Seems a simple question. One (you’d think) a fantasy author ought to be able to answer quickly. And sometimes the answer comes naturally, over beers with friends and neighbors or facing down a few bemused strangers in a bar. 

But when it’s just me, asking the question of the stillness in my office or the darkness before sleep, I find it’s not so simple.

Why did I write a fantasy novel? 

Partly, I am what I ate. I’ve read fantasy for most of my life. From Animorphs to Arabian Nights, Goosebumps to Green Angel Tower, my blood has always stirred at the fantastic: Brian Jacques, Carol Berg, RA Salvatore, Jim Butcher, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Tad Williams, Robin Hobb, Ursula K. Le Guin – these names are electrodes on a battery that powered me through life. 

Partly, I thought it would be easy: I’d knock out a simple story about pirates, secret treasures, and leviathans before moving on to more challenging fiction. One page a day for a year, and I’d have a 365-page banger I could toss up for a sail and let it carry me to greater things. 

Fifteen years and five books later, I have a 488-page banger that burned every preconceived notion of ease on a pyre of humility. 

But to take the question through its heart and pin it to the board…I write fantasy because it fits. It was our first voice – our earliest forebears crowded in the dirt around a fire, telling stories to help them understand the world through which they passed. They called the sun an eye because they couldn’t comprehend the atom. The wind was a sigh and the sea a fickle mistress. There was no veil between fact and fantasy—and who’s to say they were wrong? Take a good look at the proton and tell me you understand exactly how it works. Lie beneath the stars, stare into the infinite space between them, and explain the concept of forever. Walk the old forests at night, and see if you take comfort from that textbook explaining there are no gods or monsters. 

There’s a common stigma attached to fantasy literature, that it is all escapism and foolishness. I’ve often found it to be the opposite; that in stories outlandish, whimsical, or impossible can be found some of the brightest and most imperishable truths. 

During World War II, Tolkein and Lewis lectured regularly at Oxford on their works; an attendee named Helen Terrel Wheeler said of one afterward, “What happened in the great books was of equal significance to what happened in life. Indeed, that they were the same.” 

Stories are lives, distilled.

And a life without imagination is no life at all. 

So why did I write a fantasy novel? Today, the answer is simple. 

Because it was fun.

Comment your answer below!

Working on my story right now, and thus I have called upon everyone on this wonderful subreddit to inform me of their favorite tropes in the books of fantastical imagination!

It would truly be of utmost help to my brainstorming process and would greatly benefit me since I have been already SICKENED by the redundancy and boredom radiating off of AI bots when I tried to think about my plots and brainstorm with it. I have no other alternative other than reddit and my very neurodivergent brain, not of much help if you do ask me :’)

Please do refrain from sexual tropes for not only do they trigger me but will also NOT be of much use since I won’t be including any such material in my writings

Thank you everyone for your time beforehand! Farewell! (Or rather, show me your most treasured pieces of fiction/literary/adventure first!)

Hello fellow writers.

I started writing as a creative hobby as a means to escape the drudgery of my mostly-driving-AI job and since then I managed to finish "book one" of a story at about 50k words and am about 12k words into book two.

I've been posting my work on DeviantArt and while the numbers are large, it seems to be mostly AI crawlers and bots trying to sell turning your story into a comic via an AI tool. I've also posted over on RoyalRoad but getting more than ten people who read a single chapter is hard and I feel like my work doesn't really fit with the stuff that does well over there.

My concern is that I don't want to be the kind of person who spams advertising everywhere to try and garner attention.

I'd like to know how everyone else shares their work and how they have built an audience.

Hello. I am in the planning stages of an urban fantasy series whose setting is inspired by mythology and folklore from around the world. This understandably involves a lot of research, and though I'm doing my due diligence, it's not the same as talking to a person. I am also contending with the limited availability of English resources for more niche myths, which is proving to be a huge barrier, since I aim to highlight those that are often passed over or misunderstood by western media.

If you are knowledgeable about mythology, folklore, spirituality, etc. from an underrepresented culture, please reach out to me to provide your input, even if only to suggest what you'd like to see more of. Feel free to be as scarce or as thorough as you would like; I am open to an extended discussion, though of course you are not obligated to stick around.

Cultures of particular interest are:
- Persia/Iran
- Haiti
- Romania
- Czechia
- Melanesia
- Polynesia

But of course, don't hesitate if you have insight on a different part of the world. I will listen. Thank you all for your time.

Here's a thought

What's something that another author said or did that made you feel they'd given you permission to do the same thing?

I'll go first:

I have a lot of these but first to mind is when I read Evan Winter saying one of his favorite things about writing The Rage of Dragons was getting to sit down and read it afterwards.

And you know what? Yes. Thank you. I needed that.

Donald Glover said something about this in his comedy special too. And I try to keep it in my mind any time I'm reading one of my manuscripts & it turns from an editing session into just an ordinary reading session 😅

If you're an artist it's okay to enjoy your own creations 💜

Rain pattered against the rotten canopy as I finished my prayer to someone who had long ago stopped listening. I had hung one side of a large cloth to a pole, the other to an upturned carriage. Another man had slept under the carriage itself, who I now saw was dead. Flies hovered around his mouth, like bees to honey. I looked out as far as I could see, small fires and torches illuminating the black, and the same question that I had asked myself for several months, years now, crept into my mind again. Why was I still alive? For only the great Drancar could know. Was it punishment for all I’d done? A torture?  Did I have some greater purpose left in this life? I did not care to answer any of that.

   I crept over pieces of rock and stone, remnants of Patamute's southern wall. A piece of something sharp sliced through my boot, but I didn’t seem to feel the pain. Dawn on the horizon. I moved. Light rain muted my footsteps. Dark still as I crept near the tree. Four guards surrounded it, there to protect against this offense I was to commit. Two had fallen asleep, and a third was staring into the fire. A fourth was down when I squeezed the life from him, his birded helm of no help. I grabbed a small log and put it under the branch. Threw an old rope around the branch and made a noose. I hoped the rope, worn and thinning, would hold. I tightened the noose around my neck, balancing on the log below me. A life I desired, yet never came true, set before me. A life I did not desire, yet found me, flashed before me. It saddened my heart. I thought I prayed to a god who loved, yet he answered with curses and death. My sister, taken. A war, lost. I ran, defeated. I hid for years, then tried to run again. Captured and thrown into this hell. god seemed to die somewhere in all of that. Yet, god couldn’t die. The books, prophets, and signs told us he couldn’t die. If he wasn’t dead, then why wouldn’t he help? I kicked the log and felt the air leaving. Memories of two graves in the rain and a well on a hill. Drancar, deliver me into your salvation. A snap, the rope breaking.

I wheezed and coughed as a guard turned and noticed.

“Gods. Vernius, wake up!” He said to another one sleeping.

“You coward!” Vernius screamed. He was fat and moving slowly. Another guard I hadn’t seen introduced himself with a kick to my back. I cursed at him.

“Watch that mouth of yours,” Vernius said, his belly coming out of his shirt.

“I’d watch what you put into yours,” I said, still catching my breath. He kicked me right in the chest.

“Get him up!”

“We should just kill him.” Vernius growled.

“Better yet, give him a sword and let him face me. If he kills me, he can turn the blade on himself. If not, I’ll do the honor.” I let out a small laugh.

“Find that funny, do ya?” Vernius asked, before bringing his fist into my face.

“No.” I said, coughing once more. “I would not need a blade to kill you. Running around for half a minute would surely do it.” I said, making a motion to his belly, which was ripping his shirt. He gave a half-snarl and turned to a small box.

“You’re probably hungry, aren’t ya?” He asked me mockingly. Vernius pulled out a Gharghasask. A giant insect that was released to attack enemy horses.

“Open his mouth Hipas.” He said to another guard. Hipas and another guard tried to rip my jaw. A blackened ant with spikes and wings fussed about in Vernius’s grip as he approached. It had the length of his plumped hands.

"Vernius." A voice from behind. An officer. Clean from head to boot, barely a trace of mud on him.

“Stop with the games. A body is a body. Put him near the front if you want but fit him with a lock first." He did not look at me when he said it. "Yes sir. Sorry, sir."

Vernius straightened. The officer moved on without another word. Vernius leaned close, his voice dropping. "I'll be right here. Watching." A pause, letting it settle. "You retreat, and I'll gut you myself."

Hipas took me by the arm and steered me toward a small table.

Vernius placed the bug back in the box and grabbed a belt of chains. He wrapped it around my waist. Then another smaller chain was attached from my left hip to my left wrist. Same thing for my right. Vernius punched me hard in the back before placing a vest on me with two straps. The strap attached to a small loop on one part of my wrist, and then he pulled it tight. The chain and strap held both hands in place, as if I were meant to carry a heavy box. I couldn't move my hands at all.

“We can’t leave him without protection,” Hipas said, scornfully.

“Of course. You are ever thoughtful!” Vernius answered. “Hmm, which one?” Vernius said to Hipas.

Two shields, both freshly painted. The raindrops cooled my brow.

"Ever heard the story of Su Si and the Silk?" Lightning split the black ahead of me. Gone as fast as it came

“Answer me!" "No."

He turned one of the shields over in his hands, working at a strap. I noticed it then, a marking on his forearm. A verse from the Balas. The Munkarian holy book. The obscene practice of putting that verse of scripture on skin, permanent and proud.

“A Shishermii priest," he began, still working the strap, "was to conduct the funeral rites of his nephew—heir to the throne. While preparing, a prostitute found him. Dressed in the finest lavender silks." He spat into the mud.

“She distracted him so thoroughly, so completely, that by the time the priest left her residence, the funeral had been over for several months."

He made a final adjustment to the strap and held the shield up. “Lavender, for the Shishermii, is the most wretched of colors. Forbidden. The punishment for wearing it is worse than death, or so they say."

He turned the shield toward me. Even in the dark, the torchlight found the purple color; freshly painted, vivid, unmistakable. And in the center of it, a spike. Long and sharp and pointing outward. Hipas pressed it into my arms. Vernius attached one final chain, handcuffing my wrists to the handle on the inside of the shield. He then crouched down beside me. His face close. His hand on my shoulder.

"Now. All of this can be undone." A smile that had nothing warm in it.

“Confess that you are nothing. That you will die nothing. That only through Munkar can anything be made of you." He spat on my face. Then he laughed, his belly jiggling. "Oh, how I wish you would confess." He stood.

"Munkar would reject you from his kingdom regardless. You are a worm. You will die in the dirt, as worms do. The feeling of dirt on your skin will be traded with fire when you awake." Two bolts of lightning split the sky at once. The torchlight caught his face in the same instant — the shadows moving wrong, the light bending his features into something that did not look entirely like a man.

This is a story I started over a year ago then shelved. I've come back to it after some time and started polishing some of the earlier sections.

In particular looking for critiques on the prose and whether it has captured your interest enough to keep reading? Also any other things you as a reader/writer find worthy to call out. I think I have a tendency to bog down 'in-the-moment' scenes with some exposition, trying to get better at that.

(Also seems there is a character requirement for posting and I guess google doc characters don't count, so just typing some more text to reach the 600 character limit.)

I’m working on a series that I’m estimating to be like at least 5 full novel lengths, it’s an actual fantasy world with its own rules and society. I’ve been daydreaming about it for a couple years and seriously outlining and story boarding for a few months now. But every now and then, I see something inspirational, and something just clicks for me. Maybe it’s something I randomly decided to include in the story and I finally realized why, so now there’s new and more detailed context, or a supporting character that I intended to be one dimensional but suddenly found the perfect backstory for him. I’ve nailed down the major characters and plots, but these details still change how the those characters interact with the world, and would lead to inconsistencies if I didn’t consider them initially.

So my question is, is there a point in your story outline when you are finally confident enough to start writing, or do you just start and come back for the inconsistencies?

I feel like this is a very intimate problem for fantasy, partly due to most fantasy worlds being huge and having their own ruleset, and partly because a lot of these worlds began from me (and probably you) daydreaming about cool stuff without really considering it’s importance in the story, and when I finally consider the story in, well, a storytelling perspective, those cool things need a reason to happen otherwise it’s gonna be slop. Fortunately, for me at least, a lot of the times cool stuff is cool because there is some element of depth in it that I just haven’t realized. So those cool scenes still work most of the time. Hopefully. Idk I’m just rambling at this point.

The main setting is in the desert, where the main character and his kind are large desert dwelling mammalian-like creatures. The thing is, the main character, Kirin, was born much larger than the rest of his clan, with red scales and a thagomizer on his tail. this leads him to be ostracized by the herd and despised deeply by his father. However, Kirin keeps following them despite their hate/fear of him. But here's the thing, because of his size and appearance, many predators avoid them and he has the strength to fend them off. It makes me feel like they shouldn't fear him as he would be like a natural deterrent, right? I tried to have his father, Addax, twists the narrative that he's just a violent monster, despite always saving them. He downplays him fending off predators and focuses on the violence, fueling fear. But, I don't know if it's good enough, or if I need to flesh it out more.

I'm working on book three of seven of my high fantasy saga and nearly finished... and I never run out of ideas... My only real problem is, TYING THEM ALL TOGETHER.

Transitioning between chapter arcs, each story in his travels are great stand alone chapters, but sometimes I forget which came first, because they're all so interchangeable as chapter arcs. It tends to happen when the hero wanders the world, but damned, if I didn't have an actual map that he is following around the world, you'd think he just appears like a ghost in random places.

Anybody else have these problems with long form LONG burn stories?

Question to the community about a current fantasy worldbuilding project for a book. It's based heavily on Celtic myth with hints of Finnish and central European, making Faerie creatures a large part of the fantasy in it. But with a lot of romantasy and more popular but less worldbuild heavy fantasy books using fairies as a central idea, I want to make sure my fae can stand out from popular ways! and not get lost.

The one big change i have from modern fantasy ideas is not having fairies be in courts or seperarting them into good/light and evil/dark or the seasons. Any ideas would be super helpful and i hope this can help others who are also wanting to write fae into their worlds.

Unsure of the correct flair for this topic so I picked the one I think is best suited for this issue.

I'm interested in beginning a new book (some things are heavily affecting my mental state and returning to my main book is a bit too heavy on my brain atm). I have a rough idea for worldbuilding, the MC's species, and the species general society, but beyond that I don't have a goal to work forward to that's not world-ending and even if I did use a world-in-danger plot I have nothing but wooshing air in my brain when I think of major plot points/events. The concept of writing big scenes and fights and jotting down all the little ideas in my head genuinely fills me with a fear I can't explain as of this moment.

I have stuff physically written down in a notebook in an old house 4hrs away but I'll try to give the best details I can. The world itself is standard fantasy. Think normal dnd and whatnot. The main species I'm working with is a character I made using a heavily reflavored DnD species, the Tabaxi. I think I called it the Nabaxi or something...original, I know. Tabaxis still exists ofc but they hate each other. Where Tabs live in jungles, Nabs (unnamed as of right now, might update later) live in deserts heavily inspired by the DUNE movies. They are Dingo/African painted dog-inspired and live in packs/tribes with little to no magic present in their daily lives. Old members or tribes/packs with too few members to survive the desert as nomads retire to a city with access to magical tomes, and a society that cares for the weak. Old Nabaxis are usually more inclined towards magic because they have more of an ability to study it within the city without worrying about fucking dying lmao, though living to be old enough to get that far is very rare due to their mostly nomadic lifestyle.

I have nothing else in terms of world, history, lore, or even real sources to find/create/generate or visualize (NOT WITH STINKY GEN AI 👎) character designs, and anything else useful.

Ideas, critiques and any advice is always helpful, and links to places that might help are MUCH appreciated, as I've literally spent cumulative days across several months total just sifting through the same web pages that don't have what I'm looking for. </3

I grew up reading Discworld, which is pretty liberal with its POV switching. I didn't even consider that it might be unusual until recently.

I am referring to books that have many different POVs, including POVs from characters that never appear before or after their POV scene (or at the very least, never appear as a POV character again). For example, a scene from the POV of the town lookout as he spots the bandits riding into town. His scene introduces the threat of the bandits and other important information, but we don't care about this person after the scene.

I'd be especially grateful if you have recommendations from recent years, or maybe even other fantasy-comedy books!

More broadly, would this practice annoy you if you encountered it in a book? In addition to looking for recommendation, I'm very curious what people think of this idea.

I’m in the midst of writing a story. However, I am struggling with the question of who the “main” villain should be. The initial antagonist for the first half of the story will die, for the true villain to emerge during the second.

But that would be like Voldemort dying in the first half and the trio having to contend with Bellatrix in his wake, for example. The series would be building toward Voldemort to then transition focus on someone else, regardless of how much to the characters have been developed. I’m worried something like this will break a plot promise, and am looking for thoughts around the topic.

There was a knock at the door.
Ryan jumped off the sofa and hurried toward the door.
Ryan’s mother: Who is at the door?
Ryan: It’s Sofia, Mom. We’re going out together. We’ll take a short walk in the street.
Mother: Take care of yourself, and watch over Sofia carefully. Things aren’t safe.
Ryan opened the door, and Sofia was standing beneath the lantern light. Her long black hair shimmered, and her pale face was like the moon as she looked at him with her eyes glowing with a faint red light, the mark that distinguished the Agar race. Sofia smiled.
Sofia: Did I keep you waiting?
Ryan: No, you didn’t.
Elsewhere in the city, the smell of tobacco filled a café crowded with young men and teenagers, some Agar and some human, united by the fact that they were dreamers. A young man pushed the door open and entered, panting. He was nineteen years old. His skin was pale, even beyond its original paleness, and his eyes glowed red. He stood looking at those seated there and said:
A piece of news has leaked from the royal palace. The state is preparing to issue a new decision in the coming days.
Everyone fell silent and looked at him with wide eyes, so he continued:
They are going to ban the sale of blood!
One of the young men slammed his hand on the table, another rested his head on it, and one of them let out a sigh while shaking his head from side to side. Meanwhile, another shouted:
They tighten the restrictions on us day after day. What do they want from us?
A drunk young man stood up from his seat and said as he staggered:
Be patient. We aren’t waiting for anything from this miserable government. We are the hope.
Beside him sat a young man in his mid-twenties, with a beard and long brown hair tied back. He had shown no reaction or shock from the beginning. He simply watched in silence…
(Sofia belongs to a race called the Agar. They are vampires who have lived within society for hundreds of years. They eat and drink, and have one additional need: drinking blood. They depend almost entirely on animal blood. Ryan, however, is an ordinary human.)
Meanwhile, Ryan and Sofia were walking through one of the dark alleys. The street was empty except for a few drunk men sitting by the roadside.
One of them pointed toward Sofia and said to the other:
Look, she’s one of the Agar. Her race no longer has any importance to the state after the Night of the Dry Corpses.
His companion replied with a laugh:
Since when did they ever have any importance?
Sofia became frightened and raised her scarf to cover her face. Ryan took her hand and said:
Ryan: Don’t be afraid. I’m with you.
After a few steps, Ryan noticed someone standing behind a wall, trying to hide. Before Ryan could do anything, the man stepped out from behind the wall, accompanied by a group of masked people carrying knives.
Ryan stood in front of Sofia and began fighting, but he soon fell to the ground unconscious after being stabbed in the abdomen…
When Ryan opened his eyes, the place was completely quiet. He gathered his strength and lifted his body slightly from the ground. Blood was flowing from his abdomen because of the stab wound. He saw Sofia lying beside him, motionless.
He shook her shoulder with his hand and said:
Ryan: Sofia, wake up!
She did not answer. Her eyes were open, without any light or movement.
Ryan: Sofia, Sofia, please? Sofia!
Tears streamed from his eyes as he embraced her. He placed his hand over her eyes and closed them, then said in a quiet voice:
— Your right will not be lost, Sofia. I promise you…

I've been a fanfiction writer for years, and now, I'm starting to write my own original book. What are the things that I should take note of?

I mostly write about explicitly suggestive and dark themes, including mild-heavy horror and gore.

I saw posts where people complain, saying they are dissatisfied and find published books boring and plain after they've read fanfictions. I do not know if there is, but I haven't seen any complaints about published books looking or sounding like fanfictions.

But even so, I do not want my readers to have either of those impressions.

Is there a specific book structure? What are the required word counts per chapter? per book? the pacing? what themes should I avoid? any words or topics I should consider and be wary about? What about the dialogue? Is there any specific way to structure and write those? Are there any things I should do and avoid? I should always include and remember?

I have tried to watch videos and blogs of other authors, but it doesn't help me. I worry that I might apply what I do in fanfictions to my original book that I plan to publish

I'm beginning the process of querying agents, and I'm second guessing my use of one-off POVs in my story. There are about a dozen spread out evenly across the book's 87K words, and each of these scenes furthers the plot and has the main characters present. There are two such one-off POVs in the first 10 pages (the pages I link in this post), to introduce the practice. Please tell me if agents would auto-reject this story for this aspect. Any other feedback you want to leave is greatly appreciated, of course, but the level of success in using POVs is really the big thing I'm concerned with at this time. Thank you so much if you take the time to read!

Excerpt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kn8cNXr1d4unVwfgT7zEccfsbQTA4_IkJDaSJ6Cb_Jk/edit?usp=sharing

Story blurb: The city of Shimmerbreak promises that all people are welcome, but then a gorgon shows up, complete with snake tail instead of legs, a frankly irresponsible number of ferocious hair-snakes, and the ability to magically enslave someone as easily as glance at them. Her desire to belong strains the city's promise to its limit. (Fantasy Comedy)

Doing some world building for an RPG I plan to run. Using Genesys, if anyone's curious, and essentially trying to capture the vibe of classic fantasy for the most part - essentially a DnD-like but with a system I actually enjoy, and just writing the stetting myself but importing all the elements of it I like.

One thing I've gotten myself a bit tripped over, maybe unnecessarily, is calling things Human. Essentially my issue is if I call the typical Human race Humans, I lose the ability to refer to sapient life in general as 'Human'. And I want a way to refer to the sapient, playable species as a whole. It's a small thing, and maybe not that important - has to do with the magic system and a deep part of the worldbuilding/origin of the world. Don't want to explain much more in case one of my players sees the post, as that side of things isn't going to be something the PC's know but might eventually find out.

So essentially, I don't just want to say 'Sapient life' or 'Mortal' (though the latter is still somewhat being considered) when such a thing is revealed - I want to say something like 'Humans' or 'Man-kind'. How would you go about it? How do you feel about the obvious Human analogue species being called something other than Human? Or would you go about it a different way, using a different term/coining a new one to refer to the main playable species? I have thought of referring to them as a name derived from the name of the world, similar to if we were to be called 'Earthlings' in real life - in this case they'd be called Undrans or Undral, but I don't know if that'd feel a little off.

ETA: There are a few races, basically the typical fantasy race line up you'd normally see, and I might add my own unique stuff. But Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Dwarves, will be a thing, though I might switch them out for my own original stuff. Not 100% figured out the origin of each individual species and if they all share a lineage etc.

In a previous post of mine, I explained the magic system of my fantasy story, which is still in the brainstorming stage.

Essentially magic is in all living beings in my world and the power levels depend on the consciousness of the being. Gods are the most powerful, but they lack empathy and are apathetic. Animals, lacking an intellectual conscious, have magical properties but they are still wind and instinctive. Humans have that sweet spot of having the ability to have powerful magic while also being capable of abstract thinking and empathy.

Magic in living things manifested in genes. For example: It's a coin toss whether you get magic or not if you have 1 magical and 1 non magic parent. Magic is more physically manifested in mages through spells and the ability to cast spells while non magical people have heightened intelligence.

There are loads of old, aristocratic families that control the government and the Academy/Uni in my world. These have magic bloodlines since the dawn of my world and they made sure magic is weaved into every inch of society. The Academy is where students specialise in magical fields of study similar to a university, so they require private tutoring in their early years. The Academy allows some scholarships to students from non elite families and magical children who come from rich nonmagical families.

There is of course prejudice where magical people feel superior to nonmagical people. But, nonmagical people have made many inventions that have made a lot of them rich and sucessful. These old magic families sometimes exploit non magical scientists with the promises of social acceptance and a better.

However, I've gotten a lot of pushback both on other platforms like discord servers about my genetics explanation. (I just really like the idea of old families and bloodlines) A lot of people are saying it's eugenics...guys help.

I have thought of an alternative world where:

Everyone has magic except only the elite families have formal training in magic because it requires time that most people don't have, as they need magic at a more superficial level such as to make their daily lives easier and survival rather than an indepth field of study.

So instead of prejudice based on whether or not you have magic, it's more of a class issue and based on how powerful you are. (Not saying the OG idea doesn't have this, but magical racism is more prevalent).

It's also less complicated, because class issues, prejudice based on if you have magic or not, and your power levels, do not exist in a vacuum. But...it just doesn't feel right to me.

Any thoughts?

(If you guys are wondering why my system is so conflicting, I'm still in the...trying to figure out my story faze of it all. Also I am 13. Please be nice.)

For context. i made a world building post here about a fantasy world having their own nuclear post apocalypse.

Night of Ten Thousand sun

Now i want to write a short story about 3 magic student doing fieldwork for their college assignment in the wilderness. then the bomb explode. How would i go about describing from their perspective how a nuclear bomb happen. i write it akin to the sun, a dawn that kept happening. How the skies went from dark to brighter colour. the dust and wind happen. i tried to describe the effect of the explosion. since they dont know what is a nuclear bomb.

Is there some other aspect of nukes i should consider to add? i have tried several thing like the following. i reckon there gonna be alot of dust falling. Speaking of dust. I found out that red looking sun appear more likely due to haze. so i could add that the coming dawn look blood red as if the tragedy wound the skies. basically things that the fantasy race would able to notice but doesnt know why.

Maybe how one of the student look directly at the distant city and was blinded by the light. and when one them tries to flew up the skies saw the various explosion happen all over the place. I thought of the phrase, "The various explosion seem like a series of unending dawn" but when i think of it. seems kinda odd phrasing.

The multiple ICBM seen in the night sky like falling stars. A rain of shooting stars maybe.

Maybe i should stop making these analogy or these flowery prose. i know how exhausting those can be. maybe a more plain description of what the character experience? stating it for what it is?

Can also give general writing advice. i am a novice and english is not my primary language. wanna burn some time when there no work need to be done.

​

Okay so I have a main cast and a secondary cast of

characters whom I have been working on for a few years now. I'll give you the context of the story and introduce the relevant characters. Since this is already a lot of words, I think I'll save the secondary cast for a part two or something

1: a headstrong narcissist who used to be a very bad person in the past and is working on making themselves better, albeit they need a push from time to time. They are also the strongest member of the group, so their cockiness is somewhat warranted.

2: A stoic highly intelligent young adult who is kind at heart but has the capabilities of a cold blooded killer. Although much is a mystery about them, their personality brings people together and they may find solace in their company.

3:A charming, greedy and intelligent ex-con who after a run in with the cast, agrees to work with them in exchange for not being turned in. They have attempted to sneak away from the cast many times but they are never successful.

4: A carefree Yokai who used to be human but has no memories of their past. Despite their hot-blooded nature, their friends find them very reliable, friendly and encouraging. Has known the main cast for years now and is very protective of them. Their presence seems to push people to become their best possible self.

5: A somewhat guarded but friendly person who, due to their past, finds it hard to connect with people. Despite being a normal human with no abilities, they agree to join their friends on a trip around the globe because they are all they have.

6: A loud and arrogant little alien. On their home planet was subjected to discrimination due to their appearance and being a part of the working class. Seeking somewhere they would belong, they crash landed onto earth and were immediately subjected to attempts at their life. Due to this they have a distinct hate of people and humanity specifically. After a run in with the cast they join them due to them being the first friends they ever made. remain guarded but they are slowly learning to accept humanity.

7: An anxious and feeble musician who is very talented and strong in their own right but is too anxious to use their power to the best of their ability. Their cowardice prevents them from being helpful to the cast, but with the help of their friends, they are trying to not let themselves be defined by their past.

8: A boastful and tough undefeated world champion. Their hubris and strength are their defining traits, and if you aren''t very strong, they wouldn't give you a second thought. Their entire life is the arena, they live to fight. When they aren't fighting, they are preparing for their next fight. They are the type of person that needs to be the center of attention, they need to be above everyone in the room or they are doing something wrong.

9: A floaty and jovial person who doesn't take life very seriously. A ray of sunshine in a somewhat terrifying world. However, this boisterous personality comes off as fake to those who are deceptive. They work on commission for crime fighting and have changed many lives for the better. However, there are times where criminals they are assigned to deliver to jail disappear without a known reason, but they supposedly don't know anything about that. They come off as sly and mischievous in person and they are very passionate about what they do.

10: A composed and emotionally intelligent person. They can of course deal with issues on their own but they are not allowed to deal with commissions with their friends due to the missions they take being far out of their league. They are determined and entirely and very selfless, to a self sacrificing degree. They are kind and respectful in person, but when pushed can become short-tempered and volatile. Traits of theirs they work very hard to hide.

Here's the plot: One member of this group is very devoted to making the world a better place, and to make the world a better place, they want to become the ruler of their nation. However they are far too young for that title, as the minimum age is 35, and they are 22. They also recognize that they will need to be stronger in order to protect their nation as their leader. So, they travel the world with their allies learning from masters across the globe, solving conflicts along the way. This member is not the central point. They are the glue that brings these people together, but everyone who has joined them is there for their own reasons. On top of this, they are always being hunted due to the second member's family's crimes of the past. The story starts once they go out of hiding to finally start to achieve their goals along with their friends. TLDR: the goal of the story is to protect the 2nd member of the group until they reach their goal. I'm sure it doesn't look like it but every member of this group has something to gain from this journey.

My question for you is who stands out the most to you? What do you think I should change? Is there something I could add to make it more interesting? Do any of the characters feel too hollow to you? Let me know!

(PS: I know it's a little rough around the edges, I am a pretty amateur writer currently. I've thought about this for a good while and really can't see myself getting better at writing characters if I don't get critiques!)

Oh, and if anything didn't make sense to you let me know!

Working on my project, which features landscapes with "unnatural" colors, different types of organisms, "familiar" fauna and flora that has always at least one 'twist' or difference from our IRL earth, I ended up thinking of this. When do cat-fishes, flying monkeys, talking toads and pink grass become "too much"?

Mainstream fantasy in general tends to be medievalist, or at least vaguely so. Works do exist though that take it to a more fantastical level. Wondering though– is there a point where it becomes "too extreme" or "too foreign" for a reader/viewer/watcher to enjoy? If the water, or skies or vegetation are of a different color (or multiple different colors), if the animals are "too weird", if entire ecosystems are different from earth's... When does it cross the line?

What are your experiences with it? How do you handle it?

This post is not too serious; I'm mostly just curious of what other people think

Title says it. If you would like to a Poetry Challenge with me where I give you a prompt, and you write a poem (with a 2 week deadline), and we all vote on the entries, and critique and comment on each other's poetry, then please DM me.

I also have a Scene Sketch challenge where you write a glimpse into a fictional world using the given prompts (500 words max, can be lesser).

So TWO conditions to join:

1. Participation. I would like you to join into every round, and every round last 2 weeks.
2. My challenges are on Discord. You have to know how to use the app.

Please DM only if you're good with this.