Fantasy Writing
Write fantasy that feels real, not borrowed
About this course
This course teaches the craft of fantasy fiction using the frameworks working novelists actually use: the iceberg method of world-building, Brandon Sanderson's three Laws of Magic, the hero's journey as mapped by Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler, Orson Scott Card's MICE quotient for structure, and scene-and-sequel pacing from Dwight Swain. You will design a magic system with a defined cost, build a culture from its geography outward, choose and hold a point of view, escalate stakes across a try-fail cycle, and recognize the tired tropes that get manuscripts rejected. Every lesson pairs a concept with a named technique and worked examples drawn from books like The Name of the Wind, Mistborn, The Lord of the Rings, A Wizard of Earthsea, and The Fifth Season.
Curriculum
Module 1: Building a Believable World
- The Iceberg Method and How Much to InventPreview
- Geography, Climate, and Causal World-Building🔒
- Cultures, Economies, and Avoiding the Monoculture🔒
Module 2: Designing a Magic System That Holds Up
- Hard and Soft Magic and Sanderson's First Law🔒
- Limitations, Costs, and Sanderson's Second Law🔒
- Extending Magic and Cultural Consequences🔒
Module 3: Story Structure and Point of View
- The Hero's Journey Without the Clichés🔒
- The MICE Quotient and Try-Fail Cycles🔒
- Choosing and Holding Point of View🔒
Module 4: Pacing Stakes and Avoiding Genre Clichés
- Pacing a High-Stakes Scene with Scene and Sequel🔒
- Raising the Stakes So Tension Actually Rises🔒
- Recognizing and Subverting Genre Clichés🔒