Writing Fantasy: Introduction

This week's article will be the first of an intermittent series I plan to do about some aspect of writing. These will appear from time to time. My focus will be on writing Fantasy, but some of the things discussed in the articles can be applied to other genres and types of writing. I hope aspiring writers will find these articles useful.

First, let me introduce myself as a writer. I've been writing for twelve years. Most of my writing is in the Fantasy genre with a few forays into Science Fiction and Horror. I'm working on several novels and short stories. Though still unpublished, I feel I possess enough experience to offer some help to aspiring writers. So, here it goes.

Deciding to be a writer is easy. Becoming one takes patience, a thick skin and persistence. Many authors have made it because of persistence. When you write a lot, you learn your craft. Writing is hard work. A good knowledge of spelling and grammar is an asset. The Science Fiction writer Robert Heinlein talked of five steps, which I'll discuss here.

The first step is: you must write. A person needs to sit down and write. It doesn't matter if you do it long hand or on a computer, just get it down. During this stage, don't worry about other things like length; get the work down somewhere. Other questions rise at this stage. Should I write novels or short stories? Answer: Don't limit yourself to a length; this stops creative flow. Eventually each writer finds the length that is the most comfortable for them. Another question is what should I write? The quick answer is write what you know. I say write about something that interests you. It doesn't matter what you choose, just keep writing. Don't lose patience. It will take time and a lot of work to learn your craft, so stay at it. This leads to the next step.

The second step of writing is that you must finish what you write. If you don't complete your works, you will have nothing to send to publishers. Editors need a completed product and won't take chances on writers that can't finish their work. During this phase comes the revision, rewriting and polishing of the work. Put the work aside for a couple of weeks, then come back to edit it. This allows you to look at it objectively. Work on something else until this time. When you edit your work, read it aloud to yourself. This helps catch awkard dialogue and sentences. Finally, when you feel it's complete, the next step comes in.

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