I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Tips For A Good Medieval Fantasy Novel ?

Asked by: Matteo Laak

Sit down with your map of your setting and your plot outline. Focus on creating a first draft of your novel, writing nuanced descriptions and describing unique, diverse characters. Make sure you ground your reader in your medieval fantasy world so she can get a clear sense of how it feels to inhabit your setting.

What makes a good high fantasy novel?

Good high fantasy novels manage to balance descriptive writing, dialogue and action. Most importantly, dialogue conveys not just factual information but a sense of the character of the speakers.

How do you write a successful fantasy novel?

10 Tips for Writing Fantasy Fiction

  1. Read and re-read. You can only write as well as you read. …
  2. Know your market. For first-time fantasy writers, it’s especially important to consider your audience. …
  3. Start small. …
  4. Next, go big. …
  5. Choose a point of view. …
  6. Meet your characters. …
  7. Outline your story. …
  8. Make, and keep, rules.

What are the 5 elements of fantasy?

5 elements of fantasy to consider:

Adventure. Struggle for mastery. Subgenre and types. Place/setting and worldbuilding.

How do you start a medieval story?

You should always start with an outline of how the plot of the story will play out. You can use many different methods, but a Snowflake outline is one of the most popular techniques. It doesn’t have to be overly comprehensive, and it can also change. But you always need to start strong.

What should you not do when writing a fantasy novel?

10 Mistakes to Avoid While Writing Your Fantasy Story

  1. 1) ‘Infodumping’ Upfront. …
  2. 2) Not Keeping Them Turning The Pages. …
  3. 3) Introducing Too Many Characters At Once. …
  4. 4) Utilising An Overused Template. …
  5. 5) Too Many Stereotypes or Clichés. …
  6. 6) Terrible Dialogue. …
  7. 7) Lack of Narrative Logic. …
  8. 8) Too Much Action, Too Little Story.

What is the difference between high fantasy and epic fantasy?

High Fantasy has lots of magic, big differences from Earth, magic playing a major role in the plot etc. Low Fantasy is then the opposite. Epic Fantasy is where the fate of whole nations turns on the events in the story and you need a notebook to keep track of all the named characters.

How long should a fantasy novel be?

The average fantasy novel should have between 50,000 and 150,000 words. However, the true word count depends on the category in which you’re writing. If you’re writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages.

How long does it take to write a fantasy novel?

Standard fantasy novel: 109 hours (full time it will take to plan, write, and revise)/304 days= about 25 minutes a day*2= 50 minutes a day of working on your novel to finish in one year.

How do you write a dark fantasy?

Some dark fantasy writers combine elements of horror with elements of fantasy to create a story set in an otherworldly place. Other dark fantasy writers apply psychological elements to a fantastical premise and create stories that are more about dystopia or the apocalypse.

How do you write a medieval fantasy book?

Sit down with your map of your setting and your plot outline. Focus on creating a first draft of your novel, writing nuanced descriptions and describing unique, diverse characters. Make sure you ground your reader in your medieval fantasy world so she can get a clear sense of how it feels to inhabit your setting.



How do you write dialogue in medieval times?

Quick Tips for Writing Fantasy or Historical Dialogue

  1. Read books from the era you want to emulate. Get a sense of how people really talked then.
  2. Use “old” language judiciously. …
  3. Don’t mix language types. …
  4. Consider changing your sentence structure rather than your vocabulary. …
  5. Read your work out loud.

How do you create a fantasy universe?

How to Create a Fantasy World

  1. Use real life as inspiration. That doesn’t mean taking people from existing ethnic groups and putting costumes on them—but observe how other cultures live, how they interact with their environments and each other. …
  2. Define the setting. …
  3. Create inhabitants. …
  4. Make magic.

What is a good name for a fantasy world?

Random World Name Ideas



  • Devuniake, Lake of the Devils.
  • Angbotain, Terrain of the Angels.
  • Warkinles, Vales of the Warriors.
  • Prisluake, Lake of the Princesses.
  • Spiunknds, Woodlands of the Spirits.
  • Dradevows, Barrows of the Dragons.
  • Froprirth, Earth of the Frogs.
  • Warlosnse, Expanse of the Warriors.

How do you Worldbuild in a novel?

10 Worldbuilding Tips for Writers

  1. Establish the type of world you want. Pick a genre. …
  2. Decide where to start. …
  3. List the rules and laws. …
  4. Describe the environment. …
  5. Define the culture. …
  6. Define the language. …
  7. Identify the history. …
  8. Use existing works to inspire you.

What makes a good fantasy world?

Every fantasy contains some element of magic. That’s what sets fantasy apart from any other literary genre. Because magic is so central to your fantasy story, you must consider it when building your world. Magic, just by its very nature, will shape your characters and direct their actions.

How many kingdoms should be in a fantasy world?

You can have one king or queen (or prince/princess) who rules a group of kingdoms; this will be reasonably referred to as The Five Kingdoms (if there’s only one such related set) or The Three Kingdoms of Gazornenplatz (as opposed to The Three Kingdoms of Katzenjammer).

How do you come up with lore?

It’s your turn to practice writing lore. Write a short piece of lore that’s set in a world of your creation. Try to think from the perspective of a character who lives in the world.
The lore can center around many things, such as:

  1. A strange tradition.
  2. An old war.
  3. A common ritual.
  4. A monument.



How do you write a fantasy kingdom?

5 steps to build your fantasy world:

  1. Plan the lie of the land.
  2. Give your fantasy world concrete rules.
  3. Think about the tone of your fantasy world.
  4. Plan magic, religious, social and political systems.
  5. Learn how to create a believable world via plot.

What is the best fantasy world?

12 Best Fantasy Worlds Ever Created

  • 8 Oz.
  • 7 Narnia.
  • 6 Hyboria.
  • 5 The Broken Empire.
  • 4 Randland.
  • 3 The Malazan Empire.
  • 2 Westeros.
  • 1 Middle-Earth.

How do I create a fantasy world name?

Here’s your guide on how to name a fantasy world.



  1. Pay attention to everything around you. …
  2. Think about what you want to name, a landmass for instance. …
  3. Remember, fantasy writers have amazing imaginations. …
  4. A comment from a Google+ group drew my attention to Random Name Generator. …
  5. Don’t try to name everything at once.

How do you create a fantasy language?

5 Tips for Creating Believable Fictional Languages

  1. Find Inspiration in the Real World. There’s a reason many of the most popular fantasy languages were created by linguists. …
  2. Modify the Sounds. …
  3. Add a Secondary Language. …
  4. List Your Vocabulary, Slang, and Common Phrases. …
  5. Find Like-Minded Authors.

Is there an Elvish language?

Quenya is just one of the dozens of languages Tolkien dreamed up for the inhabitants of Middle Earth. Technically, it’s part of the Elvish language family, which has over 15 different languages and dialects within it. And that’s only the beginning.

How did J. R. R. Tolkien make a language?

By taking bits of his favourite real-world languages and splicing them together. Listen carefully to the dialogue in the forthcoming movie of Return of the King and you might recognise some old English, a Welsh lilt here and there, and even some Finnish.

Did Game of Thrones create a language?

As mentioned above, Dothraki, the language spoken by the nomadic mounted tribes of the central plains of Essos, was the first language that was invented for Game of Thrones.



Is Valyrian real?

The Valyrian languages are a fictional language family in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, and in their television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Is Dothraki a real language?

The Dothraki language is a constructed fictional language in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. It is spoken by the Dothraki, a nomadic people in the series’s fictional world.