In this multi-post series, we hope to answer some of your questions about different fiction genres. Throughout GENRE FICTION 101, you’ll learn about different genres and their place in the publishing world. We’ll discuss popularity, profits, typical tropes, controversies, and more. Read the first installment here.

The fantasy genre traces its roots back to ancient times (think Gilgamesh or of the fantastic elements in Greek literature). It’s the genre that pulls us into vivid realities different from our own, worlds with spectacular landscapes, imaginary creatures, and magic. These are complex and detailed worlds, often incorporating unique rules, new languages, peculiar customs, and subtle logics of their own. Fantasy novels can also take a less lavish form, depicting charming or surprising magical twists on an otherwise everyday reality. To whatever fantastic degree, this is the genre that causes you to think twice before closing a book because, when you do, you suddenly feel a little out of place in your own home, like it is suddenly lacking in color and spark.

In this article, we’ll take you through the broad points of the fantasy genre, including what distinguishes it from closely related genres, key characteristics of the genre, sub-genres and pitfalls to avoid. 

Fantasy 101: What is Fantasy? 

Fantasy is a type of speculative fiction, meaning that it contains elements that don’t exist in our own universe. What distinguishes fantasy from other forms of speculative fiction is the genre’s incorporation of magic as one of the main elements that makes the world in the novel strikingly different from our reality. 

The extent to which the world of a fantasy novel differs from our own world can vary. On one end of the spectrum, a novel can be completely self-contained universe, built on its own logic, rules, and laws that come together to create a new plane of reality. On the less-but-still-fantastical end of the spectrum, a fantasy novel can take place in a reality much like our own, except for a few magical elements that disrupt an otherwise normal world. 

Fantasy vs. Science Fiction

Fantasy is closely related, yet decidedly distinct from two others forms of speculative fiction: science fiction and horror. An easy way to tell a science fiction novel from a fantasy novel is that science fiction relies on science and futuristic technology as a core component of the novel. 

Importantly, science fiction worlds feature scenarios that seem scientifically possible, either now or in some far off future. Fantasy, on the other hand, doesn’t need that level of plausibility. Instead, the genre relies on the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. A girl discovers that she can taste the emotions of whoever made the food she eats? Dragons are real and the main character needs to help a group of dwarves steal its treasure? Yes! This is fantasy, and your imagination is your only limit. 

Fantasy vs. Horror 

Distinguishing fantasy from horror is all about the mood and goal of the text. If the main goal of a story is to evoke a sense of dread or fear in the reader, it falls into the horror genre. Further, while novels in the horror genre may contain fantasy or science fiction elements, the mood, or atmosphere, of the work will be the deciding element that categorizes it as a horror genre novel. This is important to keep in mind if your goal is to write a fantasy novel. You’ll want to be careful not to overdo elements of fear and dread. Rather, spend some time incorporating the elements associated with fantasy listed below. 

Building a Fantasy 

Key Elements 

We have already touched on some of the key elements in the fantasy genre. Let’s dig in a little deeper! 

• Magic is an important requirement for the genre. This can involve anything from powerful witches to characters with supernatural gifts to unexplained magical events. In some novels magic is part of an object (such as a magic ring, wardrobe, or mirror). In others, magic is a feature of the environment itself. Although there are different ways and degrees to which an author can incorporate magic into a fantasy novel, it should be incorporated in some way. Read more about how to define the laws of magic in your fantasy novel from SparkPress author Alane Adams here.

• Magical or Mythical Creatures tend to be a common element in the genre as well, though not a requirement. This includes characters that are not part of the human race, such as an elves, ogres, centaurs, nymphs, changelings, or others entirely new. 

• Folklore and mythology from real life is often incorporated or re-invented within fantasy. For example, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series uses Greek myth as a foundation upon which to create a modern fantasy. Similarly, fantasy novels can also pose alternative or imagined versions of the past, drawing from historical events or mythical legends to create a foundation on which to build a fantasy world. 

• Finally, world-building is a crucial staple of the genre. As we stated earlier, this could involve a complex, self-contained structure in which the world is internally consistent with itself and its own universe. No matter the degree of removal from the actual world, elucidating the rules, laws, and logic of the fantasy world and how magic works within that world is a crucial element of any fantasy work.

Common Narrative Themes & Tropes: 

• Medievalism – fantasy stories often take place in an ancient setting. This is another way fantasy is distinguished from science fiction, which usually takes place in futuristic settings. Fantasy relies on the magical and mythological rather than scientific and technological. 

• Good vs. Evil – the protagonists in a fantasy novel are often waged in a battle of good versus evil. Often, the entire state of the world or universe is at risk. 

• The Epic Journey – Whether it’s to save the world or a loved one, attain power, or fulfill one’s destiny, the fantasy novel often demands its heroes partake of an epic journey across foreign and dangerous lands. The journey will test the hero’s courage and fitness, sometimes challenging whether the hero is worthy of the task at hand. 

• The Unlikely/Reluctant Hero – Frodo Baggins and his fellow hobbit comrades in Lord of the Rings are wonderful examples of unlikely heroes, protagonists other characters often discount or underestimate. 

• The Chosen One – Along with the theme of destiny/fate, the Chosen One trope in fantasy literature can be the catalyst that sets the unlikely or reluctant hero on his or her path. An example is Paul Atreides in Frank Herbert’s Dune or Katniss in The Hunger Games. 

Sub-genres of Fantasy

Since fantasy is by definition a genre that encourages imaginative exploration that defies the limits of reality, the possibilities for story-telling are endless. This has caused there to be a development of sub-genres that use similar patterns within the wide range of the fantasy genre. Here are a few of our favorite sub-genres: 

• High or Epic Fantasy – an epic tale of grand scale that is set within a fully developed world that has a detailed history and established magic system. 

• Low Fantasy – the story is set in the real world and characters are surprised when magic occurs.

• Magical Realism – the story is set in what seems to be the real world, but as the story progresses characters accept magical elements as normal 

• Historical Fantasy – usually a re-invented history or imagined version of past events

• Portal Fantasy – A fantasy in which a fantastical world is entered from the real world through a magical portal, at which point the character becomes engaged in a quest. 

Controversy in Fantasy

While fantasy has continued to increase in popularity, the genre faces criticism for its historical perpetuation of gender stereotypes, problematic assumptions about race, and idealizations of heterosexuality, masculinity, and whiteness. For example, fantasy stories have historically followed white, heterosexual, male protagonists on their quests for power or the fulfillment of their destinies. The stories and destinies of women, people of color, and LGBTQ characters are often relegated to one-dimensional supporting roles and pushed to the margins of the story, if they are present at all. 

Perhaps most alarming is the genre’s common use of the very debunked idea that biology is an indicator of one’s ability and character traits. This has been a staple of the genre since this idea was made popular by early fantasy books that are considered to be foundational and influential to the genre. This typically involves assuming certain traits and characteristics of a character or group of characters, based on the species or racial group they belong to (elf, dwarf, human, etc.). 

Outlook & Potential 

The problems of diversity are not inherent to the fantasy genre. After all, this is the genre where imagining bold new worlds and juxtaposing our wildest dreams with reality is essential. New authors are emerging that are challenging and dismantling old tropes and outdated stereotypes that do not represent us. In fact, fantasy can be seen as a powerful tool for envisioning future or alternatives worlds that overcome the shortcomings in our own.