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Question: I keep running into problems I personally have with a fantasy series I am writing!. Any advice!?
Note: I will be bringing up LotR (Lord of the Rings) because it's a fantasy story that most of heard!. Please do not think I'm trying to make it like LotR; I actually want to make it unlike LotR!. I want this to be original and I am not trying to be like Tolkien!.
I'm writing a fantasy series, and I feel like I can't move forward because I am having problems with a few things, mostly related to avoiding cliches and and the length!. I will first give you some background info!. I will then ask my questions, and then I will say what I would like and not like in an answer!. Let's get started!.
I'm trying to make it original with good character development!. I have the whole plot planned out, with lots of notes and an outline written down!. Now, I'm aiming for around 400k words for it!. I know that it isn't a good idea to be so worried about word count!.!.!.and I'm not really!. I just really want this to be a good series, and 400k words is already pretty short for a series!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
You say that you are writing a series; you haven't said how many books you plan in the series!. Four hundred thousand words is not so many for a series!. I have written two fantasy novels of a potential trilogy about Atlantis -- which subject I chose partly because I had never really read any definitive fiction with Atlantis as its subject!. The second book in my series has nearly 300, 000 words which in the pdf format equates to 715 pages, quite a tome, possibly, but, in my opionion necessary to telling the story thoroughly!. Like you, I was concerned with not using cliches and consciously avoided doing so!. However, I wondered whether in that strict avoidance I might not create my own cliches! Optimistically, I regard what resulted as my particular style! I use a mixture of descriptive and explanative writing and dialogue, my intention being to lighten the essential expository information with (I hope) amusing and/or interesting conversation among the characters so that the potential reader will not become bored with reading endless descriptive paragraphs!. I think that you've obviously done your plotting properly and with conscientiousness, moreso than I did, actually!. Once I had my plots cerbrally conceived, I simply wrote the stories; during the writing, I feel almost as if the novels are actually creating themselves, as if I am "channeling" the words I write!. You may experience similar sensations when you actually begin writing!. Of course, in my case, much editing and many corrections were necessary after the initial writing, particularly as I am somewhat of a perfectionist!. However, I do love the entire process!. Since you are well prepared to begin creating your stories, I suggest that you simply write them, concentrating on the first, naturally, and just seeing where the characters take you!. Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think that I'm generally ok with cliches, when the author puts a new and fresh spin on them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
okay here is my idea!. Just let things flow!. Don't worry about avoiding cliches!. you will have to go back through your books anyway and you can take out cliches and stuff!. A few cliches here and there won't hurt!. If you worry your work will turn out bad!. Just let things flow and it will turn out great!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I wouldn't worry too much!.!.!.!.yet!.
If by the end of your story the cliches read like Stephanie Meyer's Twilight (Cliched to the max) then you've failed lol!.
But since you're so worried about it then I doubt it'll turn out cliched!. And cliches are diffficult to avoid these days anyway so just make them new and different you know!?
ANyways hope i helped :DWww@QuestionHome@Com
Try to get all of the information from LOTR out of your head, so you can make your own story original!.
Try looking up information about Mythical stuff (things related to that) and try spicing it up with your own imagination!.!.!.
sorry I don't have any much to say :) sorry if it didnt help a lot, but i tried my best :)Www@QuestionHome@Com
A suggestion - for now, just write!. Don't worry about word counts, or cliches in writing (some of which are pretty hard to avoid in fantasy), or that parts of it may sound derivative!. Proofing and editing were invented to fix precisely those problems!.
You are right about 'The Fellowship of the Ring' - authors (the good ones) use the first novel of a series to establish setting, characters, conflict, etc!. The characters go on to develop further throughout the story!.
lol - I really don't have any expertise on which to base this advice, except reading everything I could lay hands on for the last 50 years, and 30-some years teaching literature!.
Good luck!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
The first mistake you are making is worrying too much!.
As a writer, you're first job is to WRITE!.!.!.all the cliches!.!.!.and the plot problems can be ironed out with revisions and editing later!. This includes your fear of overuse of adjectives!.!.etc!.!.
If you worry so much about the what if's and the how am's!.!.!.your writing will suffer and you may turn away from writing completely!. You'll leave your story unfinished and then regret it later in life!. Trust me!.!.I'm speaking from experience!.
For the first draft!.!.!.just WRITE!. Leave the worrying for later edits and proofs!. :)
WRITE! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com
I'm more worried that you say you have downtime, you should rarely have times where nothing happens or your readers get bored!. Readers want conflict, verbal, physical, emotional or mental!.
Fill your downtime with dialog, internal or external!. Include your back story there!. Hero explains an incident from his past to someone who doesn't have anyway of knowing that information, for example, but make it something with bearing on the story!. Or you can have your hero argue with himself about what he is doing, planning on doing, already did, A little angst makes things interesting!.
I would not worry about cliches so much, Each writer has their own voice, pace, imagination, and personality!. Look at how many authors have redone the fairy tales we all heard as children, but added twists or perspectives that made even those tired cliches fresh!.
And don't be afraid to explore subplots!. Sometimes a good character takes off in ways that you did not originally plan, go with it as long as it adds something to the main plot!.
But mainly just write!. I read what an author said on writing once, don't remember off hand which one, but he said don't be afraid to write crap, just worry about writing, crap can be edited out later!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
"I just really want something original and I think there are too many stories with evil rulers, captive princesses, wise sages, and power-wielding items!. These were not cliche when LotR was written, but they are now!."
They were then as well!. Try reading some Edgar Rice Burroughs or the Grimm Brothers!. These four items should be more properly called archetypes since they date back to most of the world's early sagas and folk tales!. If you're really interested in such things try reading either Joseph Campbell (Hero with a Thousand Faces) or Frazer's Golden Bough!. You're confusing the elements which define the genre with cliches!.
Cliche because of Tolkien!? Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, a need for a central super powerful device, the team of widely disparate adventurers, inventing a language, the weak (secretly strong) narrator/gateway character, and even the single device quest in itself!. Oh and pretty much anything based upon the magic system or assorted well known worlds of D & D (they lost the law suit!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com
First you need to edit your question!. You only have to say "I want to avoid cliches" ONCE!. You only have to say I want to be original once!.
You are sweating length and planning too much!. Start WRITING!. You need to know exactly who your main character is and have everything revolve around that character!. Get started!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Before you start writing, plan out what main events will occur in your story!. See how they will fit into your story!. Have all of your different parts to your story add up to about 400k words!. It works well when you plan out the whole thing and start thinking of the format and everything!. You can get a good picture of how to do this if you have read a fantasy book about this long, so it shouldn't be too hard if you try this before starting!.Www@QuestionHome@Com