64 APRIL 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.uk
W
e’ve explored numerous aspects of fantasy
and science-fiction here over the years,
and one thing we know is that – on
average – books in these genres tend to be
longer than those in other forms. There
are numerous reasons for this – you could argue these genres
require the most significant worldbuilding, which takes time
and word count to do effectively. You could also argue that these
genres rely to some extent on an epic scale of storytelling and
sweeping story arcs featuring multiple characters. There’s very
likely an element of reader demand, with fantasy fans mostly
seeking out extensive stories rather than shorter novels, leading to
authors and publishers seeking to meet those expectations.
There’s probably some truth to all of the above, but the fact
remains that while many novels outside of ‘the fantastic’ in its
broadest sense stick to around 80,000 to 100,000 words, fantasy
and SF novels can push to 120k, 150k, 200k and beyond. This
presents a challenge to many writers – even the lower end of the
word count scale for a novel can be daunting, so pushing way
past that can be even more off-putting.
With that in mind, here are a few tips for aspiring writers in
the field to help develop those truly epic novels and deliver those
mighty word counts well.The three Ps: planning, planning, planning
Planning is important for any novel, and personally I wouldn’t
even embark on so much as a novella without a solid plan
behind me. This is a statement that probably goes double for a
novel of above-average length – the larger story arcs and more
complicated character journeys can be very easy to lose track of,
so some sort of ‘roadmap’ to guide you along the way is pivotal.How you want to do this is of course up to you, but I can’t
imagine many fantasy novels were ever written ‘on the fly’ or just
improvising. These larger stories are often intricate and involved,
and if you read closely in SF or fantasy you’ll probably be able to
see just how much planning the author has done.
There is a second element to this in that many fantasy and
science-fiction authors embark on series rather than individual
books. Once again, this is a very prominent trend in the field,
and you might want to give some consideration as to the ‘long
game’ and where you want the trilogy, quadrilogy or twenty-
book magnum opus to wind up. I’m writing this not long after
watching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and sadly it’s a great
example of a trilogy being criticised for a perceived lack of long-
term planning, which has left filmgoers very much divided. Of
course the world of film is different to the world of books, but
it’s a pertinent example of a trilogy arguably not setting up its
conclusion properly throughout by virtue of having no clear
finale in mind.And the fourth P: pacing
I intimated above that worldbuilding is something that can
add to the length of a fantasy or SF novel, but that raises an
important follow-up point – this should not be something that
you sacrifice the pace of the story for. Having a longer book does
not mean that you have things happening more slowly – put
simply, for a truly epic book you actually benefit from more
things happening. As such, it’s crucial that you don’t get bogged
down in pages and pages of backstory, exposition, description
and scene-setting for your story and the plot sits absolutely first
and foremost. A great setting is nothing without a fantastic
plotline to go along with it!On a grand scale
Epic fantasy requires a particular kind of input from the writer.
Get skilled up to write a longer book by following advice from Alex Davis