So what would people more suggest in a fantasy...
Writing out and creating a whole world and explaining it to people
or
Just getting a general idea and then dropping readers in the middle of it and expect them to deal with it
So what would people more suggest in a fantasy...
Writing out and creating a whole world and explaining it to people
or
Just getting a general idea and then dropping readers in the middle of it and expect them to deal with it
PS: I have just looked above my PC and found the poem I keep stuck to the wall there which reminds me to flesh out the worlds and events. It's Rudyard Kipling's "I have six honest serving men", and can be found here if you're curious: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-keep-six-honest/
I'm currently in the process of working out a whole imaginary world as I write my first fantasy story for a long time. Presently, it is set in the Land of ?, which probably says a lot about my world creation style.
Generally I have to write the world to fit the story as it develops. I find it very difficult to develop a world ahead of time. As I write, I will usually start throwing place names around and find that I require a map to keep track of where everything is in relation to everything else. I will usually lay out the general principles of magic use within the world as I go. For example, in my contemporary fantasy world, broomsticks are not allowed to be flown in the UK during daylight hours (they're too obvious in a world which does not believe that magic exists), but in my high fantasy land they are quite normal.
On the other hand, I do plan a little before I write a fantasy world. For example, is it a "modern" fantasy world (like in the "His Dark Materials" series), or is it more a middle-ages style (think of Arthurian legend, especially the BBC's "Merlin" series). What is sanitation like? Why? How is it ruled? Royal family, President, Chaotic? Etc, etc, etc.
One thing I do with all of my worlds is have an explanation for how something works. I don't always include it in the story, but I understand why things are as they are. Why is the evil wizard on the throne? Why can't you drink the water? Why can't you fly broomsticks during daylight hours in the UK when in the U.S is is completely acceptable? If I can understand these small things, often the world builds itself without needing too much explanation.
My two cents worths: avoid any back story of your fantasy world unless you reveal it through piecemeal meaningful dialogue. Concentrate on the story and how the protagonist see's this world. You may want to consider your protagonist as being new to this world. This will provide scope for story and discovery as the reader travels through the fantasy world. Let's consider these examples and I will use the term imaginary rather than fantasy to avoid confusion with genre: Harry Potter is an ordinary boy who discovers he is a wizard. Harry travels from his suburban world into a world of wizards and witchcraft. We, the reader, travel with him and experience the world through Harry's inexperienced eyes. We, like Harry, no nothing of this world (there is no back story) so therefore Harry's delight becomes ours. Frodo Baggins has never left the Shire. He leaves his comfortable life and travels through dangerous lands. Middle earth is revealed to us through Frodo's experiences. There is of course Middle Earth back story in other books but many of these are read after Lord of the Rings. Think of the Lord of the Rings as a standalone story.
The example of Orcs is used above. In this novel, we are straight into the narrative without explanation of the world. In this case the writer has got it right. The readers of this book will be familiar with the Lord of the Rings books and movies and arguably, the reader knows what they are up against when they pick up an Orc novel.
Something to think about.