FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Do I need to have any writing experience?
No, definitely not! This course is suitable for writers of all levels of experience and skill.

Q: Do I need to have an idea for a story or book?
No, but once you complete this self-paced course,  you might want to come back to the course again after  you develop an idea. The videos and exercises will be useful to you in a new way when you’re working on a definite story. The great news is that you have access to the course for 12 months – plenty of time to allow your ideas to brew.

Q: Do I need to have done any other writing courses
Not at all! This is a stand-alone course, and is designed to be independent of any other courses. However, if you feel that you need help with your writing/storytelling skills, we strongly recommend Creative Writing Stage 1, either before or after this course. (Or during! Since this is self-paced, you can work around other courses.)

Q: What’s the difference between this course and Creative Writing Stage 1?
There are two main differences. The first is that Creative Writing Stage 1 is a class over a set period, led by a tutor who gives you feedback on your writing. You also may receive feedback from your classmates. Fantasy Fiction Writing is a self-paced course and you do not receive feedback on your work. Because you’re not working to the class deadline, you can take as long as you need to watch the videos and finish all the exercises in your own time.

The other main difference is that Creative Writing Stage 1 concentrates on basic skills which can be applied to any kind of writing, while Fantasy Fiction Writing develops specific skills and ways of thinking which are relevant to fantasy – things like worldbuilding, developing realistic characters which reflect that world, structuring multi-book stories, and so on.

While developing characters and stand-alone book structures are covered in both courses, the focus is quite different in Fantasy Fiction Writing. If you feel that your basic writing skills need work, we do recommend you do Creative Writing Stage 1 (either before or after this course).

Q: I have done many other writing courses, will I learn anything new?
We’re pretty sure you will! Unless they were courses which concentrated specifically on fantasy writing, you’re more than likely to encounter new ideas, and new slants on old ideas. Students who have done this course after doing our other courses have highlighted how many new ways of thinking they developed during the course.

Q: Will I know how to write a novel by the end of it?
This is not a course designed for you to produce a novel by the end of it (we have Novel Writing Essentials and Write Your Novel for that). However, if you have a novel/story in mind, this course will help you create an extraordinary setting (world) and shape it to fit the demands of fantasy publishing.

Q: I’ve done a lot of worldbuilding for my story. Will I learn about anything else?
Yes. Worldbuilding is part of the course, but it’s only a part. The course also looks at human and non-human character development, the structures of both stand-alone and multi-book stories, the state of fantasy publishing, and much more.

Q: I am writing science fiction. Will this course help?
If you can mentally replace the word ‘magic’ with ‘technology’ every time you hear it, sure! Many of the principles of worldbuilding are the same in fantasy and science fiction, and there are many cross-over novels. Partly it depends on what kind of science fiction you’re writing. It will probably be least useful to those writing near-future ‘realist’ stories. But if you’re creating a far-future or exo-planet story, the worldbuilding and system design is basically the same, and so are the structural and character development processes.

Q: How can I get feedback on my writing?
We have many courses which are based on workshopping and feedback. Which you should do will depend on where you are in your writing journey. At the beginning, or if you’re not sure of your writing skills, you might want to start with Creative Writing Stage I. If you are sure, and have an idea you want to play with, we recommend Writing Workout. Novel Writing Essentials is recommended for those who have already started a novel (it’s a good course to do after you work through this course, once you have a section of the book written).

Q: I’m not sure:

• if my story is fantasy or magic realism. Will this course help me decide?
• what sub-genre of fantasy I’m writing. Will this course help me define it?

Yes, it will. The first module discusses the genre and what distinguishes each sub-genre. The other modules, while not concentrating on one specific sub-genre, will be applicable to yours.