Fantasy’s Most Prominent Elements: A Who-What-Why Exploration of the Genre
Ollie Ander
Is probably just a couple cats in a trench-coat—the hair shedding and sunlight napping are highly suspect.
Fantasy is indisputably the widest-encompassing genre of them all. Fantasy stories can take place anywhere, anytime, and include just about anything. There are dozens of commonly used tropes and expected archetypes, but none that are inherently required unless you’re niching-down into a specific corner of fantasy subgenres.
So for this introduction, let’s start with something a little less intimidating: the classic 5 W’s (and a couple H’s for good measure). With the knowledge of what defines different types of fantasy and the elements they harness, you can better understand the reader’s expectations and where to find your own home in the fantasy storyscape!
Why write fantasy?
Fantasy is often the first genre of fiction to capture our hearts. There’s nothing more exciting to a child than the idea of a fantastical world—real, somewhere, but just out of reach. Other fans gravitate to fantasy later in life; magical worlds becoming enticing in contrast to their everyday lives. There is no cap on fantasy’s age demographic.
Suffice to say, we all know the fantasy genre—have been captivated by it, one time or another—but what makes a fantasy story? Does the whole genre boil down to a sprinkle of magic, or are there specific elements you should know if you’re planning to write your own whimsical setting?
What makes a fantasy "fantasy"?
The "what" in the fantasy equation is magic. It’s not like nothing else matters aside from magic, but magic is the core from which every other element of a fantasy story revolves. Think of the fantasy genre as a plant: Magic is the root system, but from there, the story you grow is entirely up to you.
What’s the difference between High Fantasy & Low Fantasy?
High fantasy stories have magical elements interwoven into the whole setting (fictional worlds, magical biomes, mythical races) whereas low fantasy takes place in the real world with a smaller amount of introduced magic.
Magic may be the spark behind the fantasy genre, but it does not need to be all-encompassing.There is no set amount of magic needed for a story to be considered fantasy, so long as it has enough to shape the plot and warrant its inclusion in the first place.
How should magic work in fantasy?
The magic you employ in your fantasy story should fall somewhere along the spectrum of hard to soft magic system. Hard magic’s capacity is defined and has rules that are strictly enforced, whereas soft magic’s limitations remain largely unknown.
How to explore Magic:
Regardless of where your magic falls across the magic system spectrum, the implications of the magic you choose to write should be considered when developing all other aspects of your fantasy story. Could your type of magic affect society? Would agriculture or politics be shaped by its use?
Even if your magic doesn’t affect the workings of the world as a whole and is concentrated in its presence, it should alter the protagonist and the interactions they have with those around them. How does magic influence their relationships, the structure of their families, are those involved with magic different from the rest of the population?
Outside of the effects magic has on the fictional setting and its people, you can also explore the magic itself. How does the magic work? Is there a cost or danger to using magic? What wonders can magic bring to your characters that don’t exist in our everyday world? The main plot of your story could very well be the exploration of the magic system you create; the possibilities are endless!
Where can fantasy take place?
Depending on whether you’d like to construct a high or low fantasy story, they will take place in vastly different environments.
Fantasy World Settings
Epic fantasy is often used synonymously with high fantasy because its stories include wide continent-sweeping conflicts and fictional cultures. The difference between the two is that epic is referring to the scale of the story. High fantasy’s level of fantastical incorporation is admittedly "high", but not up to the same grand story structure as epic fantasy.
That said, you can make an epic story in a contemporary fantasy setting. Seen as the middle ground between high and low, contemporary fantasy takes place in our world but with the inclusion of supernatural elements.
On the furthest end of the spectrum and most commonly placed into low fantasy is urban fantasy in which the setting is completely modern day, with its magical elements hidden in the woodworks.
Dark fantasy also tends to pop up in discussions about fantasy settings, but unlike epic, contemporary, or urban, it has no predisposed backdrop so much as a bleak aura draped across whichever world it's set in. Think fantasy, but with a splash of mystery, thriller, or horror too.
Magic Inclusion of the Subgenres
How characters interact with their fantastical setting—or how magic interacts with their otherwise non-magical world—is a subgenre within a subgenre.
Immersive fantasy presents a neutral perspective toward magic, in that the magical world itself is seen as natural. Magic may be strange and new to us, but for the characters in the story, it is their commonplace.
In opposition to that standard, intrusive fantasy is when magical elements find their way into and influence an otherwise non-magical world.
If you’d like to keep the magical and non-magical settings in your story from directly interacting, a common compromise is to use portal fantasy in which regular human characters travel to segregated fantasy worlds (or vice versa).
Which Subgenre is it?
Due to inherent connectivity, many fantasy subgenres have assumed mechanisms of storytelling—things readers will expect.
Epic fantasy is always also high fantasy. As well, high fantasy is almost exclusively an example of immersive fantasy, just as low fantasy’s contemporaries are intrusive in their implementation of magic. All these aforementioned categorizations of fantasy can overlap, but as just stated, there are elements readers will expect to be presented together.
When can fantasy be set?
Fantasy can be written in any era. The "when" will always come second, and be shaped by the "where" of your fantasy. Ever heard of "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away—" which just so happens to have technology far more advanced than our own? It’s all about perspective.
Although high fantasy is typically seen as a medieval equivalent, writing that setting into your story does not inherently date it. A fantasy world could have a vastly different industrial revolution to our own, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a much longer or richer history.
Alternative historical reimagining through magical influence is a great subgenre of fantasy, and although it can draw upon real events, you by no means have to be accurate. The level of realism you choose to imbue in your magical timeline is entirely adjustable.
Who should be your fantasy protagonist?
Lastly and most importantly, who should lead a fantasy story? Above all other genres, fantasy favors the Chosen One trope. That said, you don’t need to have your protagonist’s journey foretold by the gods. A fantasy protagonist doesn’t need to be born special, but they should be constructed as the only person who can complete their given fantasy quest; they should have some unique connection to the world or its magic.
As seen in many portal fantasy tales, the protagonist can be entirely ordinary, and all that sets them apart is their ability to adapt to the magic introduced to them, and their steadfast will to see their quest through.
The magic from which your fantasy story is constructed should interact with the character’s origin of struggle, conflict their limitations against their desires, or offer the protagonist unique abilities which further develop the magic system, opening up new possibilities to the fantasy world at large.
Now that you’re familiar with what’s expected in the Who/What/When/Where/Why (and sometimes How) elements of the fantasy genre, and hopefully intrigued by one of the many subgenres mentioned or vehicles with which they implement their magic, perhaps you’re thinking about writing your own fantasy story? Check out this article on $ How to Start a Fantasy Novel$ to learn how to begin your adventure!
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