How do YOU begin a fantasy story?
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Almost always characters and/or a premise. I do have one group of stories that technically traces back to the worldbuilding because I started building the world before there were stories tied to it, but almost all of the individual stories began with characters within that world. Plot, unfortunately, always comes dead last for me. ;P
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
Stories almost always start with the characters for me. Though I do have a couple that deviate.
My current fantasy project came as a scene randomly popped into my head. From there I had to figure out who those people were, what they were doing, and what was even going on.
I do have one story idea that came as the idea “this story, set in this other story’s world.” It’s going to need a lot of development to change from just a rewrite of the first story, but I want to do it.
Or another idea came as “I really want to see this thing in a fantasy novel.”
I guess it varies more than I thought. But either way, once I get the initial idea, I must have characters or the story will never be written.
I usually have characters, and then plot comes from their motivations and backstories. I started off with characters and then worlds. I only decided on the overarching theme less than a year ago, but I like it, and I think it fits with everything.
Also, every single fantasy thing that I have ever written is connected to a main plot, so…I guess I’m unique.
"I set a melody upon the scenery I saw outside my window;
It's beginning in my spacy world."
- TKI start with characters as well, but sometimes the characters themselves come from someone else, like that hairdo I saw on a girl at the mall once, or just thinking about what kind of person would wear that outrageous jacket I found at savers.
Is it too late to answer? Because this is a wonderful question that I don’t usually think about.
I guess. . . I usually start with a basic idea. Like, “I wanna make a story about dragons” (my most recent beginning).
Then I created three or four human characters and a few dragons, then started developing the plot: the dragons are normally good, but when they “partner” with the bad guys they’re obviously bad. They have varying powers to make the story unique, and the point of the story is to save the dragons from being caged by the corrupted government.
I usually skip the first scene or two and go to action, to get me involved in the story and start understanding how my new characters would react when faced with a few different situations. After that, I go back and start developing the characters and invent a few new ones.
Of course, this is not always my concrete method. I sometimes start with a character and then a “what if this character had to figure out a way to send a bunch of monsters back to their own dimension during an invasion?” (which was a story I was working on wen I was ten or something and I’ve stopped since then).
But that’s normally how it works.
I wonder what I was thinking whenever I re-read my old, well-loved stories
Ooo, that Dragon story sounds so cool! I have a dragon in one of my (not published) books. his name is Soltor, and he’s the best, most sassy dragon boi ever. Love him.
The same way i start any of my storstories. XD i get a random idea, and quickly build a back story for a character.
Faded i haven’t started yet, because i already have so many other main projects, and Scars i have a lil of. It’s like fairytale ish fantasy.
But i started Scars idea from my first sentance:
His light blue eyes were cold as they stared into mine “You really have no idea who I am, do you? “
I have started most of my stories with a what if situation behind some character I have existing inside of my mind. Some of my stories have developed from a what do YOU want to wwrite about with my friends.
I have currently only written a few works on my own and my WIP actually started from a “well this was fun/annoying/irritating/etc. situation. I don’t remember now which it was but I have added so many things from my own experience since then. Until it began to derail and become something much better than I had hoped for.… Actually, (I have a relatively bad memory, sorry) I took that scene and applied it to a general plot I had already and changed around the characters to fit. Rethinking it, plot comes first.
Live is meant to be spent making others happy.
I started my book with my main character. One day I said ‘Oh I should write a book!’ then I thought up my main character (Jered Martin) and just started with that. No plot or anything lol! A lot of times I’ll start my short stories with my characters also. Sometimes I’ll think of a feeling and go from there. 🙂
Jominkreesa! For the weirdos who know what it means! 😉 I love you guys!
I usually end up starting with characters, since I love nothing more than creating a completely new character with a unique personality, interesting character design, and backstory. I adore delving into a character’s story and finding out their fatal flaws, their I usually will create two or three characters at a time, and then based on the attributes and abilities I give them, assign them a plot and let them run.
I also get inspired by lots of different plots in general, and if I really love a plot line or an event that happens in another book/game/movie, I apply it to one of my stories, or a completely new story, and then revamp it to create an original idea, while still keeping the elements I gained my inspiration from. I sometime involve real life experiences in my plots too.
For example: my siblings and I have been playing a video game recently where one of the characters falls asleep and is hidden away from the world for a eleven years. I thought that would be really interesting to play with the idea of time and having a new character of mine stay the same age while he sleeps, which worked well with one of my WIPs where time is super messed up between all the dimensions of the universe. Thus, the attachment plot/storyline, Aegis, to my WIP, Valeria, was born.
(I told myself I not to get attached, but look how far that got me*le sigh*) I should know by now that if I create another story it’ll be incorporated into my universe and become canon. It’s a wonderful but a brain implosion inducing problem to have honestly.
But yeah, for me, a story can really start with anything, but it usually comes from a character or three or a plot inspired by something else made original. 🙂
I do not write the story... the Universe writes the story and I am simply its messenger.
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