What do you want to read?

Pleasing an audience is something that writers will almost always have as a goal, even if only in the back of their minds. However, making yourself happy when you write is just as important - if you don't even like the story you're writing, how can you expect other people to?

It may seem obvious that a writer should like their own story, but it isn't always. There have been times when I've found myself working on a story only to realize one day, "you know what? I don't like this plot anymore." This goes along the lines of losing interest in a certain project as well.

When writing your story, think to yourself: would I enjoy reading this? If the answer is no, there's a good chance that writing it has become tedious as well. At that point, revamping your plot, characters, or even your setting might be something to consider. That doesn't mean you should throw the old draft out (actually, that's something you should NEVER do). You never know what little details you might want to include in later drafts regardless of how the plot has changed as a whole.

Think about what the world of fantasy is missing. What's something you've never, ever seen or read before? How can you build off of that and turn it into a story all your own? If you are happy writing it, there will definitely be people who are happy reading it.

The Places of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'

This map marks the locations that inspired the various places seen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first installment of J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter series.

The Title

The title is most likely the very first thing your reader will notice about your story. Therefore, it's important for the title to be interesting, but not overly-complicated. Here are a few tips to consider when choosing a title for your story.

You don't have to come up with a title right away. Even if you do, keep in mind that you might want to change it eventually. With the stories I've written, I often don't come up with a title until I've already written a good chunk of the story - sometimes not even until I've finished a draft or two!

Keep it simple! If your title is too complicated or difficult to remember, it might be a little harder to catch a reader's attention with the title alone. There are exceptions, however, and it depends on the way you're planning to present your story. But as a general rule, keeping it short and simple, like The Lightning Thief or Wonderstruck is ideal.

This website has a lot of great information about choosing a title.

Fantasy settings!

A short slideshow about just a few of the different ways setting is done in a fantasy story.

Podcast - Writer talk!

I had the chance to interview a good friend about her writing, and we were able to have a very nice discussion about our experiences. Listen to it here!

So you want to write a series...

(image by steamboatbooktrails.org)

Plenty of popular stories these days can be found in the form of a series - especially a trilogy! Stories like The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter are very popular amongst fantasy/sci-fi lovers. However, writing a series can be more difficult than you think. 

Personally, I don't like to plan around the possibility of a sequel - unless I know exactly how I want the story to continue after the first book (and come to think of it, I can't remember a time I've ever actually done that). I'm the kind of person who prefers to write stand-alone stories, but for those of you interested in writing a series, I do have a little advice!

As I mentioned above, it's never a good idea to plan around having a sequel unless you know how your story is going to continue on. For example, if you find yourself having trouble wrapping up a certain storyline, don't just immediately say, "oh, I'll fix it in the sequel!" Sequels are often good at serving that sort of purpose, but try not to leave your main storyline unfinished. Make sure the first installment of the series was worth something other than just an introduction to your characters, plot. etc. 

Don't feel inclined to write a sequel just for the sake of having a sequel. If your story is all nicely wrapped up by the end, and anything further would just be forced writing, leave it be! Don't write a sequel unless you want to, or believe it's necessary.

Are your characters believable?

When writing fantasy, it's very easy to get caught up in the nearly limitless world of your imagination, and end up translating that into your characters. However, in most cases, this is something you'll want to avoid. Writing characters with supernatural abilities or bizarre personalities is a big part of fantasy, but depending on the type of character you're going for, you'll still want your audience to be able to relate to them in some way or another.

Your protagonist does not have to be a traditionally "likable" character, nor do their views and opinions have to align with yours. The important thing to remember is to give this character a believable motive - revenge? Glory? Safety? Even if your character is not human (or fully human, at least), you will want them to have qualities that make their actions believable - or else, they may come across as overpowered or invincible in a situation where they are not.

"Mary Sues" and "Gary Stus" are names given to the types of characters that are practically perfect at everything they do, never make mistakes, and everybody loves them. Flawless characters don't usually carry a story well, and often are not the most interesting to read, because you can know automatically that they are probably going to win by the end. Depending on where the inspiration for your character is coming from, try to put yourself in their situation - not necessarily when it comes to decision-making, but with reacting. How would someone with x personality respond to x situation? Imagining your setting as if you were there yourself can help you understand the characters you've put there, regardless of the similarities or differences you may have with them.