What I'm Listening To: Striving-Dave Hollister
Ha, not that kind of fantasy, I'm talking about the genre. I love the fantasy genre and reading about dragons and witches and mythological creatures and magic. And stories about the Greek gods fascinate me. Today I wanted to blog about some of the fantasy conventions and rules (guidelines) to adhere to, which is probably a good idea considering that I want to be a fantasy writer.
Fantasy is usually about world building and the books tend to run a little longer than other genres. Usually the books are 80,000-150,000 words. I love the fact that with fantasy, you can create your own world,or it's an alternate version of our world. There is usually magic, something mythical, or something paranormal happening in the book. Here are some good world building questions to ask yourself when starting to write a Fantasy novel from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's page. For even more tips, the online fantasy magazine Fantasy Factor has some really good tips for beginners or if you're trying to find a market for your work. If you're serious about writing fantasy, I would also check out the book The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy, good for beginners and seasoned writers. There's also a volume 2 and 3 if you'd like to continue expanding your knowledge. That's my spoonful of wisdom for today, and of course as I keep discovering and learning, I'll be sure to pass along the pearls!
I've been planning for my Spain trip and if any of you have any recommendations on places to go in Europe, let me know. I 'm really excited for it and already planning all of the things that I'm think I'm going to do, such as buy a Spanish cookbook and learn how to cook the food, as I might starve or come back with a weird eating habit if I don't.
Other news, none except that I plan to have my new fantasy book done by the end of the summer.
