The Fantasy Fiction Formula PDF
Preview The Fantasy Fiction Formula
The fantasy fiction formula The fantasy fiction formula Deborah Chester Manchester University Press Copyright © Deborah Chester 2016 The right of Deborah Chester to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 978 0 7190 9706 5 First published 2016 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third- party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Typeset by Carnegie Book Production, Lancaster Contents Foreword by Jim Butcher Author preface 1 Formulating a story plan 2 Character design 3 Viewpoint 4 Dialogue 5 Scene structure 6 Scene conflict 7 Conflict maneuver 8 Resolving scenes 9 Sequels 10 Dilemma and decision 11 Entering the dark dismal middle 12 Surviving the dark dismal middle 13 More dark dismal middle 14 Unmasking true nature 15 Pacing 16 Ending the story 17 Story climax 18 Writing the resolution 19 Revision methods 20 The road to publication 21 Final suggestions Index Foreword by Jim Butcher When I was twenty-five years old, I knew everything about writing. Oh, I was taking Professional Writing courses from Debbie Chester at OU at that time, and she kept talking about things I’d never encountered before, but since I already had a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, with an emphasis in Creative Writing, I clearly didn’t need any of what she was trying to teach me. After all, I had been reading fantasy all my life, and had a degree and everything. Debbie had merely published forty novels. Yet she persisted in trying to teach me her nonsense. And so I determined that I would prove to her, irrefutably, that she was flat wrong. My chosen method for doing so was ingenious in its simplicity—I planned to do absolutely everything that Debbie told me to do. I would fill out her worksheets. I would build structured outlines. I would create my characters with her wooden caricature-building methods, utilize all her little tags and traits, break my stories into scenes and sequels, and even use her stupidly predictable story climax structure. So I did it. I did everything Debbie told me to do. And I wrote Storm front, the first book of the New York Times #1 Best- Selling Dresden Files. Which, you know, showed her. I remember being that kid in her class. I remember how many times I mentally rolled my eyes at concepts she was trying to teach me. And I spent two years doing everything I possibly could to sabotage my own chances of success as a writer while ignoring her sound, professional, practical advice. So, aspiring writer, let me do you the favor I wish someone had done me. Let me tell you what you need to hear. Shut up and do what Debbie tells you to do. Let me repeat that, in all capital letters, so you’ll know how serious I am. SHUT UP AND DO WHAT DEBBIE TELLS YOU TO DO. Who am I to tell you that? I’m the guy who took the principles of story structure which she taught me and built a career on them. As I type this, I have published twenty-four novels, the last five of them #1 New York Times best-sellers. The highest- paid actor in Hollywood narrates the audiobooks. The Dresden Files has been made into a television series and an award-winning roleplaying game. My books have been translated into a score of languages, and there are copies of my work on every continent, including Antarctica. The graphic novel adaptations of the series have been nominated for a Hugo Award. And to this day, I still occasionally refer to my notes, taken in her classroom at the University of Oklahoma, back when I knew everything. Listen carefully to what Debbie has to say about telling stories, aspiring writer. She knows exactly what she’s talking about. Author preface So you want to write fantasy, and guide readers to places where wishes matter more than facts. Does that mean your imagination is teeming with exotic places, heroic people, strange creatures, and the mysterious forces of magic? Have you been building a wondrous, unique, and special world in your imagination? Has the day now come to write a novel set in that world? Are you thinking large scope, with a plot that spans several volumes and a cast of hundreds? Perhaps you love fantasy but you don’t feel ready as yet to tackle a novel and would rather focus on short stories as you hone your craft. Tackling a few thousand words at a time—instead of a thousand pages—is a very sensible way to start your writing apprenticeship. Although this book will be focusing primarily on novel writing, short story writers will find the chapters on plotting, viewpoint, character design, scene and sequel construction, and climax helpful as well. How do you begin your urban fantasy or epic quest? What do you do first? How do you organize your ideas, develop a plot, create characters that last from start to finish without crumbling, and move the story all the way to its conclusion? What’s involved in writing a rollicking good story, one that others will enjoy reading? My training and experience as a novelist—with over forty books published—has taught me answers to such questions. I began writing fiction when very young, and I stubbornly struggled with knotty plot dilemmas, characters that didn’t always say or do what I wanted, and stories that hit dead ends, until I finally found the Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma and learned not only what writing craft is but how to trust it. As a novelist, I’ve experienced the sublime pleasure of writing a story where everything goes well. I’ve suffered through the misery of stories where nothing seems to work. I’ve written my heart and guts into some of my novels, and I’ve written books during personal situations so distracting that only my formal training in the writing craft kept me on course. I know
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