Fantasy Creation

[KajiunVu]

I maybe one of those different, but I tend to use Gods in as much as I can. What got me that way was the Greeks with their gods that seemed more like people. And with gods I use religion, to form a mythology of my own. As it was said before magic is good sometimes to a point. if I do magic it is through the act of markings if anything, even then it will give the person using it a very bad side affect and sometimes isn't even that great to use against any mortal man anyway. One thing I never dealt much with and never was fond of was the fact of elves and dwarves. I always felt they we're too overused in this day. But in the end my story would be a mixture of mythology, some fantasy, philosphy, psycology, and anything else that fits. And from all that my one world would be created.

[Brys]

Originally Posted by ras'matroi

in my opinion magic is an important element of fantasy. but that doesn't maen that every fantasy book has to have it.

if magic is there it should be limited. i once read a book where the mage had an hourglass and everytime he used magic the sand was running...
and the idea with the drug appears in dune (i know it's more a sifi story),too. the navigators af the spacahips take it and they get capabel to 'fold space' and bring the ship foem o´ne point to another. but by eating the spice they become addicted and stop being human...
in both examples 'magic' is used but limited....

I know about Dune, but the way it works for me is pretty different (Spice being a relatively beneficial thing - addictive, but generally is good for you) - in mine, the drugs are devastating, illegal, and most addicts don't realise that they can do magic - in fact, it's very difficult to control. The idea is more of an extrapolation of hallucinogens - what if these drugs didn't just create hallucinations, but made these hallucinations reality? Usually the results aren't particularly nice. But for the most part, magic isn't hugely important - it isn't used in battles, because it's too unreliable, it isn't used to enhance anyone important, because they don't think it can do anything - very similar to drugs in our own world. The rest of the fantasy comes from the world itself, not from magic.

[hellborn]

When i want to write i read lots of other authors and when i finaly get an idea i write it down and expand it thinking about differnt aspects and putting it all in my note pad.

Then i type it all up about the hierarchy of goverment, magic (if i use it) and that kind a thing.

Then i get a pad of A2 paper and draw out a map of the land or country and continent, labling differnt areas of intrest, eg. religious sites, sites of great battles and typw up some notes on them, as well as lableing the cities and things. This really will help you to plan the characters journey and make the whole thing seem a bit more real.

THEN I START WRITING

[the_faery_queen]

for me, religion and magic are just backgrounds. they aren't that important, so they are fairly simplistic and don't really drive the story. (not at this stage at least) the world itself is created out of need. when a situation arises where i need to develop or explore something, i will figure out a way of doing it. i am not someone who plans a huge world before writing, i plan characters and plot (to some extent) and then let it go where it wants. but for me it is characters that drive the plot and shape the world, and the world in turn shapes other characters and subplots. basically, i just write and see what happens and try and be consistant