Creating Fantasy Settings (Post 108)
Creating Fantasy Settings (2008/ 2011/2017), is one of my how-to books. It's a handbook for authors who want to create fully-featured settings for fantasy novels, although it touches on other genres as well. Settings can be exceedingly important to a book. Some are so iconic the books that feature them singlehandedly give them a place in the world. Settings can be as small as a room (or even a cupboard) or as big as a planet or solar system. They can be marvellously creative. Unfortunately, some authors make the mistake of borrowing settings ready-made from existing fantasy worlds, or creating something that doesn't hold together. Trees that grow sweets might amuse children, but what's the point? How much more interesting is the tree that grows in Narnia producing strange papery fruits... The reasoning behind it is impeccable.
Settings need smell, sight and sound... or the lack of it. They need colour and texture. Especially, they need logic. Things have to hold together. If your setting is shaky the story can unravel before your eyes. To buy the PDF of the 2011 version of this book, click here. To get the 2017 version, let me know via the comments section.
So what's that on the cover? Guess. Put your idea in the comments. The one closest to the trust (posted by the end of April 2017) wins a copy of the book.
Settings need smell, sight and sound... or the lack of it. They need colour and texture. Especially, they need logic. Things have to hold together. If your setting is shaky the story can unravel before your eyes. To buy the PDF of the 2011 version of this book, click here. To get the 2017 version, let me know via the comments section.
So what's that on the cover? Guess. Put your idea in the comments. The one closest to the trust (posted by the end of April 2017) wins a copy of the book.
About the Blog
Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)
The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, post a comment and I'll get back to you.
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