How to Incorporate Fantastical Elements in Your Novel?

So you want to write a book that’s replete with fantasy, or maybe just a smidgeon of it, but you want to include a fantastical element there somewhere. As you start writing it in, you begin to wonder how exactly are you going to include this wonderful element without going completely off course and veering in a different direction, where fantasy becomes pretentious and just badly written. Let’s see what we can do, shall we?

#1 Include a lesser-known magic system. Unveil it slowly, piece by piece, instead of narrating it out like a ‘how-to’ manual. If your magic system is completely unique and imaginative, if it’s something readers haven’t seen before, your novel has a point of difference. An innovative, intriguing magic system is often the key to helping your novel stand out in the saturated fantasy market. But it can’t be treated merely as a convenient plot device; your magic system needs to have established rules, and it needs to follow them.

#2 Avoid cliches while writing your characters; instead, write a character that no one would really expect to go on some sort of adventure/quest. Boring and overdone (not to mention, not well done most of the times!) cliches such as the farm boy who is really the ‘chosen one’ or the old, wise wizard/mentor will dampen your novel.

#3 Write short stories about the world you want to create before you actually write the book. That’s what JRR Tolkien did before he wrote ‘LOTR’! It will help you explore each element of your book in-depth and visualize what you want…