The Fantasy Fiction Formula

By: Deborah Chester

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing a new type of magic. From the writing of strong, action-packed scenes to the creation of dynamic, multi-dimensional characters, fantasy author Deborah Chester guides novices and intermediate writers through a step-by-step process of story construction. Whether offering tips on how to test a plot premise or survive what she calls the dark dismal middle, Chester shares the techniques she uses in writing her own novels. Examples drawn from both traditional and urban fantasy illustrate her nuts-and-bolts approach to elemental story design.

With a foreword by New York Times best-selling author Jim Butcher, who studied writing in Chester's classes at the University of Oklahoma, The Fantasy Fiction Formula delivers a practical, proven approach to writing fantasy like a pro.

©2016 Deborah Chester (P)2020 Tantor

have to read twice to catch everything

The way she broke everything down was amazing have to go through it more then twice to grab all the gems she was dropping

fantasy writing

it was clear and understandable for beginners. I enjoyed hearing the information and the examples.

As solid a resource as I’ve found!

Like Brandon Sanderson’s online lectures, I believe this is a critical bit of learning that any aspiring writers should take part in. Worth ever penny!

Ended up buying the paperback version

I love everything Deborah has put in this book! I've spent the last year researching how to write a book that is worthy of being on a bestselling list, and have found a lot of contradictory information everywhere. A lot of that information is very useful, but you have to spend a lot of time deciding what's fact and what's opinion. Not all information is useful for everyone, and a lot of people are left feeling like they're doing everything wrong.
The Fantasy Fiction Formula has all of the best knowledge I've found, plus things I never even would have thought to research. She explains things in a way anyone can understand, and gives wonderful examples and exercises. I ended up buying the paperback so I could take notes in it, and I know I'll be using it for all of my writing career.
Thanks for writing such a wonderfully helpful book, Deborah!

Loved every chapter

This guide goes into a lot of depth and examples from fantasy books. I like that it gives specific advanced tips for fantasy writers rather than just general beginner tips.

A radiant example

A lot of the writing self-help book show too much bias or seemed a little to fluffed up due to the lessons in the book by this one is ground eye to eye with the reader/writer and is the best advice book I’ve read so far on this platform.

A struggle to listen to

The narrator is tolerable, but I would not seek her out.

The author has good sentence structure and vocabulary.

BUT it seems more like a string of disjointed and interminable scenes from her fiction work rather than a how-to about actually putting a book together.

I have had this book for several years, and I keep trying to wade through it because I want to believe it has good information... but the uninteresting premises of stories about one-dimensional people with utterly ridiculous five-syllable names stalls me every time.

Maybe if the reader was better. Maybe if we didnt keep veering off on tangents about characters who are as dry as burnt toast. Maybe if the toast was in smaller slices. Maybe if I could discern the organization.

I would drop another credit if they would release a version of this audio with all the examples cut out - but I suspect it would only be an hour long. That would probably be a bonus, actually, with this reader.

Did not finish

I'm sure there may be some good information in there, somewhere, but the book doubles as a thinly veiled advertisement for her works of fiction.

This Sucks

No structure and no organization. Just a torrent of useless information. An author who is so in love with the sound of her voice that she has decided it’s not necessary to impart any insight.