Twenty years later, I can still vividly remember some of the things Lester del Rey used to say to me about fantasy writing. Lester is a veteran writer, critic and editor in the fantasy/science fiction world, and I was fortunate enough to work with him for the first fifteen years of my professional writing career. As a popular writer (for better or worse), I learned a lot from Rest. Lester once said that it is far more difficult to write a good fantasy than to write any other kind. Because the author of fantasy is free to create anything, without being regulated and influenced by the laws of reality, the only limitation is the depth of the author's own imagination and the willingness of dreams. This kind of free space to use amazing imagery and strange creatures in the story is indeed an irresistible temptation for the author. However, if you don't resist, it will inevitably become a creative disaster.

What Lester told me was that when fantasy writers create worlds full of monsters and other bizarre life, full of magic, and sparkling with fairy tales, legends, and mythological imagery, they also run the risk of being completely disconnected from the real world. The author's design of the world and the characteristics of the characters must make us, as readers, feel the reality of their human situation. If there is no intersection with the real life we know in the work, everything will lose its convincing. Even the most ridiculous nonsense must echo with what we know to be true, and even the darkest epic of sword magic must speak of the trapped experience we share.

In order to achieve this, a fantasy writer must be familiar with a number of skills and knowledge, just as a successful captain must have sufficient ability to chart the right course at sea. When assembling the creative idea, the writer must be like the helmsman of a boat sailing in a dangerous sea, not too far to the right side (starboard) or too far to the left side (port), so as to avoid the reef and reach the unseen end. For fantasy literature to be able to move people's hearts, it must be based on real logic and real life experience. Of course, the author can use his imagination to the fullest, interweaving rich pictures and plots like a whirlwind, but a good work must not be built on the basis of empty fantasy like a castle in the air. The fantasy world set by the author must resonate with the real world we live in, and it must provide a frame of reference that readers can identify. The character's performance and behavior must be logical and expected, and the use of magic must be consistent and carefully balanced. The work must be so that the reader can not only understand the content, but also feel sufficient satisfaction after spending time and reading page by page.

How can fantasy writers get to this point? The new Writer's Reference Series (riter"sDigestBooks) is a good place to start. Fantasy literature is fascinating because the author is able to weave fragments of reality with his own imagination to form a unique reading landscape. Here are some examples to illustrate my point:

◎An elfin culture in an imaginary world, with a religious outlook similar to that of the Maori.

◎The hero arrives in a castle occupied by evil spirits, with battlements, parapets, and gatehouses, and the murderhole inside the gatehouse plays an important role in wartime.

◎ Lizardmen operate huge siege engines that function like heavy trebuchets.

◎The secret that can end the war between black and white witches can only be solved through ophiomancy.

◎The hero of the story is a devout Adamist, but he is trapped by the spells of the Wicka sect (iccan) and must study the teachings of Khope in order to return to freedom.

I have deliberately used some uncommon nouns here to refer to different time and space, as well as different worlds and lives, but the explanations of these words also exist in our existing culture and mythology, and they can all be found in this book. Understanding the possible options is the first step in making a creative decision, and in the process of reading this book, fantasy writers will be able to discover many new directions for their work. The different chapters of the book introduce the forms of magic, the types of weapons and armor, the fantastical races and creatures, and the ancient societies that you can base your work on. Each author can choose a piece of content and use it as the cornerstone of creating a fantasy story.

A detailed description can make an idea more realistic, especially if it is a story that only exists on the pages of the author's book. It is extremely important for readers to understand the appearance, taste, smell, sound and feel of a fantasy world. More than other genres, fantasy literature should make the reader feel like he has been transferred into a different time and space when reading, but at the same time, it can also let the reader understand the fantasy world he has experienced. The appearance of characters from other worlds not only allows readers to see the differences between them and the real world, but also makes people feel their similarities. The description of these details can not only make the story more imagery, but also more suitable for the reader.

Personally, I used to sketch out the outline of the story before I started the formal writing work. I think this is a good writing habit for beginners, because it has two benefits: first, you have to think through the whole story first, which saves you a lot of time wasted on bad ideas, and second, it can come up with a blueprint for writing that will take months or even years to follow. Writing an outline is neither easy nor pleasant, and it can be extremely hard to think through the story from the beginning, but it is even more frustrating to write hundreds of pages only to find that you can't get down to any important plot and have to rewrite it. In addition, having a complete story blueprint allows the writer to add more details to the story as they write, take notes on the draft, and decide how to integrate the real-world people and things mentioned earlier into the macro picture of the imaginary world.

I would also like to emphasize the importance of "dreamtime" in the writing process, as any good fantasy writer needs a period of time to digest ideas and absorb ideas. During this period before writing or typing, the writer can let his imagination run wild and come up with good ideas. After the initial idea of the story emerges, the author can begin to lay out the direction of development, carefully sort out the possible side plots, think about what kind of travelers are waiting, what dangers are, and what lessons will appear. If the author has enough patience, the story will eventually emerge on its own. And if it's a good story, it naturally drives the writer to write it – a good story can't be hidden. But this is a difficult and impatient process, and the author has to trust his instincts. It sounds mysterious, but it's not, it's as clear as a puzzle hidden in an unsealed box, a blueprint for writing in your own mind.

Before I conclude this preface, I have one last piece of advice that Lester has taught me. A few years ago, I mentioned to him that I wanted to use ideas in the story that no one had ever thought of, and that I wanted to write something new and original. Lester gave me his distinctive smile and told me exactly that "new ideas don't come up very often, and when they do, they always come out in a hidden way." A better way to do this is to look at old and well-known ideas, think about them in your mind until you find a new perspective of interpretation, and then write down the new ideas that you see. ”

It was good advice at the time, and it still is. Pick up the pen and write a fantasy sky.

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Introduction to riter"sCompleteFantasyGuide

Author: Hankill

"For fantasy literature to be able to move people's hearts, it must be based on real logic and real life experience. Of course, the author can use his imagination to unleash and weave rich images and plots like a whirlwind, but a good work must not be built on empty fantasy like a castle in the sky. The fantasy world set by the author must resonate with the real world we live in, and it must provide a frame of reference that readers can identify. The character's performance and behavior must be logical and expected, and the use of magic must be consistent and carefully balanced. The work must be so that the reader can not only understand the content, but also feel sufficient satisfaction after spending time and reading page by page. —Terry Brooks

When we are trying to create a medium-length novel, in addition to conceiving the characters and plot, the most important and difficult thing is the structure of the background and space. In addition to the depiction of geographical space, it is often the most difficult to deal with the local customs, magical systems (if any), and the details of daily life. If your work is set in a time and space similar to medieval Europe, this book would be a convenient source of information, and if not, I believe it would be a useful reference.

The original title of the book was Theriter"sCompleteFantasyReference, and I will call it "Fantasy Writing Reference Guide". The main purpose of this reference guide is to help fantasy writers easily find the basic data for the background setting of the fantasy world. The book is written with a preface by the famous Terry Brook (author of "The Sword of Shanara") (the introduction at the beginning is an excerpt from the preface written by him, and its content is very wonderful, I will try to translate the full text for your reference when I have time), Allan Maurer, Reneeright, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Daniel Calark and other six experts with their own strengths.

In terms of content, although this book is divided into ten chapters, I personally think that its content can be divided into: cultural background, magic setting, fantasy creatures, daily life, and military warfare and other five major items, which are briefly introduced according to the content contained below.

Cultural Background:

This section covers chapters 1 and 2 of the book, "TraditionalFantasy Culture" and "OrldCultures." In the chapter "Traditional Fantasy Culture", the focus is on medieval Europe, which is most often cited. It first introduces the three most basic political, economic, and religious systems: feudal, manor, and Catholic, and then briefly explains the titles of the various positions of the aristocracy and religion. Knights such as the Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights, as well as some European political organizations and peoples of the frontier regions, and finally an alphabetical explanation of the terms.

As for the chapter "World Cultures", it introduces the civilizations of places outside Europe, including the socio-cultural profiles of Egyptian, Asiatic, Mayan, Aztec, Inca, Maori, and other peoples. The Egyptian and Aztec culture parts are well written, and the Chinese ones... It's best to skip it outright, unless you want to see the joke. However, this is not a unique feature of this book, in my reading experience, many reference books on oriental culture, unless they are really professional works, most authors often do not understand the difference between the so-called oriental and China. Some Chinese cultural traditions and myths are often misinterpreted, or confused with Japan, and some even regard the setting in the style of Hong Kong comics as a universal Chinese tradition. But that's okay, anyway, we don't need to look for data from foreigners about China.

Magic Setting:

Chapter 3, "Magic," and chapter 4, "Witchcraft and PaganPaths," are written by AllanMaurer and Reneeright. The content of the chapter "Introduction to Magic" is more basic and the author classifies the principles of magic into Sympathetic Magic, which contains the functions of HomeopathyandContagion, and Antipathetic Magic, which has the role of taboo. In addition, there are the components of spells, the introduction of RitualMagic and Divination, several magical secret societies such as the Golden Dawn Society, and finally some guidelines for astrological settings and how to make your own magic settings. There is a quote that says, "You can recognize a beginner's work at a glance because there is no 'smell' in their work." The author is reminded that when describing magic, he should not forget the influence of smell on people.

If the previous chapter was the fundamentals of magic, then in the chapter "Witchcraft and Pagan Magic" it is the actual side of magic. The focus of this chapter is on the many different sects of magic, as well as the concepts of magic from different periods. Finally, there is also an alphabetical explanation of terms, such as Ankh, candle, pentagram, and otan, cross.

Fantasy Creatures:

Chapter 6, "Fantasy Races," and Chapter 7, "Creatures of Myth and Legend," are both chapters about races and creatures that are commonly found in fantasy literature. The chapter "Fantasy Races" is a starting point for the community, introducing the commonalities, origins, and examples of some common fantasy creatures. The most common ones are Dwarves and Elves, Fairies, Giants, Orcs and Demons (GoblinsandOrcs), Trolls... and other ethnic groups, all of which are briefly described. Finally, he also lists some fantasy creatures created by other writers, as well as the precautions when setting themselves.

As for the chapter "Creatures of Myths and Legends", it is all in order, with a total of more than 50 noun explanations. Although the explanation here is not as detailed as the AD&D monster canon set (and also very bluffing), it has a concise introduction to the general habits and the source of the source. There aren't many items, but there are almost as many as Banshee, Djinn, Golem, Roc, Unicorn, and Vampire.

Daily life:

This section consists of Chapter 5, "Commerce, TradeandLasinContemporaryFantasy" and Chapter 8, "DressandContume", both by Sherrilyn Kenyon. These two chapters are perhaps the most valuable parts of the book, and the details of the day-to-day that are often the least familiar to us are. Chapter 5 is divided into three parts like the title, and in the business section, the author explains the many professional identities and titles according to the low, middle, and high class of the society. The part of the law is actually focused on the description of punishment, and 36 types of punishment and torture instruments are listed in a row.

The chapter "Dress and Costume" describes the various types of clothing commonly used in medieval Europe. First of all, the material of the costume, the color of the garment, and the symbol of class. It then introduces the clothing of women, men, children, and clergy, and is also explained in alphabetical order, and this chapter is also the most illustrated chapter in the whole book, which helps readers to make more detailed and correct descriptions of the characters.

Military War:

The last two chapters of the book, "Arms, Armorand Armies" and "AnatomyofACastle," are also very interesting chapters. Chapter 9 is divided into three parts like the title, the first part introduces more than a dozen common weapons, the second part explains the area protected by general armor, the evolution of armor and weapons, and then explains more than 30 terms in alphabetical order. In particular, the Mazimilian Full-Plate Armor, which has the strongest protection and the most complex structure, is specially illustrated in detail, which helps readers clarify the concept and structure of many armors. The third part introduces the organization of military forces in general, the combat capability and the division of different arms, the proper nouns often used, and the animals and beasts that are often applied to military operations. This chapter is a handy source of information for authors who want to write more about personal equipment or military units.

Chapter 10 focuses on the introduction of fortifications such as castles, which often have not only a military function, but in most cases also functions as a military, political, and economic center. The castle was inhabited not only by soldiers and commanding nobles, but also by other farmers, workers, merchants, and clergy. Therefore, the content of this chapter is also divided into three parts, each of which explains the different aspects of the castle. The first section, "Castles and Other Fortifications", gives an overview of the evolution of siege and defensive techniques, as well as illustrated descriptions of the structure and names of the various parts of the castle (the Candlefort at the Pater's Gate is structurally similar to the diagram in the book). The second part is an overview of the castle in non-war times, the function of the building, and the work and life of people from all walks of life. The third part is the castle during the war, in addition to explaining the general situation and tactics of siege (defense) warfare, it also explains many equipment and equipment used in siege and defense, such as fire oil, siege ladders, ballistas, catapults, etc.

All in all, I find this book quite helpful, although the content of this book is not very in-depth, but it is a very convenient introductory book. The English of this book is not too difficult, although there are not many pictures, they can give full play to the effect of explanation, and it has data on the five major levels of fantasy writing. Most of the chapters are arranged in order, with noun explanations at the end of the book, and an index of the pages where all nouns appear is attached, so you can easily turn to the chapter you want to read and find the explanation you want to see.

Good fantasy should not only be the result of fantasy, but also need detailed investigation and rigorous logic under the unbridled imagination. I would like to introduce this book in the hope that it will be useful to you.

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