there was some real interesting ways of trying to take down a castle), along with the reason behind sieges and why people did them so you know when and why your characters would decide to lay siege on place. More than that, I plan on talking about real medieval war strategies as well as what caused kingdoms to go to war with one another. I will attempt to explain fiefdoms and liege homages as well as the importance of intermarriage, court life, and laws of succession, as well as how kings and queens were supposed to act in court (there is a misconception that the king could do whatever he wants without repercussion in some people's head, that is not true and there is a reason Henry VIII had trouble finding a wife after Jane died...). There are things which are a lot more... taboo than some people seem to think they were. I will also talk about the implementation of fantasy elements, magic, species and races along with religions and mythos. Importantly, I believe going over the different types of magic systems and how they play into the world is important as well.

For now, however, I will stick to the basics.

~Prologue... sort of?~​

One of the most important element of any story is the main hero(s). Or the main villain (s). As long as they are concentrated on and have some sort importance to the plot, then it is important that they are built well. I daresay that in most cases, this is what will be the ultimate spine of your story. Your audience has to want to follow this person. They have to want to root for them to succeed, or even just plain be so engaged in their schemes and goals that even if they do not like them, they want to see what this person is going to do next. Importantly, you have to be engaged and invested in what this character will do next. In both roleplaying and writing a story, everything becomes much more investing when the characters are extremely easy to become entranced with.

How to do this?

Well it is simple:

1. Give them a goal in life.

A goal gives a character something which they can reach towards. It is the end goal of the story and the character's arc, for better or for worse. It can change for the course of the story ( though I should mention that it should not be on a whim, as this goal should be very important to the character and thus it should be very hard to make them simply... change it). It can also seem very stupid and ill-conceived, perhaps even impossible. It can be very ambitious or very small. It can be simple or it can be very complicated. But it will serve as something solid for the audience to look at, and for you to look at, and know what the character once and their plans for getting what they want. I guarantee this will make shaping out a character arc much easier.

Anything will really do. It is very heavily dependent on the story, but it should be something concrete. Whether it is for good or for evil, they need a goal. I, personally, I like to look at the goal in two parts: The surface level and the deeper level. This goal will reflect both on them at the surface level as well as on a deeper and more intimate level. As we come to understand why the character holds this goal, we become entwined with them and understand them and what makes them the distinct character that they are.

The surface level of this goal can be something that is tangible, either in class, monetary value, financial stability, something which the audience can clearly see and can know when they reach it. If they are a dishonored prince/princess and want their kingdom back then their goal is to reinstate themselves as the leading monarch (which will be... very complicated... trust me on that.) Perhaps it is a man who simply wants his children to be safe. A good example of a solid and tangible goal being presented is in Breaking Bad. This is not a fantasy, I know, but I think it is masterful at storytelling as well as character creation and development. It had us rooting for Walter White despite the fact he truly was a deplorable human being.

Spoilers for Breaking Bad ahead.

You see, Walter White, after having been diagnosed with lung cancer, he realizes that with a newborn daughter on the way and a disabled son, his family would not have enough money to be financially stable should he die. And, being the breadwinner he elects to break bad (hence the title) with a former student of his in order to gain enough money to ensure his family is stable after he has died. This is a tangible goal that we can root for him to reach. We will know when he has reached it and we can then see why he takes the actions he does. Everything he does is for his family, he says, and we follow him in that goal of protecting his family.

I have mentioned that was only the surface level goal. As we begin to know the character better, we can see what lies beneath the surface level goal, what has caused them to take on whatever it is that is first introduced to the audience.

Here comes the deeper goal.

The prince and princess who were disgraced? Perhaps more than regaining their kingdom, they want to have the security of the crown back, believing that they shall feel less like their life is in shambles after they have gotten the solid feeling of the crown back on their brow. Or perhaps they simply miss the luxury of palace life and believe it is their right to have it back. Or they are hard set on revenge against the person that has caused them so much grief and wish to cause the antagonists as much strife as they had to suffer.

Back to Walter White. Later on, it becomes apparent that Walter does not just break bad because he wants to help his family, though he will continually use that excuse. He breaks bad because he is an egotistical asshole. He was too proud to take help from friends who were offering it to him, he was tired of feeling like he was a beta male compared to his DEA agent brother-in-law. He wanted to have his own empire, he wanted to be this big scary alpha dog and when he was in the drug business, no matter how dangerous it got, he felt like that. His real goal was to feel like that alpha male that did not need to rely on anyone else, the one that made the rules and scared everyone else shitless. His real goal was to make sure no one else provided for his family but him to prove he was capable. His real goal was to prove his superiority. As the story unraveled, that is what the audience saw in him. Not only was his goal not nearly as noble as we once thought, but it was nearly laughably stupid to do all he did just so he could feel like an alpha.

A goal for a character can go a very long way. It can be personality defining and having a goal will help you know where to go with for the story.

2. That character needs problems

No person is without problems. Usually, this problem will be the cause of the goal which was mentioned above. The problem can be big or small. The bigger the flaw is, the more it should bleed into many aspects of their life. It will be something which they cannot ignore and, oftentimes, should not ignore. It is something that the audience can relate to on some level and it shapes them in some way. While I definitely recommend not going completely ham on the problem (as sometimes I have seen people take it so far that it becomes ridiculous) it needs to be sufficient. And something which is not easily solvable. I mean there would not be a story if Frodo could just hop, skip, and jump over to Mordor, give Sauron a wave and then yeet that ring into the fires with no issue or sense of urgency.

Adding on to the examples earlier, the prince and princess mentioned had the problem of being disgraced and banished from their kingdom, perhaps declared as illegitimate and not being allowed to take the throne. Or perhaps their family was simply overthrown and then they were banished from the land to live on their days alone with no one. Either way, this is a problem. And this problem could bleed into their daily life. They were digraced, and people whisper about them. The new King could have them beheaded should they step out of line, or they suffer from a severe downgrade in treatment, are cut off from family and and friends, they have no actual say in their own lives any longer. All of this is a problem in the character's life and is something which is in need of fixing.

Walter White got cancer which ended up being the catalyst for his fall. But more than that, and this brings me to my next point, Walter White was a heavily flawed individual.


3. Make sure they are flawed.

That is right folks, more than making your character have problems, they need to have something in their personality that is a problem as well. Now, their outward problems can be caused or exacerbated by their inward problems, but they definitely need to have inward problems. Here comes the part I find people struggle with. There is... an abundance of people who give their characters problems in life, as well as a tragic backstory. I will state now that some people can be... overzealous. However, I do notice that people tend to have a harder time applying this same thing inwardly to their character. Many times they either apply non-flaws or weak flaws to their character.

For example: "people can take advantage of their good nature". Well that requires the character to be exploited for the flaw to actually be a flaw, thus it is not a strong flaw, and definitely not strong enough to be the only one. No character should have only one flaw anyhow. This can still be true for the character, but you must add something else to it. A character who is just extremely gullible, I believe, would be better. They blindly believe anything they are told. Someone does not need to specifically take advantage of that, they could just blindly read any propaganda or article and immediately decide to follow it. See? This does not require someone to specifically exploit them. Which makes it a better flaw.

Adding on, their flaws should be an impediment to them somehow. A character who has trouble socializing should be impeded by that. A character who does not know how to pick the right person to trust should be impeded. Someone who is just flat out unpleasant should be impeded by that. Somehow, their flaws need to keep them from immediately reaching their deeper and more personal goal as well as their bigger and more prominent on.

Now here comes where some people are split: Either the character can have one fatal flaw with small ones around them or just a bunch of small flaws which culminate in something bigger that impedes them. Both can work, but the important part is that you make flaws that properly work for the character. There have been many characters I have seen that just don't have the right flaws or flaws that are not big enough for them to feel real. Give them something they need to get over in order to reach their goal. Do they need to let go of their childhood love and move on with their life? Do they need to let go of their stubbornness and finally change their ways? Must they get over their fear of rejection and make the move on their love interest? Something has to be gotten over, something has to be fought against in order for them to reach their goal both inwardly and outwardly.

Once again, I bring up Walter White. His fatal flaw? He was egotistical. He let it consume him and because of that in Ozymandias, everything fell apart. He lost everything because he kept pushing his own luck, kept on wanting to reach higher and went to more horrifying lengths to do it. He became a master manipulator and ruined his relationship with his entire family, and he got his brother-in-law killed (as well as many others). He ruined others lives as well as his own until his final hurrah in the finale. His ego ruined him. He never got over it, which is why he completely crumbled. Not until the very end when he admitted it was his own fault so much grief was caused, and he never did it for his family, he did it for himself.

Now that is a character arc and well-built narrative for that character. (Take notes Game of Thrones)

In Uncut Gems the flaw was Howie's addiction to gambling as well as to that rush which it gives him every time he makes a large bet, those who watched the movie know how it all turns out for him (it was a great movie by the way, one of the most intense things I have ever watched). In Oldboy Dae-Su is overwhelmed by his need for revenge and the want to get the truth as to why he was imprisoned for 15 years. He is stubborn and will not end his goal, and once again, anyone who has see it knows how it ended for this poor soul (if you have not seen it, watch the original Korean one, not the trash American remake). Both of these characters are deeply flawed and in some way, those flaws are what drives the story, and damn does that give the viewer such an intense experience with both of them. We feel connected to them in a way we could not if they were any less well made.

Personally, I prefer the big fatal flaw surrounded by many smaller flaws approach. It is still very realistic as many people often have a big flaw that outshines the others when it comes to them being impeded by something (whether it is them being cowardly or just plain unsociable). Not only that, but it provides something for a character to get over in a story, which I feel many small flaws does not have the same effect. That is just me, I tend to prefer stories about individuals with large flaws.

~*~​

Welp, that is all folks.

This is a very basic guide to creating the main character, I plan on going more in-depth when it comes to character creation later, but these are three big things to focus on when molding an idea for any character. This is good for people who don't like completely planning out every aspect of their character. Think of a character, put them in a role, give them a problem, a goal, and some flaws that need to be overcome and you have a great base to begin shaping through the RP/book. However, I am highly against just making a concept and a role and then throwing them in to "see where it goes" I find these characters tend to come off as underdeveloped and lacking. I recommend having a solid idea about their problems, goals, and flaws before starting to shape them more fully. Trust me, it does wonders for when creating a character arc.

I suppose you could call this the end of Chapter 1.

It was nothing groundbreaking, but I plan on continuing this for a while, a little project to keep me sane while I learn more about writing through writing my own book. I hope to help all y'all out with writing yours. I think I will be going into the plot structure next. That will be more for people who plan on writing books, but it can apply to Rpers who like to plan ahead very intensely. But for my novel writers, the structure is extremely important.

Ciao for now!

--The Inquisitor

 

[Melpomene]

Chapter 1

The Story Structure
​

Alright, so now that you know how to make and refine the idea for a plot in your head, before you do too much planning you need to understand the basics of structure. Whether it be a five act, three act, or whoever many act story (the standard is usually three, but five can work) your story probably needs some type of structure. Of course, this is more geared towards novellas, short stories and novels rather than actual RPs. An RP tends to be able to get by with much looser rules than the other two. However, this advice can be applied to my buddies out there that like to make an RP that is akin to a novel or a movie. In order to do that, I recommend planning pretty far ahead with the structure. Before I get into how this works, I will speak on the two different types of writing that exist.

For the purposes of this chapter, I am only really going to cover 3 act, but I will probably go over 5 act at some later point.

Are you a planner or are you spontaneous?

Planner:

You like to plan everything out before you begin your story. Before it even begins you have an outline on how everything is going to go, where the events will take place and what characters will be introduced. When it comes to worldbuilding, they have a separate document and have listed down everything down to how elf cup stocks are looking (mighty bad, I must say). When you think of a planner, you can think of someone like J.R.R Tolkien, as everyone knows just how intense his worldbuilding gets. The man made his own language for Christ's sake. Not everyone is quite that intense. J.K Rowling, for example, has said she always has a basic outline but leaves room for things to be made up while she is writing. This is a very valid approach and I would say this is where many planners fall.

Pros:

• You always have an idea of where the story is going and what beats the future chapters are going to hit. ​
• Easier to keep track of plot threads and twists. ​
• Makes it easier to go back and change ideas. ​
• Makes it easier to keep track of ideas, plans, events, character, and character arcs. ​

Cons:

• Some people find it too rigid and dislike knowing what will happen next.
• If you are not a little bit flexible it will drive you mad as an outline can and should change as you write.
• It can make you feel confined to what you have listed down and take some fun away for people.

Spontaneous:

You don't like planning, you like to just begin writing and seeing where it takes you. The fun for you is in the fact you don't know where you are going with the story and thus the story seems all the more riveting. These people tend to be the growers when it comes to worldbuilding, much like George R. R. Martin. You plant the seeds here and there and sort of just let it grow with the story. Stephen King is a famous example of a non-outline author, as he has stated outlines make for a staler book, which is... debatable to say the least.

Pros:

• Keeps things fresh and always interesting, helps you stay on your toes while writing. ​
• Keeps everything creatively open and allows writers a freer space to lay out their ideas. ​
• Good for stream of consciousness style of writing. ​
• Some people are more productive when they can just write rather than plan then write. ​

Cons:

• It is harder to keep track of events, characters, ideas, arcs and plot threads when you are spontaneous.
• At the end, novels especially will have a higher chance of needing more intense rewrites than a planned novel.
• The plot may get away from you before you know it.

Both are valid forms. I would say the more complex a story is, the more you will likely need to plan it. The more simple, the less. However, I do recommend most people plan at least a little bit. While I understand the "hit the ground running" style, the story can quickly get away from you. As with making characters, for people it may be best to not follow the "see where it takes me" strategy and build a bit before you really begin running.

The reason why I bring up the two styles is because it will definitely effect how you structure your plot. For a planner, you will have a somewhat easier time as you can see in your outline where act 1 ends and where act 2 begins. For the Spontaneous writer, you will need to be thinking of that while you are writing and understand when you are coming to a point that will end act 1. Either of these writing types can work with a structured novel, and trust me when I say you want your novel to be structured. Unstructured novels are, I would say, harder to do successfully than structured novels are. This is why you'll find that if you really look, most novels are structured. This is not to say the structure is formulaic, far from it, rather it is the way to tell a proper story from beginning to end. How you use this structure is up to you.

Let's talk about 3 Act Structure (the standard in most cases).

The 3 Act Structure

​

This is something I wish people had gone over with me more (especially before I tried to write my first novel). My first novel was hot garbage because I did not know how to properly structure, so I basically ended up with a story that did not have an act 1 and thus was just... very messy and hard to follow. I am now rewriting and in my opinion, it is already looking way better. So, don't make my same mistake. Let's go on and find an understanding of what a basic three act structure means.

Act 1: It Begins...

Act 1 of your story is the introduction. As the diagram says, it is the set up. This is where you will introduce your mains and begin to set up their arcs/stories. Usually you will open up with a scene that is representative of their daily life. What their norm is. The first act, chapter, and sometimes even scene serve to tell us something about your main characters. I have always said that I should know something about a character, something that defines them, within the first scene of their appearance. Not just outwardly, but inwardly as well. I should know something about their personality, about their problems. In Berserk the first scene with Guts tells us a lot about him. He is a tough guy, kind of an asshole and a goddamn amazing fighter. It is enough to keep intrigued, but we still don't know him as a whole yet. And we won't for a few chapters.

There should be scenes depicting the character's normal life before finally coming to the point when some event happens that changes the character's life in some way. This is the 'Inciting Incident' which is basically going to jumpstart the plot. Or at least the story for that character if you have multiple mains. For Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit it was the Dwarves showing up at his doorstep (along with Gandalf) ready to take him off on an adventure. For Arlen in The Warded Man it was the death of his mother that sent him running from his father, and thus on his way to becoming, well, The Warded Man. See how these inciting incidents vary in drama? Either can work, it just has to be something that causes your character to go: "Well this is a change of pace..."

The 'Second Thoughts' bit is where your character might debate. This can be handled in many different ways, to be honest. A better way at putting it is a debate. Your character may debte whether they really want to leave their old life behind and go forward with the plot. You see this in many books. Mostly because, often even though we want change, change can be challenging and scary. Some characters don't have time to mull over it, and sometimes the choice to change is very soon after the inciting incident (depending on what the incident is, they may not have time to debate extensively, or even at all). So how this comes about in the story will change from one story to the next.

Finally the climax of the first act, which happens as soon as your character accepts the call to action. I mentioned The Hobbit before, and yes the end of Act 1 would be Bilbo signing the contract and then running off to join the Dwarves. However, some stories have a more dramatic end to Act 1, such as The Hunger Games where Katniss accepts her fate as a volunteer and fighter in the Hunger Games (where children are killed, so a pretty hefty acceptance there) and is taken off to the Capitol. Both of these serve as a transition from Act 1 into...

Act 2: The MEAT of the story

Act 2 is really where the plot begins. Act 2 will likely be the longest portion in your story and it will be one of the most important because this is where the summary comes from, this is what the story is about.

So breaking into Act 2, we have some obstacles to be met. The character is going with this call to action and thus, this character has to face whole new challenges in order to reach the goal they wanted to reach by going on this journey. In Uncut Gems Howie is putting a lot on Kevin Garnett buying that gem so that he can pay off his debt to his uncle, and as we see this play out we see him run into obstacle after obstacle. You see that in many stories. In a hero's journey story, this is where they are learning how to go from zero to hero. This is where they either meet the obstacles head on, succeed against them and thus get closer to their goal (or seemingly closer) or this is where they flounder against every obstacle and get farther away from it.

Act 2 is where you should also introduce new supporting characters for the main character to get involved with. This is usually when the love interest makes a serious appearance, or when a mentor, friend, enemy or even a family member comes strapping along to help your character out (or work against them). Act 1 should be very focused on your main character while Act 2 can shift the focus somewhat to others. Even if a lot will be about them being in your character's lives, this is where you can really give them story and depth.

Depending on what story you are choosing to tell and how your character is either floundering or really succeeding at life right about when they hit the midpoint. The midpoint should be when your character faces something big. This is when the stakes should be raised for them in some way. If the character is succeeding, they might have more and more pressure being put on them to keep succeeding. If they are floundering, well this is where they should hit a crippling defeat and be given one last glimmer of hope for them to go towards. In The Boleyn Inheritance, this is where Katherine Howard was put on the throne and Anne of Cleves's divorce was finalized from King Henry VIII. For both of them, this is a midpoint. Anne of Cleves just suffered a loss and now has to rethink how she is going to make it through life being dishonored in such a way. At the same time, Kitty Howard has a false victory, becoming the new Queen of England through her charm and wit. Both of them had their lives changed in very different ways, and both of them had the stakes raised, as Anne of Cleves now must always worry of Henry's very suspicious eye that is quick to send someone to the chopping block while also trying to make the best life she can out of being a permanent unmarried woman.

Katherine Howard, without knowing it, has had her stakes raised as she is now a Queen and can no longer act like a girl or else the King will and court will grow tired of her quickly. Both of them are being demanded to change now due to how the plot is progressing.

Then they hit other obstacles, but really this is when the main troubles begin to close in, right after the midpoint. While you character may still be fighting, this is when the enemies or their own flaws are beginning to get to them. This is when the King needs an heir and Kitty Howard must get him one by any means necessary. This is when you can see all the threats on the horizon and the anxiety builds in the character, and for the character.

Then there comes the crisis.

This is when the flaws and enemies strike. This is when Kitty Howard is accused of witchcraft and adultery. This is when things all begin to go to shit for for the main characters and it will lead into a dark time when they have to realize how much they lost.

This is the end of Act 2.

Act 3: The End.

Act 3 is going to be rather short. Act 1 and 3 will be short parts, Act 2 will take up the abundance of the story. But Act 3 is where the story climax happens.

The character has to come to understand where they are and what they need to do in order to get out of it, even if it is to no avail. This is when they throw in their last ditch effort to escape from the prison, or to slay the dragon. The beginning of Act 3 is usually them making the decision to continue on fighting and deciding how. This is when they find a way to fight even though all hope is lost.

In other words, this is when they should go:

​

(Even if they don't win). Then after they make the decision and plan, the climax happens.

It is the penultimate moment in your story. In Breaking Bad this was the episode Ozymandias when Walt watched everything he built crumble around him. This is the Battle of the Five Armies in The Hobbit. This is when Dany comes with her dragon in Game of Thrones (no matter how much you hated that scene...). Or in BoJack Horseman this was when he had to come to terms with his life, mistakes, and actions. This is where shit. goes. down. Depending on what type of story you are writing, this can be very action-packed, or it can be a simple insightful conversation. It can be when a character gets beheaded for treason, or it can be when the final battle against evil is fought. But this is where your character needs to stand their ground and fight in some way.

Then right after this, there comes the falling action. Falling action usually takes up one chapter for a character, at most. This is where your character (if they are still alive) reflects on everything that has happened. Then we are left with a final image that should contrast, in some way, with how this character started the story. In Breaking Bad Walter started as a dying cancer patient whose life dealt a bad hand, but he had a family who loved and cared about him. In the end, he was a dying cancer patient that was surrounded by a meth lab left to die alone on the floor.

No matter how you decide to do it, falling action is where we can calm down from the intensity of the climax and leaves the character, and audience, time to think about what just happened.

~*~
​

That is it folks!

There it goes, structure!

I don't have much more to say so... good luck writing! I am off to recover from strep throat, so I am going to go ahead and sign off.

May the writing Gods bless you with no writer's block.

~ The Inquisitor.