Table Of ContentThe 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
