How to Research and Start a Fantasy Story

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Think about what you want to write.

   Nothing ever gets started without a little brainstorming.
   
   Write down any interesting ideas that you think might be interesting.
   
   Now once you have a few pages of ideas, it's time to scratch some ideas out.
   
   Put yourself in the reader's shoes, what are fantasy stories these days missing? What are the typical cliches? After you have skimmed your list down to a few it's time to expand these ideas.
   
   For example, if Jimmy put down that he wants dragons in his story he must ask himself a few questions.Think of our W's (Who, What, When, Where and Why?) and then our ever loving How.
   
   This is also where you will do your research. , If Jimmy wants dragons in his story and he is wondering what these dragons look like, then he should look up Dragon photos and Dragon Lore. , Well, this is where you start the wonderful process of World Building.
   
   To build a World, grab your pencil and graph paper, draw random squiggle lines that have a non-uniform shape.
   
   Remember, South America doesn't have straight lines when drawn on the map! Think logically when you place your locations.
   
   If, for example, the elves you've created have tan skin and generally wear sleeveless tube leather corsets and short shorts with daggers made of bone, you would probably want to put them in a desert to the south or a wasteland where there is a lot of heat and sun.
   
   Try to avoid location cliches.
   
   For example, In a multitude of stories, Dwarves are living inside mountains or are completely underground or even both! Try to play it up a little and have them live in forests or even grasslands! As for naming your locations, be creative.
   
   A name of a continent or World should be fluid and have that worldly 'ring'.
   
   For example, in the book Eragon (written by Christopher Paolini) the name of his continent is Alagaesia, doesn't it have that ring that seems to scream that it's a continent? It's also something original and quite creative! , Creating a plot is a difficult long process.
   
   Start by jotting down ideas again and fleshing them out.
   
   The difference between this step and step one is that you need to Try to stick to plot ideas and try not to go to much into the history of your world. , You feel so ready to take on your big epic fantasy to span many books.
   
   Hold it, time to edit and revise! Look it over and when you're done looking it over, look it over again.
   
   Make sure you have everything you want and need.
   
   Now it's time to begin writing, but wait! How am I going to start this? It's now time to put our chapters together! Start by taking a piece of paper or typing out what you need to happen in the first chapter.
   
   This is your guideline! Now repeat the guidelines for the rest of your story, if you took notes correctly and have much detail in your history and lore in your world, refer back to these! Make sure that when you finish a chapter that you edit it multiple times!
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   Step 2: To research

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   Step 3: ask yourself what you are researching.

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   Step 4: After many weeks of researching and expanding your ideas

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   Step 5: you have no idea where to put them!

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   Step 6: You have your basic skeleton of a world

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   Step 7: you have mapped out your ideas

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   Step 8: but what about the plot line?

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   Step 9: you have your World

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    Step 10: your creatures

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    Step 11: your history

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    Step 12: and even a plot line!

Detailed Guide

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