Tag: fantasywriting

How to Create a Hard Magic System

June 10th, 2024
A magic system in fantasy writing refers to the rules, limitations, and structures that govern how magic works within a fictional world. It defines what magic can and cannot do, who can use it, and the costs or consequences associated with using it. A well-defined magic system helps create a sense of consistency and believability in the story, making the fantastical elements feel grounded within the narrative’s logic.

It also creates some great moments in which characters can overcome the limits in believable ways by using their minds, instead of magic simply being capable of whatever the plot requires it to be capable of. That’s the main reason I really love good magic systems, and I think it’s worthwhile to take a closer look at how you can develop your own.

Types of Magic Systems

There are two basic types of magic systems in fantasy writing: hard and soft. A hard magic system has, as I described above, clear, well-defined rules and limitations. Magic users have specific abilities with known consequences. For example, in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, Allomancy allows users to ingest metals and “burn” them to gain various powers, each metal providing a specific ability. Once the metals run out, the user has no access to magic.

In a soft magic system, the use of magic remains vague and mysterious. The writer doesn’t clearly explain the rules in the story, and magic serves more as a plot device to create wonder or solve problems unpredictably. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, for example, magic is present but not systematically explained. Characters like Gandalf perform magical feats without detailed exposition on how it works.

Some writers also go for what’s called a hybrid magic system, which combines elements of both hard and soft magic systems. Some aspects of the magic are clearly defined, while others remain mysterious. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, certain spells have specific effects and rules, but the origins and full extent of magic remain partially unexplained.

Why I like hard magic

If you do have a hard magic system clearly defined in your head before you start writing, you can often prevent plot holes and maintain the internal logic of the story. I personally often prefer hard magic systems for this very reason. In addition, limitations and costs associated with magic can create obstacles for characters that drive the plot forward, while the way those characters interact with the magic system can reveal their strengths, weaknesses, and growth.

As a rather silly example, let’s say you write about a world where people can fly, but only if they wear special shoes that use up a limited supply of magic dust. Once the dust runs out, they can’t fly anymore until they find more dust. This creates a clear rule (you need the shoes and dust), a limitation (the dust supply), and a consequence (if you run out mid-air, you fall).

In the case of my novel, Loyalty Fallen, the rule is that you need gems or precious metals, each of which has a different effect. The gems become useless after being drained of power, and overuse of magic always has a consequence. In the case of boulder opals, which can cause earthquakes and cracks in the ground and in rocks, the user’s skin can become dry or severely cracked and scarred. In the case of sapphires, which are used basically to do a kind of ice magic, the users’ temperature can drop to dangerous levels and the users will begin to create snow and ice on anything they touch.

The limited supply of opals and other gems is also a main plot point in the story. Navinor invaded Iridalys specifically to get a large supply of verdant opals, which help in agriculture, after Navinor experienced a severe drought. Also, the characters are limited in their ability to protect themselves with magic because they don’t always have opals at hand.

Making a magic system

There are many different types of magic systems. Some will be elemental magic systems or base magic off of alchemy or imaginary substances. You’ll be the one to decide what type of magic you want to include, but here are some questions you can ask yourself to help:
1. Source: Where does the magic come from? – In Loyalty Fallen, magic comes from gemstones or metal.
2. Users: Who can use magic, and how do they gain this ability? – In Loyalty Fallen, this varies depending on the geographic location. In Iridalys, magic users are called Mages and can go to school to become Wardens. In Tephraya, however, magic users are mostly fugitives and looked down on by everyone.
3. Rules: What are the specific laws that govern the use of magic? – In Loyalty Fallen, the main rule is simple: you need access to a gemstone or metal and be actively touching the object when attempting to use magic.
4. Costs: What are the drawbacks or risks of using magic? – In Loyalty Fallen, Tephrayan blood ruby magic can poison the user and cause illness or death.
5. Limits: Are there boundaries to what magic can achieve? – Loyalty Fallen has two boundaries: the human will and the resource. If a person has a strong will, they can essentially stretch the resources further for more powerful magic; however, once the resource runs out, the user will not be able to do any magic.
By thoughtfully developing these aspects, you can create a compelling and coherent magic system that enhances your fantasy narrative.

I also recommend using an AI tool like ChatGPT and simply telling the chatbot to “Ask me questions until you have all the answers you need to create a deep and compelling hard magic system.” The bot will ask you questions you hadn’t even considered previously.

Final thoughts

Fantasy is an awesome genre that doesn’t always have to be restrained by “realism” or the other rules we’re expected to follow in, say, historical fiction or a modern mystery. The rules are the ones you create, so the goal should be to create rules that contribute to the story and world and provide a framework within which you can explore creative solutions to the problems you’ve placed your characters in.

If you’ve already created a hard magic system or have one in progress, let me know in the comments as I’d love to hear about it! Also, please like this post if it was helpful and subscribe to continue reading more information about the fantasy genre and my novel, Loyalty Fallen.

You can read the first chapters of Loyalty Fallen here. I upload a new chapter each week on Tuesday at 5:00 PM PST.
Three Things to Know About Fantasy Worldbuilding

June 8th, 2024

I have a tendency to go to extremes in my writing. Either I sit down with no plan, no character profiles, no timeline, and no worldbuilding in my head and just write a story however I feel like, or I write a hundred pages of preparation and worldbuilding ahead of time.

The problem comes when I try to condense that worldbuilding down into something that the reader will actually find interesting and sound natural in the context of a novel. This is something I’m still learning to do, but these are the three pieces of advice that helped me the most.

1. Avoid info dumping

The days of readers enjoying books that spent pages and pages describing the inner workings of a city government are long past. Most readers now prefer to be introduced to the elements and features of a fantasy world gradually, through natural dialogue and events. Your first chapter, for example, doesn’t need to describe in-depth the names of the countries involved in your story or how they govern themselves. I will sometimes do half a page of pure worldbuilding information for the reader, but I rarely go beyond that, because I think it gets boring fast.

The other part of avoiding info-dumping, beyond just making worldbuilding sections too long, is sharing information that will never be relevant. For example, you don’t need to tell the reader about the seven people groups in your fantasy world if only three of those show up in the story.

2. Show, don’t tell

For myself, I really struggled to understand what was meant by this advice. To be honest, I’m still figuring it out and I often get frustrated trying to distill worldbuilding into dialogue or the natural story rather than direct exposition. Also, sharing worldbuilding in dialogue can be a pitfall that makes your characters sound unnatural and share something that your characters already should be aware of.

The best I can do is offer an example: Instead of describing a city’s strict laws, show a character being apprehended for breaking a minor rule, highlighting the authoritarian nature of the regime.

Instead of an in-depth description of your magic system in the first chapter, wait until a chapter that features an academy where magic is being taught, or integrate teaching about your magic into the plot and story itself by introducing a master-apprentice relationship.

3. Make the most of small details

Small details are something I tend to miss as I’m building a massive world from scratch. Something to remember is that in our world, foods have special names. There are local customs that add flavor to each area, and different groups might use different slang.

You might for example describe a market scene with vendors selling exotic fruits unique to your world or characters using colloquial phrases specific to their region. Not all of the small details need to be plot-centric, but they can help ground your reader in your world.

It’s even better if you can use those seemingly unimportant elements to foreshadow future events. As a somewhat silly example, in the beginning of your story, you might mention that one of your characters has an allergic reaction to that particular exotic fruit. Halfway through the book, you have that character fail to show up for an important event, which brings a high cost to the heroes, and it turns out the reason is because of an allergic reaction. Someone who knew about the allergy must have betrayed the character.

At that point your readers experience a kind of satisfaction from seeing the payoff of a seemingly unimportant detail that also helped them feel at home in your fantasy world.

Final Thoughts

Fantasy worldbuilding is an extremely complex topic, and I’m hardly the most experienced person in that regard. Two of my favorite fantasy authors, John Flannagan who wrote Ranger’s Apprentice and Brandon Sanderson who wrote the Mistborn trilogy and others, do an excellent job of worldbuilding very quickly and effectively, and I highly recommend reading their books as an example. You might also follow Jed Herne on YouTube for some additional tips.

In the meantime, please like this post if you found it helpful and share any tips you may have or any challenges you’ve faced regarding fantasy worldbuilding in the past. Also, please subscribe to learn how to create a hard magic system and how to write a blurb for your book, among other things.

Finally, feel free to take a look at the first chapters of my own serial fantasy novel, Loyalty Fallen.
How to Proofread Your Novel

June 7th, 2024
Not everyone who sits down to write a fantasy novel has an extensive educational background or a job that requires high-quality writing on a daily basis. I certainly didn’t when I got started, and anyone who read my stories would have been able to tell.

Your best practice will always be to have a friend, family member, or disinterested party proofread your novel before you publish anything. But if for whatever reason you don’t have someone you can ask to proofread, or you want to make sure your novel is at minimum free of noticeable, commonplace errors before sharing it even with a friend, this blog post will help you find tools that can help you and look for the common mistakes spellcheck might sometimes miss.

Tools for proofreading

I’ve already written a post on using AI in your writing, so refer back to that one for more in-depth info on the specific AI-based tools I’ll mention here. For starters, you can use ChatGPT or Claude. The way I use these is to simply paste my finished chapter into the chatbox in quotes and say “Act like a proofreader and point out any spelling or grammatical errors.”

Note that giving the chatbot a role as a proofreader tends to help it stick close to that role throughout the rest of the chat so it doesn’t “forget” what it’s doing and either do less or more than you asked for.

Some AI tools will point out mistakes that aren’t actually there or miss mistakes that are there, so they’re not completely reliable. The Hemingway App tends to be more accurate since it’s specifically intended for writers. It can act as a standard spell-checker and also give other suggestions for your writing.

Naturally Word and Google Docs have built in spell-check features, but the problem with them is they tend to miss certain mistakes I’ll talk about more later in this blog post. Basically, no technology is completely reliable when it comes to proofreading.

Mistakes to avoid

You are the first line of defense against obvious or embarrasing mistakes in your writing. For now, let’s just go over some of the most common errors that even somewhat more experienced writers may make from time to time.

1. Possessive vs. contraction – its/it’s, your/you’re

A possessive word is a word that indicates having/possessing something. For instance, the words “his,” “hers,” “its,” “yours,” and “theirs.” “His car is red;” in this phrase, his is the possessive and the car is the object he possesses.

Where the confusion comes in is between a possessive, like its and yours, and contractions, like it’s and you’re. A contraction is a shortened melding of two words, in this case a pronoun and a verb. It’s means the same as “it is,” not to be confused with “its,” which indicates possession, and you’re means the same as “you are,” not to be confused with “your.”
- Incorrect: “It’s form was smaller than expected. Its not going to change any time soon.”
- Correct: “Its form was smaller than expected. It’s not going to change any time soon.”
- Incorrect: “Your not doing it right. Clearly, it’s not you’re day.”
- Correct: “You’re not doing it right. Clearly, it’s not your day.”
Basically, just remember that with pronouns (words like hers, his, theirs, and its), possession doesn’t use an apostraphe. So if you see its, you know it’s possessive. If you see it’s, you can just expand it to “it is” in your mind to see if it fits correctly in the sentence. The same goes for your and and you’re.

2. There vs. their vs. they’re

Another example of a possessive pronoun and a contraction that often get confused is “their” (possessive) and “they’re” (contraction). You can expand “they’re” to “they are,” but in the case of these words, there’s a third word that comes in to add even more confusion. “There” can be used in different ways, but the important thing to remember is that they’re always means “they are” and “their” is always possessive. Any remaining uses should be spelled “there.”
- Incorrect: “There going to the party over their. They’re car isn’t working well.”
- Correct: “They’re going to the party over there. Their car isn’t working well.”
- Incorrect: “Their isn’t another option.”
- Correct: “There isn’t another option.”
3. Homophone mistakes

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently. There are way too many in the English language, and I can’t go over them all, so I’ll just focus on three examples.
1. Accept vs. except: Accept means to consent to receive something. Except means “not including.” “I can accept anything except for that.”
2. Effect vs. affect: Effect is a noun; it is the result or outcome of something. Affect is a verb and means to cause something. “The sun negatively affects my skin. The sun has a negative effect on my skin.”
3. Than vs. then: Than is used for comparison. Then is used to denote time or the next thing to occur. “If you think you’re taller than me, then let’s take actual measurements.”
I see each of these mistakes often, even in professionally written articles. I’ve made them plenty of times myself, and I’ve also learned to watch out for them and sometimes just do a quick search through each chapter to look specifically for these kinds of mistakes.

4. Sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is basically when you end a sentence in the middle. A proper sentence is made up of either an independent clause, meaning a phrase that can stand on its own like “Tom stole a dragon,” or an independent clause plus at least one dependent clause.

A dependent clause is a phrase that can’t stand on its own. For example, “Since she had completed her plans, she decided to write the letter immediately.” The phrase “Since she had completed her plans” is a dependent clause. It doesn’t work by itself, and it is not a complete sentence, so if you put a period after it, you have a sentence fragment.

Sentence fragments aren’t always a mistake. Sometimes, they’re used for emphasis or as a literary device. For example, let’s say someone is reminiscing over the past, and you write their words as follows: “It was a beautiful summer day, and I was running. Running up a grassy hill without a care in the world. Until the soldiers came.” The first sentence is a complete sentence made up of two independent clauses; both “it was a beautiful summer day” and “I was running” can be sentences on their own. The second and third sentences are sentence fragments, but they add emphasis by slowing down the reader to make the phrase “until the soldiers came” more impactful.

Here’s an example of a sentence fragment that is incorrect: “The dragon’s scales shimmered with an emerald hue, reflecting the sunlight. With eyes that held the wisdom of centuries.” The phrase “with eyes that held the wisdom of centuries” is not a complete sentence. Similarly, you can’t start proper sentences with conjunctions like “and,” “but,” or “or.” Generally, you want to avoid sentence fragments outside of dialogue.

5. Run-on sentences

I think run-on sentences are even more common than sentence fragments. While many people think of a run-on sentence as just a sentence that is too long, it’s often an actual grammatical mistake in which multiple indpenend clauses are put together incorrectly.

An example of a run-on sentence is: “The sun set behind the mountains the sky turned dark and the stars began to glow overhead.”

“The sun set behind the mountains” is an independent clause, so it needs a period or a comma before introducing the next clause. To correct this sentence, you would either add a period or a comma after “The sun set behind the mountains.”

As another example, “She loves to read books she spends hours at the library every weekend” should be “She loves to read books. She spends hours at the library every weekend.” Alternatively, you can replace the first period with a semicolon: “She loves to read books; she spends hours at the library every weekend” or with the word “and”: “She loves to read books, and she spends hours at the library every weekend.”

Some more tips

This post turned out to be a lot more complicated and in-depth than I intended, so if you skipped to the end, here are a few simpler pieces of advice you can follow to improve your novel:
1. Proofread more than once. You won’t catch all the mistakes the first time.
2. Take a step back before a final proofread. I have a tendency to become blind to my own mistakes after about third time reading a chapter. A break will usually clear my head and let me look at the chapter with fresh eyes.
3. Look for repeated words or multiple sentences or paragraphs in a row that start with the same word/name. I do this often in sections with a lot of dialogue. I find myself starting each paragraph with the speaker’s name, which quickly becomes repetitive, and if you’re just skimming, can be somewhat annoying. I also find myself using similar words and phrases in the same chapter. This can be hard for me to pick out on my own, so I sometimes ask ChatGPT for help pointing out overly repetitive words or phrases.
4. Research constantly. I would suggest to any writers who hope to publish their writing to constantly look up how to use hyphens, commas, and various parts of speech. You should become familiar with the rules of grammar and spelling and word usage.
Keep in mind, even if writing is a hobby for you at the moment, if there is any possibility you may want to write professionally one day, you want good writing samples that demonstrate your improvement over time. What you don’t want is a lot of content online that is under your name or internet profile and could make a potential publisher or agent think twice about taking you on.

Final thoughts

Writing fiction is a science just as much as it is an art, and there are certain rules you should follow if you want to demonstrate your skills over time. There’s always more to learn, and your work will never be perfect, but you can at least avoid the obvious mistakes that might distract readers.

What are some other common mistakes that you’ve noticed when reading or writing? Or what are some other tips for catching errors in your writing? Comment below to let me know, and in the meantime, like and subscribe to get updated when my next post on worldbuilding tips that helped me when writing my own novel, Loyalty Fallen.

While you’re at it, head over to read the first chapters of the novel and let me know what you think!
Choosing a Title for a Fantasy Novel

June 6th, 2024

Your title is the first thing anyone will notice about your novel. A good title can encourage someone to read your story, while a truly bad, generic, or cliched title can make it harder for your novel to gain exposure.

When I sat down to choose a title for Loyalty Fallen, I had quite a few bumps along the way. My first title was too long and generic, and my second title (which I shall never reveal), made people laugh. Still, there are a few best practices that fantasy authors usually discuss, and a few considerations that might be helpful when it’s time for you to choose how people will see your novel for the first time.

1. Keep it short

I discussed this briefly in a previous blog post, but it’s generally best to keep your fantasy novel title short. There are certain subgenres that tend to have longer titles, like Isekai stories, for example. Still, a cursory look at modern fantasy novels on the Amazon store will tell you that the current fashion is to keep titles short, usually 2-3 words, and sometimes just one word. For example, Brandon Sanderson wrote both The Final Empire (in the Mistborn series) and Elantris (a standalone novella.) Some other examples are Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, and The Ranger’s Apprentice. I haven’t read all of these books, but I certainly like the titles!

2. Make sure it’s easy to pronounce

If you want to share your book with your friends and have them talk about your book with other people, it’s best if your title is easy to pronounce. That way if someone wants to look it up they know basically how to spell it and shouldn’t have too much difficulty finding it.

3. Do an internet search

There have been instances in which more than one book was published with the same title from different authors. However, doing this with your book simply ensures that if people search for your title, it will show up lower in their search results than the original book by that title. Ideally, you also want a title that isn’t shared by any other media. For example, if you name your book Fire and Gold (there’s already a novel called this, but let’s use it anyway), anyone who searches the title without the word “novel” after it will find Bea Miller’s song Fire n’ Gold first.

Understanding how your title will appear in search results is part of something called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. You want a title that is easy to search and will show up high in results in various search engines.

4. Use made-up words with caution

Made-up words fulfill the criteria of likely showing up high in search results, but the problem with made-up words is that they’re often in the category of being hard to pronounce, hard to spell, or simply hard to remember. For example, while I like the title Elantris, I’d have to have someone spell it out for me and write it down before I would remember it.

By contrast, Mistborn is much more memorable because I already know the word “mist” and the word “born;” it also piques my interest more because I have no idea what Elantris refers to, but I start to have a picture in my mind as soon as I hear the word Mistborn. Whether that picture is accurate or not doesn’t matter; it will help me remember the title and likely have more interest in picking up the book.

5. Hint at fantasy elements

I certainly didn’t follow this advice with Loyalty Fallen; however, one of my other stories is titled Obsidian Blood. Anyone who sees the name Obsidian Blood will likely guess what genre the book is immediately (though they might also think of vampires, which the book does not include in the slightest capacity). Similarly with Mistborn – The Final Empire, a fantasy setting is evident. However, a book title like The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss or One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig could be set in any century or any genre. While it’s not absolutely necessary to have a title with the fantasy clearly shown, the majority of fantasy novels certainly do.

Final thoughts

A bit of final advice for you: maybe run your title by a few of your friends before you post it online, or better yet post it to a less friendly audience on Reddit or to a beta reader. Let the critics have their say and then choose the title that you like best and that best suits your story. You’re the one with the final choice; just remember that whatever you choose may live on for quite some time online, and it will be the first impression anyone has of your story. First impressions matter.

What are the book titles that have struck you as the most compelling or that you’ve created for your novels? Let me know in the comments, and while you’re at it, please like the post and subscribe to the blog.

You can read what I’ve published so far of Loyalty Fallen here.
Top 5 YouTubers for Fantasy Writers to Follow

June 5th, 2024

During a typical day, I listen to eight hours of podcasts, music, and YouTubers. I’m a multi-tasker and perform best when I have something going in the background. This is true when I’m writing as well, and over time I’ve found some fantasy authors on YouTube who have a lot to say about developing characters, worldbuilding, and magic systems. Now I want to share those authors with you as well.

1. Abbie Emmons

Abbie Emmons is author of 100 Days of Sunlight and a YouTuber known for her engaging content on writing and storytelling. She offers practical advice and tips for writers, focusing on character development, plot structure, and the writing process. Emmons’ YouTube channel is popular among aspiring writers for its insightful and accessible approach to fiction writing. She also shares her experiences as an author, providing a behind-the-scenes look at her own writing journey and the publishing process.

Abbie Emmons is not specifically a fantasy author. However, she has some of the best and clearest explanations I’ve ever heard regarding the three-act story structure, story outlining, and character development. I highly recommend you give her a follow.

2. Brandon McNulty

Like Abbie, Brandon McNulty is not specifically a fantasy author. He’s known for thriller and horror books like Bad Parts and Entry Wounds. He creates content aimed at helping writers improve their craft, covering topics such as character development, plot construction, and writing techniques. He also shares insights from his own writing journey, including tips on navigating the publishing industry and staying productive as a writer.

Brandon tends to do breakdowns of dialogue in movies and TV shows to show good and bad examples of compelling conversation. I’ve found these breakdowns to be very useful in my writing.

3. Jed Hernes

Jed Hernes is a fantasy author and YouTuber who focuses on writing and storytelling. His content aims to help writers develop their skills, offering advice on plot structure, character development, and other aspects of fiction writing. Hernes’ YouTube channel provides tutorials, tips, and motivational content to support both new and experienced writers.

I personally was most interested in his explanation and lessons on magic systems and fantasy worldbuilding. He has some great tips that helped me understand the differences between hard and soft magic systems and more.

4. Jill Bearup

Jill Bearup is a YouTuber and author known for her content on performance, storytelling, and stage combat. She creates engaging videos that explore various aspects of film and theater, particularly focusing on how fight scenes are choreographed and performed. Bearup provides detailed analyses of action sequences, breaking down the techniques and storytelling elements involved.

Where I think Jill’s videos become really interesting are when she describes what a semi-realistic fantasy heroine should look like. These videos have been very useful and enjoyable for me during my writing journey. Note this she doesn’t so much talk about character development as depicting believable action scenes for fantasy heroines.

5. Elliot Brooks

Elliot Brooks is a YouTuber known for her content on books, writing, and the fantasy genre. She offers book reviews, recommendations, and discussions about various aspects of the writing and publishing process. Brooks’ channel is popular among readers and writers for its insightful analyses and engaging commentary.

Elliot doesn’t do as much purely educational content, but I do think her video series “Dear Authors” is very valuable for aspiring authors to listen to, as it lays out some of the tropes readers are tired of or some things readers would like to see more of. I also think it can be worthwhile for fantasy writers to listen to in-depth book reviews or breakdowns to understand what does and doesn’t appeal to readers.

Bonus: Elizabeth Wheatley

Elizabeth Wheatley is an author known for her works in the fantasy and paranormal genres. She has published several books that often feature strong heroines and complex fantasy worldbuilding. Wheatley’s writing typically explores themes of adventure, magic, and romance. Her most recent series is Daindreth’s Assassin.

I put Elizabeth in a somewhat different category than the others because much of her content is entertaining rather than educational, but it’s still worth watching and there are some nuggets of useful information. I’d say watch Elizabeth’s videos when you want something short and hilarious for the most part.

Final thoughts

I’ve been writing fiction for the past 16 years (I started really young), but I didn’t start writing what I would consider good fiction until five or six years ago. A lot of people will tell you the best way to improve is to practice, and that’s partly true, but if you’re like me you might need some extra help along the way. Hopefully these YouTubers can give you some tools to continue writing books that you and your readers can enjoy.

This post is the second in a series of ten posts that I am putting out to celebrate the first ten chapters of my own fantasy novel, Loyalty Fallen, going live here on the site. You can read the novel here.

In the meantime, please like this post and subscribe for updates as I continue this series. The next post will be about my process for choosing a title for a novel. Also, please comment below to tell me about the YouTubers who have helped you become a better fantasy author. I’d love to hear from you!
How to Develop Consistent Characters

June 4th, 2024
It’s surprisingly hard to make characters consistent and have them behave naturally. I’ve never enjoyed reading about two characters suddenly having a misunderstanding that causes a deep rift simply because the plot requires drama when there’s no good reason for them to struggle with communication issues. It’s different if your character has previous trauma, but if your character is well-adjusted, intelligent, and neurotypical, the conflict you’ve written may not make a lot of sense, even if it does add drama.

So how do you keep from falling into that kind of error? I personally create character profiles prior to writing a full novel. These help me keep various details consistent, like ages, last names, backstories, and physical attributes, which can be surprisingly difficult to remember after about the first hundred thousand words or so. Here are some tips for creating great character profiles and preventing your characters from being one-dimensional.

MBTI: Four-dimensional characters

There are tools available that can help writers to create more complex and interesting characters. Many writers use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a personality assessment that divides people into 16 personality types based on what the assessment calls “the four dichotomies.” These dichotomies are opposing personality factors like extraversion vs. introversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving.

Here’s a more detailed rundown:
1. Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I):
  - Extraversion: Energized by interacting with others, enjoys group activities, outgoing.
  - Introversion: Energized by spending time alone, enjoys solitary activities, reserved.
2. Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N):
  - Sensing: Focuses on the present, prefers concrete facts and details, practical.
  - Intuition: Focuses on future possibilities, prefers abstract concepts and ideas, imaginative.
3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F):
  - Thinking: Makes decisions based on logic and objective criteria, analytical.
  - Feeling: Makes decisions based on values and subjective criteria, empathetic.
4. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P):
  - Judging: Prefers structure, organization, and planning, decisive.
  - Perceiving: Prefers flexibility, spontaneity, and adaptability, open-ended.
Each personality type is represented by a combination of one preference from each of the four dichotomies. Let’s break them down!
1. INTJ (Architect): Strategic, logical, and independent. Enjoys planning and theorizing.
2. INTP (Logician): Innovative, curious, and intellectual. Loves exploring ideas and solving puzzles.
3. ENTJ (Commander): Bold, imaginative, and strong-willed. Natural leaders who enjoy challenges.
4. ENTP (Debater): Quick-witted, original, and loves debating. Enjoys pushing boundaries and exploring new concepts.
5. INFJ (Advocate): Insightful, altruistic, and principled. Driven by a deep sense of purpose.
6. INFP (Mediator): Idealistic, empathetic, and imaginative. Values harmony and personal growth.
7. ENFJ (Protagonist): Charismatic, inspiring, and empathetic. Natural leaders who value connection.
8. ENFP (Campaigner): Enthusiastic, creative, and sociable. Loves exploring possibilities and connecting with others.
9. ISTJ (Logistician): Responsible, detail-oriented, and dependable. Values tradition and practicality.
10. ISFJ (Defender): Protective, nurturing, and reliable. Values harmony and helping others.
11. ESTJ (Executive): Organized, direct, and efficient. Natural leaders who value order.
12. ESFJ (Consul): Warm, cooperative, and sociable. Enjoys supporting and caring for others.
13. ISTP (Virtuoso): Bold, practical, and adventurous. Enjoys hands-on activities and problem-solving.
14. ISFP (Adventurer): Artistic, sensitive, and spontaneous. Values personal expression and experiences.
15. ESTP (Entrepreneur): Energetic, perceptive, and direct. Thrives on excitement and new experiences.
16. ESFP (Entertainer): Fun-loving, spontaneous, and enthusiastic. Enjoys entertaining and engaging with others.
Each type has its unique strengths and ways of interacting with the world.

Character development with the MBTI

Many writers have this list in front of them when they’re developing characters and simply pick a type when starting to write out a new character profile. My preferred method is a little different. I write out a summary of a character’s backstory and personality and ask ChatGPT to pick the MBTI that fits best.

The purpose of this is, again, to ensure that my character acts consistently, or that if my character acts inconsistently, there is a stated reason for their odd behavior. For example, let’s say my fantasy novel character, who we’ll call Rob, is an INFP; a mediator. INFPs are usually calm, empathetic, and avoid conflict, so if Rob suddenly begins to argue violently with another character, it may seem out of character.

But let’s say one day, a traveling merchant arrives with news of a dragon terrorizing nearby villages. The villagers gather in the town square, fear and anger bubbling up as they discuss what to do. Suddenly, Rob, who typically speaks with a soft and measured tone, begins to argue violently with another villager named John. John, a blacksmith, insists they must hire a particular group of mercenaries to slay the dragon, while Rob shouts, his voice trembling with uncharacteristic fury, that they should let the village burn before hiring those mercenaries.

This outburst seems strange for Rob, who usually avoids conflict. However, it is revealed that Rob’s parents were killed in a raid by that very group of mercenaries when he was a child, a traumatic event that scarred him deeply. The thought resurrects those old wounds, causing him to react in a way that seems out of character.

With a well-thought-out character profile based on the MBTI, you can have your characters behave strangely without contradicting their backstories or the personalities you’ve developed for them thus far.

Questions to ask

The MBTI isn’t for everyone. What are some other ways you can flesh out characters and make them more interesting for the reader? One thing you can always do is simply ask ChatGPT. Enter whatever you have about your character so far and then ask for suggestions to make them more interesting or to give them more personality. Another option is to simply say, “Ask me questions until you have all the information you need to get an in-depth character profile.” Those questions may help you get to the bottom of what makes your character interesting. For more information on using ChatGPT and other AI tools in your writing, see my recent blog post.

Alternatively, here are some questions you can ask yourself when you’re creating a character.
1. What are my characters’ goals? Are their goals ones that the reader will be able to relate to?
2. What has happened in my characters’ past to motivate those goals? Is there a direct relationship between those past events and my characters’ current personalities and actions?
3. What are the challenges, both internal and external, that my characters need to face to meet those goals?
4. What are my characters’ weaknesses or biggest faults?
5. What does my character fear?
6. What are the most important beliefs my characters have that drive them?
7. What are the most important misbeliefs my characters have about the world that drive them?
There are plenty of other questions you can ask, but these will give you a good start well beyond simply choosing a look and backstory for your character.

Final thoughts

Over the next nine days, I will continue to share other tips for fantasy writing. Tomorrow, you can expect a post sharing my favorite YouTubers who have talked about the MBTI and other tools, frameworks, and strategies fantasy writers can use to improve their writing and character development.

In the meantime, please leave a like, subscribe to the blog, and catch up on the first ten chapters of Loyalty Fallen.

Read the Novel
The World of Loyalty Fallen – How to Build a Fantasy Universe

June 2nd, 2024
There are just two more days before the first ten chapters of Loyalty Fallen go live, after which the rest of the story will be serialized here on the website one chapter each week. In preparation, I will be publishing a blog post each day to count down to the publication. In this blog post, I’m going to share a little bit about how I came up with the world and characters of Loyalty Fallen. Read on to learn about the three-act story structure, the videos and Youtubers that helped me plan out my story and characters, and other tools that have helped me create this story.

A Fantasy World Without Magic

When I first came up with the idea for Loyalty Fallen, magic was not even an integral part of the world. It was more like an alternative history based in Europe during midieval times.

I had some ideas for the setting. I wanted a story about a princess in an arranged marriage who is accused of killing her husband on her wedding night. I started out with a loose three-act story structure. For those who are unfamiliar, a three-act story structure consists of:

Act 1: The Setup

In the first act, you introduce your characters, setting, and the story’s primary conflict. This act typically ends with the inciting incident – the event that kick-starts the main action.
- Introduction: Meet the characters and understand their world.
- Inciting Incident: Something happens that disrupts the status quo.
- First Turning Point: The protagonist makes a decision that sets the story in motion.
Act 2: The Confrontation

This is where the action really picks up. The protagonist faces obstacles and challenges that test their resolve. It’s the longest act and includes the midpoint – a significant event that changes the direction of the story.
- Rising Action: The protagonist encounters various challenges and setbacks.
- Midpoint: A crucial event that shifts the story’s direction.
- Second Turning Point: Things get even more intense, leading to the climax.
Act 3: The Resolution

The final act wraps up the story. It includes the climax – the most exciting part where the protagonist faces the biggest challenge – and the denouement, where loose ends are tied up.
- Climax: The peak of the story where the protagonist confronts the main conflict.
- Falling Action: Events start winding down.
- Resolution/Denouement: The story concludes, and we see the aftermath of the protagonist’s journey.
Within the confines of this structure, my story began to grow and I created detailed character profiles for each character in a document that was more than a hundred pages long. These character profiles helped me ensure each character had a consistent “voice,” backstory, and features. I created kingdom profiles to figure out the basic topography and political systems that might be relevant in the story.

As I began to write, though, there were a few story elements I was having trouble with. Mainly, I didn’t like my main character.

The Problem With the Protagonist

Kathryn was not a likeable main character initially. She was completely set on her own goals and ways to the detriment of anyone around her. Her goals were selfish and didn’t have great motivations behind them. Wanting power for the sake of wanting power wasn’t enoguh to make her interesting. While I wanted a flawed character who wasn’t a Mary Sue, I didn’t want readers to have to suffer through every scene with her just to get to the much better-developed side characters.

Another problem was that I wanted Kathryn to be a highly intelligent and strategic individual. This plays into the story at various points and was a necessary part of her development, but initially, I couldn’t figure out how to establish her intelligence without just saying “she’s smart.” That didn’t fit with what I’d always heard I was supposed to do in my writing: show, don’t tell.

In the end, I was watching a video essay on YouTube from a very small channel with only around 700 subscribers, Magnifying Moments. The name of the video was “Why Katniss Everdeen Is one of The BEST Characters Ever Written… | (Video Essay).” I’ve never read the Hunger Games, but I had some familiarity with Katniss as a character from hearing about her from other people, and she’d never sounded particularly interesting, until I watched the video and finally realized her appeal. Like Mulan, Katniss’ arc starts with stepping forward to protect a loved one. Regardless of any other flaws the character might portray throughout the rest of the story, that setup is often enough to keep people interested. And suddenly I knew how to fix Kathryn.

Kathryn wants to prtoect her kingdom and her sister. Those are the things that introduce her as a likable character. As for her intelligence, I hope you will see that displayed in actions rather than words in the first part of the book.

When I had the character figured out, I still had a major problem. There were some aspects of the climax that were less than climactic, and as I watched more videos on writing a good climax, I realized I had made some big mistakes in planning it out. However, I had painted myself into a corner with the way I planned out the rest of the story, and I didn’t know how to fix the problem.

A Fantasy World With Magic

My biggest problem was that I didn’t have the tools in my toolbox to make the climax or the world in general particularly interesting or exciting. I began toying with the idea of introducing a hard magic system that would allow me to get my chracters out of seemingly impossible situations without just introducing an entirely new character or plot point out of the blue.

Hard Magic System

A hard magic system is like a set of clearly defined rules and boundaries for how magic works. Imagine it like a well-documented spell book where everything is explained and predictable.
- Clear Rules: The magic has specific, understandable rules. For example, wizards can cast spells but only if they have a certain type of crystal.
- Limitations: There are defined limits to what magic can do. This keeps things balanced and prevents characters from becoming too powerful.
- Predictability: Because the rules are clear, readers can anticipate how magic will be used in different situations. This makes it easy to follow and creates logical consistency.
Brandon Sandersen is a well-known fantasy author who primarily relies on hard magic systems, like in the Mistborn trilogy. In these worlds, magic follows specific principles that characters and readers understand. Characters must work within those confines and use their imaginations to succeed, rather than simply getting a power up or introducing a new spell whenever the story demands it.

Soft Magic System

A soft magic system is more mysterious and less defined. It’s like a misty, enchanted forest where anything can happen, and the magic often feels more like a force of nature.
- Mystery: The rules of magic are not clearly explained. It might feel more like magic is a part of the world rather than a tool that can be controlled.
- Flexibility: Because there are fewer defined rules, magic can be used more flexibly to serve the story. This can create a sense of wonder and unpredictability.
- Impressionistic: Magic in these systems often works to create a mood or atmosphere rather than being a precise tool.
Think of the magic in “The Lord of the Rings” or “Harry Potter.” While there are some rules, much of the magic feels wondrous and mysterious, adding to the sense of adventure. While these stories can be fun, they sometimes fall into what I would consider a trap of relying on the “Deus ex machina.” Deus ex machina means “God from the machine,” and it refers to a plot device in which a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly resolved by an unexpected and improbable event.

The term comes from ancient Greek theater. In plays, a so-called god or divine being would be brought onto the stage using a machine (like a crane) to resolve the story’s conflicts. Because the resolution comes out of nowhere, surprising both characters and readers, the solution is often unlikely or not foreshadowed, making it feel a bit like cheating.

For example, in a fantasy book with a soft magic system, it’s easy to simply let your characters win a fight by making them more powerful when they’re angry. In a book with a hard magic system, there are other restrictions in play beyond just the character’s feelings, so the likelihood they can win a seemingly unwinnable fight just by getting emotional is reduced. Instead, the character will have to find a clever workaround, which in my opinion tends to be more interesting to read.

Introducing a hard magic system, which I shared in my recent blog post, turned out to be way more fun and interesting than I could have ever imagined. Not only did it allow me to resolve story issues I hadn’t planned for very well, but it allowed me to make other story beats more interesting. Fights that were confined to two giant men whacking at each other with swords suddenly involved many more participants and factors. Certain female characters that had to be sidelined in a couple scenes due to their personalities and physical attributes suddenly could play a more active role. Magic is the great equalizer, after all.

Beyond the Outline

After refining my chapter-by-chapter outline, I was finally ready to start writing the “final” draft of Loyalty Fallen. The world now included fantastical creatures, magical gems, political systems, and a highly diverse and complex set of characters.

I found myself changing things constantly as I wrote. Some smaller characters had to be cut out because they just didn’t have enough relevance in later parts of the story. I had to move some flashbacks and character development to later chapters, because I had originally shoved it all into the first few chapters. Suddenly I was getting more and more excited about my story.

Now I’ve fully edited Part 1, with the help of some friends. You’ll be able to read the first ten chapters on Tuesday and see the results of all of this prep work. And as a gift to my readers, for the first ten days after the story goes live, I’ll be sharing the following on my blog:
1. Tips and tricks on character development/character profiles, including how to use the MBTI personality assessment
2. My favorite YouTubers who have helped me get a better understanding of how to develop characters and stories
3. My process for choosing a title for a novel
4. Common proofreading mistakes to watch out for in your novel
5. Worldbuilding tips
6. How to create a hard magic system – with examples
7. Why you might not want to publish your novel yet
8. The art of Loyalty Fallen and a detailed explanation of my art process
9. The music of Loaylty Fallen and about the songs and lyrics I’ve written for the story
10. How to write a good blurb for your book
After that I’ll be regularly posting short stories related to the characters, more info on the world of Loyalty Fallen, and other tips. Subscribe to stay up to date, and comment below to tell me about your process when you sit down to write a fantasy novel. Do you do a chapter-by-chapter outline or do you use a loose framework? Do you create comprehensive character profiles or do you make it up as you go along? Let me know in the comments!

Tag: fantasywriting

Types of Magic Systems

Why I like hard magic

Making a magic system

Final thoughts

1. Avoid info dumping

2. Show, don’t tell

3. Make the most of small details

Final Thoughts

Tools for proofreading

Mistakes to avoid

1. Possessive vs. contraction – its/it’s, your/you’re

2. There vs. their vs. they’re

3. Homophone mistakes

4. Sentence fragments

5. Run-on sentences

Some more tips

Final thoughts

1. Keep it short

2. Make sure it’s easy to pronounce

3. Do an internet search

4. Use made-up words with caution

5. Hint at fantasy elements

Final thoughts

1. Abbie Emmons

2. Brandon McNulty

3. Jed Hernes

4. Jill Bearup

5. Elliot Brooks

Bonus: Elizabeth Wheatley

Final thoughts

MBTI: Four-dimensional characters

Character development with the MBTI

Questions to ask

Final thoughts

A Fantasy World Without Magic

Act 1: The Setup

Act 2: The Confrontation

Act 3: The Resolution

The Problem With the Protagonist

A Fantasy World With Magic

Hard Magic System

Soft Magic System

Beyond the Outline