I am trying to write high fantasy but I am worried I am forgetting importance bits on how (it has been so long since I wrote high fantasy), any tips?
When I was in college, one of my methods for writing papers was to only do enough research to be able to start my paper.Â
I would do enough research to have a basic understanding of the subject, know what Iâm arguing, know some broad topics for my outline that Iâll be addressing, and have a couple of supporting evidence for my argument. And then I would just start writing my paper at this point.
As Iâm writing the paper, Iâll start noticing gaps in my research and knowledge. Like as Iâm writing, Iâll realize that I need a certain statistic to strengthen my argument, or if I knew more about some subject Iâll be able to back up my argument more efficiently, or I need a citation to support my claim â one that I think is right, but need evidence for. Thatâs when Iâll do the research on that gap that I found so I can properly write my paper.
This worked for me because it helped me cut down on the amount of unnecessary research I would do â there are a lot of articles and studies out there, easily hundreds and thousands on the topic I was writing my paper on. It can be difficult sometimes to identify what will be useful and what wonât be. I could just keep researching, but where do I stop? At what point can I say Iâm an expert? There really isnât an endpoint for something like this
So, I chose to just start writing. And once I did, I could pinpoint exactly what information I needed to find, and it was a lot easier to find since I was looking for something specific, as opposed to broader research you do at the beginning, before you start writing the paper.
(This advice for writing papers is recommended for papers you write in class normally. For something like a senior thesis youâll definitely want to do a lot more beginning research. Also this worked for me, as a former psych major. I canât vouch how itâll work for other majors.)
And I would give you the same advice. Youâre never going to 100% know how to write high fantasy. Itâs okay to not know how to do something, and chances are, even if youâve written a lot of high fantasy recently, youâre still going to not know everything.
Trying to be an expert on writing high fantasy is a really lofty goal, and youâre probably going to overwhelm yourself before you even start. You might be caught up on what people say is right and wrong, you might be scared of not meeting certain expectations, or it might just be really intimidating.Â
Itâs okay to have forgotten something, and itâs okay to not know it before you start.
Writing advice is subjective at best, and I think you should just start writing. Start writing, and if you notice any gaps in your knowledge, or if you notice that you need a little help on a certain thing, look it up or ask for help then. Itâs much easier and much more efficient to fill in the gaps as you find them, rather than try to learn everything at once.
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