The fantasy fiction formula

I am a freelance editor with over 12 years of experience. I specialize in fantasy and I've edited for NY Bestselling authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells. If I could only pick two books that every writer should read, this would always be one of those two. It's great for genre people who work in fantasy AND science fiction (because a lot of the rules and formulas are the same), but it's also excellent for writers of any genre because it teaches overall storytelling techniques that I haven't found covered quite as well in any other singular book. This is the first book I recommend to any client that I have, and I have over 2 shelves full of writing craft books. THE FANTASY FICTION FORMULA is great for beginners, who can treat it like a 101 class, but it also teaches excellent advanced techniques so that even highly-skilled writers with so much talent and a lot of writing classes under their belt will learn things. It's one of those books you will find yourself referencing and re-reading--as you can see from my photos, I've marked my copy really well. (I'd recommend you make sure you have a highlighter when you start reading, or you might soon regret it.) Of those of my clients who have bought the book, every single person has come back raving about the things that they've learned and how it has helped them. It's helped solve their climax. It's helped with their outline. It's helped with description (a problem I've found most writers still don't quite understand). It's helped with ... insert problem area here. For those who might not be fans of Deborah Chester as an author or feel that she doesn't sell well enough to merit writing a good craft book, Deborah Chester does more than write. She has years of teaching experience under her belt, so the things taught here in the book have already undergone a lot of testing in the classroom, which is probably why this book is so easy to follow and builds on its own teachings very well. I've often quoted from this book in the editorial feedback I give to writers because the explanations are so clear. For those interested, I also recommend watching Brandon Sanderson's 318R class on youtube for writing speculative fiction, because it's a free 300-level college class where you can also learn a lot. You can also find Dan Wells's story structure class on youtube.

Writing fantasy fiction is a hobby of mine. I hope to one day try my hand at becoming a published author. In pursuit of such a goal, I have purchased and read many books on writing over the years. A lot of books on writing seem to fill pages with unnecessary fluff where the author trails off on tangents or tells stories about their past experiences that ultimately do not provide any useful information. But that is not the case with this book! Deborah Chester fills her pages with information that is straight and to the point. Her methods may not have always resonated with my writing style but I never once doubted that she knew what she was talking about. Her book on how to write fantasy fiction was an absolute joy to read. I truly felt that I am walking a way a better writer for having been exposed to it. Please take some time to pick up this wonderful literary gem if you are an aspiring writer who is looking for help!

I read “The Fantasy Fiction Formula” on the recommendation of my developmental editor and found it to be highly helpful. It covers all the fundamentals of novel writing, from formulating a story plan to crafting a story climax, but also gives you a lot of tools to understand those elements better. For instance, it includes a lot of charts and lists, including ones for different types of opening hooks and different story roles. One of my favorite frameworks is SPOOC, which shows you how the Situation, Protagonist, Objective, Opponent, and Climax all work together. Having a clear SPOOC gives you a massive headstart on writing your query letter and jacket copy. The book also includes plenty of drill exercises.

I bought this book because I want to explore writing fantasy. What I got was much, much more. This is one of the very best how-to-write books I’ve ever read. It's good storytelling technique for EVERY genre. Definitely, will be re-reading this book many times until I incorporate it into my writing. A must-read.

The best of the how-to books for fiction writers I’ve had the pleasure of getting my hands on by far, though I see she has a new one that is less specific to fantasy. I am looking forward to reading that one too. The Fantasy Fiction Formula, however, has proven to be both the most comprehensive, and the most practical guide to writing fiction that I have so far read (and I’ve read a bunch, including a fair number that I liked). The Fantasy Fiction Formula fills in a lot of not just useful, but necessary info and concepts that I haven’t seen in other books. These include not just “scenes”, but other necessary segments of a book that I have not seen talked about in other books and that answered a lot of questions for me. I want to stress that I’ve liked many of the other books i’ve read, but this one is, by far, the most useful, in terms of introducing the reader to a method and all of the concepts needed to cook a decent novel. All the reader need add to the equation is basic English skills (which I need some work on), and practice. I wish I had discovered this book sooner. Finally, thanks to this book, I am very close to actually finishing a novel. Fifth try is a charm. Thank you Deborah Chester.

While I believe that the FFF gave a lot of great information about the necessary directions for a book, how to write scenes and sequels, how to design characters, and the parts of the books that are necessary, it was lacking in an area that it mentioned a lot as very important, and that was, how to organize and build plot outlines. The book clearly states that they are necessary, that they should absolutely be done, but it doesn't go into detail at all about how to do it other than a few lines saying that there are a variety of ways to do it. Based on how important the book implies they are, I felt the coverage there was very light. Aside from that, however, the book was excellent, and I have zero complaints about the actual content of the book, everything there was useful, well thought out, well presented, and in a format that is easy to digest and then use. The author's information about action/reaction sequences and how to structure and handle scenes vs sequels is invaluable, as is her character development information. Overall, it was a worthwhile purchase and something I would definitely recommend to those wanting more information about writing a book.

Deborah Chester lays out in easy, comprehensive terms how to write a fantasy or urban fantasy novel in this how-to book. She touches on everything from building scenes to how to negotiate contracts with agents and publishers to avoiding predatory services when self-publishing. Every fantasy writer, whether the seasoned veteran with 10 books under her name or the ones just beginning their journey can benefit from what Chester has to say. She beautifully deconstructs how to write scenes and the sequels that follow. In this book, she also addresses one of the biggest issues fantasy writers face today: keeping the momentum of the beginning up all the way to the end. As if she were drawing an easy to follow road map, Chester lays out a way for solving almost every problem the modern fantasy/urban fantasy author is likely to face. This is a book of building blocks. From the very first chapter, Chester outlines methods that work with examples from her own work and other best selling modern authors. Solitary writers will find the book full of new ways to approach difficult writing elements. Writing workshops will be pleased to find and engage in all of the activities Chester leaves at the end of each chapter. If you don't have an idea of where to go with your fantasy novel by the end of this book, go back to page one and read it again! This is THE source for anyone who wants to write fantasy today.

I heard about this book from Jim Butcher when he was speaking at a conference. Yeah, I know, his name is dropped in the book several times. Yeah, I know he knows Deborah Chester. Well guess what? I am jealous he knows her and learned from her. I wish I had. As an author, I attend numerous (generally 8 to 10 a year) conventions and often speak on a wide variety of panels on numerous topics. There are some questions that I always get asked. One of them is: What book(s) do you recommend about writing? That question comes in many different shapes and sizes, but that is the meat of it. Here is my new answer: The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester. This book is more valuable than any writing class I have ever been to. Probably all of them put together, if you take out the human interaction factor. If you need to know something about the craft of writing (not the silly grammar rules, but how to make a good story) and it isn't in this book, then there are one of two thing going on: Either you are a super Pro + level author experimenting with something new or you are wasting your time fooling yourself into thinking something is important when you should be concentrating on learning what Deborah Chester has so clearly laid out in this book. This is going on my shelf as a reference book, a refresher course, and, honestly, probably the only book about how to write, other than Stephen King's On Writing that I actually enjoyed reading. Really? I enjoyed reading it? Yeah. That part is a little weird, because this really is a text book on how to craft a good story. A text book. I never enjoyed reading one of those before. I would argue that I am biased because I am a writer and writing fascinates me, but the truth is, I don't usually enjoy reading books on how to write. On a personal note: Deborah, if you read this review, I just wanted to say thank you for writing this book. Everything I write from here on out will be the better for having read this.

Sehr gutes Buch - jedem, der selbst Fantasy-Romane schreiben möchte wärmstens zu empfehlen. Die Autorin weiß, wovon sie schreibt. Alle Lektionen sind mit vielen Beispielen erläutert. Einer der besten Schreibratgeber, die ich kenne.

An excellent book, it explains in detail with good examples and easy to follow one of my favorites for sure!!!

Brutal.

Deborah Chester ha pubblicato oltre 40 libri fantasy, ed il suo allievo più noto (Jim Butcher) ha in corso di pubblicazione una delle saghe più di successo del fantasy urbano contemporaneo. La signora sa quello che fa. Leggere il libro è come scoprire come usare i propri superpoteri. Vengono spiegati semplici meccanismi emozionali di incredibile efficacia. Viene data meno enfasi alla semplice descrizione strutturale di atti e scene, e grande risalto ai metodi per coinvolgere il lettore nella storia e non fargli distogliere l'attenzione. Una meraviglia!

I’m still on the first few chapters, but that’s a good thing because it means the book has depth. By using this book, I have developed much richer characters and improved my world building. I know so much more about my protagonist and other characters and this means that I can write better, more believable prose. Definitely recommend it for first time authors.