Fantasy Fiction Writer’s Guide

I’ve written and self-published four epic novels (120k+ words). I’ve participated in writer’s groups for many years. If you have a look at my novels (link in the sidebar), you will probably agree that I don’t suck. I’m struggling a fair bit more to write compelling game narrative.

During my decade or so as an ardent writer, I perused many tomes of writerly wisdom. Here I’ll share the distilled wisdom of all of those books. Characters are the heart of fiction, of course. Setting requires special attention in sci-fi and fantasy fiction.

After those basics, the structure of a scene is a key art form. A scene could be a chapter of a novel or game, but is most seen in television shows and movies, which have to be pared down to the most essential components. I’m looking for improvement to my scene handling by returning to these old notes. So I thought I’d just post them here, in case they might help anyone.

The golden scene rule is to “get in late and leave early”. The golden scene formula is: situation, complication (and increasing stakes for failure), and resolution. So don’t neglect to study the scene section at the end, and I’ll include a list of recommended reading after that. Happy writing.

Focused Writer’s Check List

Last Revision: 4/9/2024

Characters:

a. Appearance. Strong first impression?
b. Description. Sensuous, with metaphors, similes, hyperboles, mannerisms? Sufficient exaggeration? Use of a reinforcing echo to hit the key characteristics?
c. Distinguishing Characteristics/Core Self. What are they? What are the character’s deepest, most stubborn convictions?
d. Worst Fault/Greatest Strength. Do they come through?
e. Goal. Does the character have a goal, and is she passionate about it?
f. Reaction. Are situational reactions consistent within the various layers of the character (Core beliefs, values, attitudes, opinions)? Do situations have impacts and ripples on those layers?
g. Contrast. Enough strengthening contrast with other characters?
h. Outer Conflict. Is the character paired off with an opposite?
i. Action. Can the character be more vivid by being more active and risk-taking?
j. Resolution/Change. Does the character have a satisfying ending? Does the character change somehow through the crucible of all that has happened?
k. Voice. Word usage, contractions, emotional level are consistent?
l. Contradiction. Does the character seem real and not a cardboard cutout?
m. Reactions/Growth/Character Arc. Are the character’s reactions to situations consistent?
Does the character learn things, deepening the plot? An arc must have a build or it will not be
convincing: a beginning, a doorway, impacting incidents, deepening disturbances, moment of
change/epiphany, aftermath.
n. Sympathy and Neutrality. Anti-heroes are not pure evil, and heroes have flaws? Is the reader allowed to judge, without being told how to react to a character?
o. Establishing a Bond.
i. Identification. The lead appears to be a real human being with human issues.
ii. Sympathy. In contrast to empathy, intensifies emotional investment in the lead. Overuse can make the reader feel manipulated. Four simple ways: jeopardy, hardship, underdog, vulnerability.
iii. Likeability. The character does likeable things, is witty, engaging.
iv. Inner Conflict. Characters who are absolutely sure of their actions are not that
interesting.

Dialog and Monologue:

a. Four types to deploy. Direct/dramatic, indirect/reported, stylized, and asynchronous. Direct is
critical to seem real.
b. Interior monologue. Is there enough of it?
c. Consistent Speech. Do the characters have consistent and distinct speech patterns?
d. Momentum. Have you considered using a conversational goal- information to obtain or an
opinion to be sold- to keep dialog moving forward? Setting an otherwise static conversation in the
context of other action, or time pressure?
e. Avoid dialog killers: stating what the reader already knows, sounding scripted, stating scene
issues explicitly.

Setting:

a. Description: are all settings adequately conveyed, and do they convey feelings? Try writing at
least three descriptive sentences about setting before the character is referred to, then several more
sentences without the character, then back again. Start wide and focus to a POV.
b. Mechanics: are these adequately explained? Is magic in particular clearly explained? What
about birth and creation, death and the void?
c. Social, political, religious structures (in fantasy/sci-fi). Are these adequately explained?
d. Races (in fantasy/sci-fi). Are they adequately explained?
e. Killer Details. At least five high-focus details in each chapter, including a simile and a
metaphor?
f. Do details adequately ground the larger events and images?
g. Do readers emerge from a scene with an adequate sense of where it took place?
h. Is there enough trivial information, which is extra-important in fantasy?
i. Variety. Is there enough setting diversity to keep things interesting?
j. Fictive Dream. Readers seek a dream experience, a conveyance to a world that is other than
their own. Is there enough peculiarity?

Word Choice:

a. Quality of Prose. Is it credible, and thereby in control, and thereby trustworthy?
i. Credible diction. On par with audience? Words are not misused? Clichés are avoided?
ii. Economy. Does the prose sprawl? Is it too repetitive? Are info dumps avoided?
iii. Sentences. Smooth and well-constructed? Variety of lengths?
iv. Parts of Speech. Too many amateurish adjectives and adverbs, and too weak?
v. Tone. Is the author invisible? Humble with punctuation?
d. “Was” and “felt”. Use of “was” and “felt” to tell rather than show?
e. POV. The character’s view, and not the writer’s? Is emotion just being described, or is the
character really experiencing it from her point of view?
f. Five senses. Are there consistently appeals to all five senses?
g. Motifs. Are there any dominant or particularly remarkable visuals or motifs?
h. Vagueness. Are some things left vague, to allow the reader to think?

Plot:

a. Promise. Is a promise made to the reader about what to expect? Can the novel be clearly
categorized into a genre in order to make that promise? Is the promise made in the opening?
i. Emotional promise. The reader will be thrilled, chilled, entertained, uplifted, nostalgic,
saddened, turned on, etc.
ii. Intellectual promise. The reader will see the world from a different perspective, or have
her view of the world confirmed, or will experience a different, more interesting world than this
one.
b. Overall Pattern.
i. Genre schematic. Is it literary (inner journey->hopeful ending or downbeat/ambiguous
ending), or commercial (goal + ever rising actions -> seesaws of successes and setbacks->climax)
or a mix?
ii. Pattern types.
1. The Quest. The lead is incomplete. Searches for something of vital importance. Huge obstacles. Results in character change for better or worse.
2. Revenge. Lead should be sympathetic. Revenge is violent business. Wrong done to lead is not his fault, or out of proportion to his fault. Story-starting disturbance is the wrong that was done, followed by a period of suffering.
3. Love. Goal is obtaining love from the object of affection. Opposition can be the other lover, classically, or a rival. Lovers are separated. They get back together, or not. One or both grow as a result.
4. Adventure. Lead sets out on a general adventure. Meets interesting characters and sees interesting things. Usually derives some insight.
5. Chase. Threat, chase, and ultimately relief. Lead can be chaser or chased.
6. One Against. Lead embodies a code of the community. Threat to the community from the opposition, who is stronger than the lead. Lead inspires community. Victory may come through self-sacrifice.
7. One Apart. The Lead is apart from the community, according to a personal code. The Lead is drawn into the larger conflict. The Lead must decide whether to take a
stand.
8. Allegory. Many forms, but the pattern is that the characters represent ideas, and the events of the story are meant to show the consequences of those ideas.

c. Structure.

i. Act one. Entry into the hero’s world. Call to adventure. Call can be ignored. Hero crosses
the threshold into a dark world.
ii. Act two. A mentor may appear to teach the hero. Battles happen with the forces of
darkness. Hero must confront a dark moment within herself. A talisman aids in the battle.
iii. Act three. The final battle is fought. The hero returns to his own world.
iv. Plot points/Doorways one and two. Transitions between acts that incorporate a
thrusting forward, an inevitability, and most importantly no going back. First transition at about
1/5 mark, second at 3/4 mark.
i. Starts with present action, conflict, and/or a dramatic situation that presents a significant
threat, a change. Routine-disruption of all kinds is a primary strategy. The protagonist must act to
get back to equilibrium.
ii. Immediately interests the reader and raises questions in her mind, even at the expense
of setting and elimination of exposition?
iii. Is there a dramatic situation presenting the character with change?
iv. Does the lead decide on a course of action, creating a story question, something the
character wants, and an obstacle?
v. Are strong specific details used? Effective details are critical. They anchor the story in
reality, distinguish your opening from thousands of bland ones, and lend credibility.
e. Types of Hooks.
i. Action. in medias res. Dialogue with conflict counts as action.
ii. Raw Emotion. Can create a bond to the main character.
iii. Look-Back Hook. Employed by Stephen King. Suggest a not-to-miss story about to unfold.
iv. Attitude. When using first person, particularly in lit fic.
v. Prologue. The most effective entice readers to move to Chapter One. It must connect to
the main plot, but does not have to introduce the main character.
1. Action prologue. A staple of suspense fiction, typically involving death.
2. Flashback prologue. May involve a past event featuring the main character.
3. Story frame. A character is about to look back to tell a story. Suggests consequences and events that have reverberating effects through future and past.
4. Teaser. Rarely used. A preview of the coming attraction.
vi. Exposition. Avoid information dumps. Strategies:
1. Act first, explain later.
2. Iceberg. Explain only 10%, give the rest later.
3. Information in confrontation. Crucial information from the character’s POV
thrown out in a scene of intense conflict.
f. Flow of Events.
i. Too linear and predictable? Or do twists and turns, side-paths and indirectly related
points, red herrings and reversals satisfy?
ii. Are passive and active scenes well-mixed, or are they too bunched together?
iii. Are too many of the scene settings too similar?
iv. Is the law of stimulus and response followed? Do sequences of events chain logically
together?
v. Does the struggle build to a climax?
g. Momentum In The Middle. Keep stretching the tension and raising the stakes.
i. Stretching the tension. Milk your high points. Don’t let them whimper.
ii. Setting up the tension. Make sure the stakes are high enough.
iii. Stretching the physical. Extending beats can stretch tension even when a character is
alone. Orchestrating beats to match tone and tension of story is very important.
iv. Stretching the Emotional. Play up the throes of emotional turmoil.
v. Raising the stakes. Train yourself to torture your character. Create a list of possible bad
things that could happen. Order them by severity in order to create a roadmap of woe.
1. Plot stakes. Commercial fiction is plot driven. Almost always involves someone
trying to do the lead harm, physically, emotionally, professionally. Constantly increase the
opposition and penalty of failure until it is death, or worse.
2. Character stakes. Stress in lit fic is usually on this inner aspect, but problem is
the same. Why should the readers care? Catcher in the Rye-psychological stakes increase.
3. Societal stakes. When social and political stakes are high enough, they can
greatly complicate a lead’s woes. War.
vi. Energize a lethargic middle. Re-analyze the stakes. Strengthen bond between
protagonist and antagonist. Add another level of complication. Add a new complicating character,
even a love interest. Add another subplot, like a romance.
h. Story Question.
i. Is there enough at stake for the main characters?
ii. Are the plot complications complicated enough?
iii. Ending.
iv. Does the resolution answer the story question posed at the beginning?
v. Does the resolution come at the climax of the story?
vi. Does the climax involve the protagonist taking action?
vii. Is the resolution satisfying?

Scene:

a. Timing. Did you get in late and leave early? (The Golden Maxim)
b. Formula. Situation, complication, resolution.
c. Scene Goal. Is the scope of the scene goal too large, or too small? Is there immediate impact that can provide an outcome that is significant to the overall story? Does the scene goal relate to the story question, or at least to character arc development?
d. Conflict.
i. Is the scene conflict related to the goal?
ii. Is the conflict with another person?
iii. Are physical, emotional, and psychological angles all considered?
d. Climax
i. Is there one?
ii. Is there adequate conflict and buildup?
iii. Is the climax played out blow by blow, with no summary?
e. Scene Resolution. Consider the goal, angles of conflict, and nature of end disasters which can
change the plot.
f. Scene Devices: Half-scene and scene snippets can flavor and break narrative summary, injecting
scenic devices to make summary alive, and can also characterize. He’d grown closer to her with
every passing day. She’d make him brush her hair every morning. “Well done, Anin,” she’d say.
Also called “routine action” as opposed to present action. Off-screen elements: create tension by
having events happening elsewhere affect the character.
g. Subtext. Is there subtext to create richness, depth, and interest?
h. Sequel- emotion, thought, decision, action -> another scene.
i. Mini-hooks: are mini-hooks employed as lifelines for the reader to keep reading, especially
where there are absences of scene goals?

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