A good story doesn’t happen by chance. It takes good planning and research to make it work well, and in this case, we’re not talking about your average story. We’re talking about your epic fantasy adventure, the kind that you craft years in advance and pour your heart and soul into. Preparing for this kind of story means going beyond the regular story planning process and gathering as much information as possible about the characters you will write about. Think of all the names you will throw about, the places you will visit, and the events that will transpire. It’s a lot to keep track of, and it makes perfect sense that you would want to prepare a lot before you begin writing. Luckily for you, we’re here to help with a detailed guide on how to learn more about your characters writing so you can begin your epic journey in the right direction.
Gather As Much Information As Possible
One of the first things you should do before you start writing is to thoroughly research the characters you will write about. This means you’ll have to plow through a ton of books, watch a lot of movies, and spend a lot of time online gathering as much information as possible. There’s no shortcuts when it comes to creating realistic and interesting characters, so you might as well spend the time doing it right. For some, this may mean delving into their past and for others, this might mean going on some adventures of their own and seeing how it affects them.
Create Character Profile
For the lazy readers among us, character profiles are something we can all enjoy. These short essays about your characters will help illuminate the mysteries of who they are, what they want, and how they got that way. Some authors like to add little quirks and habits about the characters that make them seem even more realistic and human. These are all important elements to keep in mind when writing your epic fantasy adventure. If you want to add more realism to your story, consider making your character profiles as true to life as possible. In the case of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien did a superb job at making his characters as real and interesting as possible, and it shows. We get attached to these creatures after spending so much time with them. Creating an interesting character is a lot of work though, so try to add as many details about them as you can.
Get To The Point
You shouldn’t feel bad if your characters are a little dense at first. You’re not the only one with difficult-to-understand people. That’s why it’s important to get to the point as quickly as possible. This means condensing all the information you’ve gathered into a concise and easy-to-follow format. Sometimes this means cutting out huge swaths of exposition, but it also means polishing the story and making it as clear as possible. There’s not a lot of room for shortcuts when it comes to crafting a novel.
Make Sufficient Notes
When you’ve finished writing your novel, it’s time to go back and make notes on what you’ve written. These notes will not only serve as an invaluable guide to the story but will also help you remember all the little details you’ve crammed into your narrative. It’s easy to get distracted while writing, but nothing stops you from making tedious notes like this once the actual writing is done. Even if your notes seem like they’ll never be useful, at least you’ll have a record of everything you went through. The more you put into your notes, the more you’ll retain. Make sure you’re taking lots of notes and that they’re all in a nice and tidy format. This will make it much easier to go back through your work and correct mistakes, if you make any.
Watch Movies And Read Books About The Subject
The subject of your story will affect it in many ways. The type of scenery you’ll encounter, the culture you will encounter, and even the way the story will unfold will all be connected to this one central concept. You’ll learn a lot from movies and books, so be sure to study them. Reading good books and watching good movies will give you inspiration for your story, as well as teach you new things about the characters you will write about. The more you know about the subject matter, the better your story will be. Don’t just limit your studies to books and movies though, go beyond what has been traditionally thought on this subject and find different ways of learning. Maybe conduct interviews, or dig into mythology and folklore for inspiration.
Think About The Audience
What do you want your readers to experience when they’re done reading your book? This is a question you should ask yourself, followed by a good hard think about how you’ll answer it. Thinking of the audience is an important element of writing because you’re writing for people, and people have different needs and expectations. When you write, you have to consider what your characters will need in order to survive and how you’ll want your readers to feel about what you’ve written. You want to write a book that will stick with your readers for the rest of their lives, so be sure to pour your heart into this question and consider everything.
Don’t Forget About Flaws
There’s more than one thing you need to consider when writing a novel. Besides all the plot and character related questions, you need to make sure you don’t forget about the little things such as spelling and punctuation. These are all crucial, and they’ll make a huge difference in establishing your book’s presence and ensuring it sticks out from the rest. When you’ve finished writing your novel, go through it carefully and make sure you’ve polished off all the little details, and that everything is grammatically correct. Take your time with this step, it’s important that you get it right.
Next, You Need To Write A Good Plot
A good plot can take your story from average to extraordinary. A good plot offers forward movement and an engaging conflict, which keeps the reader interested and glued to your story. A good plot also demands action, which brings us to our next point.
Action-adventure stories are growing in popularity, and with good reason. These types of stories are full of drama, excitement, and adventure. If you want to write an action-adventure story, you’ll need to consider what makes this type of story special. One of the main things is the use of conflict. Conflict is what makes stories memorable, and it keeps the reader interested because they’re not sure what’s going to happen next. Without good conflict, a story can easily get boring. This is why it is so important to prepare for your story ahead of time by gathering as much information as possible and working on creating a solid plot.
Make Sure Your Story Is Framed Appropriately
Your story’s frame determines much about it. A story frame is the organizational structure of your story. It determines the beginning, the middle, and the end. A framed story looks like a movie or a play; there’s an act break between each scene. While a free-roaming story has no real beginning, middle, or end, and can flow seamlessly from one scene to the next, weaving in and out of time as the plot demands. You have to have some familiarity with stories and how they’re structured, so don’t worry too much about this initially, as it will come naturally as you write (and rewrite).
Find Your Story’s Pace
The pace of your story is another important consideration. This determines the amount of information that you give the reader in each scene. A quick pace keeps the story moving quickly and naturally while a slow pace can make a boring story interesting. Find the right pacing and your story will flow smoothly. It will also keep the reader interested because they’ll feel like they’re moving faster than normal, which is usually the case with thrillers and mysteries. If you want to write an action-adventure story, make sure you have a fast pace to keep the story exciting.
The Final Step: Editing
Once you’ve finished writing the rough draft, it’s time to go back through and polish what you’ve written. This is where the real work begins, and it will be a lot of back and forth between the rewrite and the edit. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t want to start editing until you’ve finished the rough draft, but in the real world, this isn’t always possible. When this happens, it’s important to remember that you’re going through a tedious process and it’s going to take a lot of time. Be sure to take your sweet time with this step, going through multiple iterations of the story, until you feel it is perfect.