Fantasy back story

by James Simison
5th March 2013

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

Replies

I expect you read fantasy, so deep down you probably know what's best even though you may not realise it. I've come to believe that going with my instinct works more often than not, so maybe try that.

I don't often read fantasy but I do read and write historical fiction. To a degree they're similar - you introduce characters populating what, for most people, is an unfamiliar world. Though fantasy is obviously more extreme, characters usually have similar basic problems to you or I. So I'd drop a reader straight in and explain the world through character interaction as you go along.

The most important thing is to get your reader involved with your main character(s) early, IMO. Once they are they'll forgive that you haven't fully explained every facet of their surroundings yet. People are more interested in other people than how your world's fifth moon affects its tides, or how a dwarf dragoon saddles his giant gerbil. At first, anyway.

Just my view :)

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Jonathan
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Jonathan Hopkins
05/03/2013