Fantasy Genre Elements: 13 Examples

[@RouxAroo666]

Finally! Someone who properly defines Science Fantasy. Thank you for that.

[@jimschuler8830]

Gargoyles is a portal fantasy? I guess it's kind of sort of an inversion of it, although with no hope of going home I think it's missing an important element. It's far better as an example of urban fantasy.

[@gaaraofthesand9370]

Time Stamps!!! 0:00 Introduction 1:16 What is Fantasy? 1:39 Arthurian Fantasy 2:49 High Fantasy (including Low Fantasy and 3:55 Epic Fantasy) 5:35 Dark Fantasy 6:48 Historical Fantasy 8:19 Military Fantasy 8:51 Mythic Fantasy 9:39 Portal Fantasy 10:56 Science Fantasy (including 11:38 Space Science Fantasy) 11:55 Steampunk 13:08 Superhero Fantasy 14:04 Sword and Sorcery 14:56 Urban Fantasy 15:47 Conclusion Very nice video!!! Can you pin my comment so it would be easier for anyone who want to see a particulat part of the video

[@rachelthompson9324]

My epic/high fantasy, Dragon Fire, hits all the nails in 110K words.

[@periwinkleblue3416]

That was super informative. Never even heard about portal fantasy. Great list.

[@captainnolan5062]

No mention of Low Fantasy? I appreciate your videos and channel. Thanks for posting this.

[@JulesFaraday22]

Other popular examples of Dark Fantasy: Dark Souls, Berserk, Bloodborne, Claymore Science fantasy examples: Warhammer 40k (You really gotta check this series out, its insanely good)

[@Krystalized_Python]

I adore your pfp with every fiber of my being. Thanks for being a homie

[@feinjir1695]

Such and underrated channel keep it up great video

[@matthewiovino6566]

man i love your videos, and i'm really thankful for what you do. I'm working on my first two novels this year. Spent all 2020 world building and had enough material for two different worlds. I'm hoping to finish them before the end of the summer! All your insight into word count and trends, things to remember when writing. Have all helped me tremendously. Before this year i couldnt write more than 15k words no matter how many months i gave myself to work. I would always get stuck or feel that i hadn't set up anything right, screwed up with promises and tone, just the worst. But as of today im on the precipice of finishing two full length books. Thanks again! Don't ever tell yourself what your doing isn't making a difference. -Matthew

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Wow, that is amazing. Really nice work and you deserve the credit for doing the work. Congratulations!!!

[@matthewiovino6566]

@@AuthorLevelUp Thank you! I was curious about your process once your finished and doing edits/ revisions. Do you use alpha/beta readers? If so, do you find people you know and pay them? Or is there a service that exists for authors not yet published to receive feedback on their writing before submitting to a true publishing house or an editor who works for one.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Check out my editing process video series. I did it a few weeks ago. That will answer your questions.

[@matthewiovino6566]

@@AuthorLevelUp Ty =D

[@chriswhitenack5446]

Don't be sad, I clicked the bell. :-) Thanks for turning us on to Klytics, I was looking for what genre my book series will be under. Thanks, Mister!

[@CharlieHorse4363]

This has been extraordinarily helpful!! Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video!!

[@viniciusmachadomiguel7498]

Well, I'm glad I found this. I see this as a great reading list. Dude, you know your fantasy.

[@theatheistpaladin]

One of the series I am working on has at least half of all these genres, It has Science Fanasty with Military at its core, with 3 factions. Magepunk high fantasy, Steampunk Alchemist, and Solar/cyberpunk Tech.

[@lucascoval828]

Hitting almost all my favorite punks. 😋😋😋

[@xxxtakaji-kaixxx9016]

Is WarHammer 40,000k a fantasy world because I rlly need to know

[@JasonsWeirdReads]

This is a fantastic video. Thanks for all the information on fantasy and it’s sub genres.

[@smokeymoment3124]

Interesting. Want to write one but those are die hard fans and they will annihilate you in the reviews if you dont get it right. I need to do more research first. Thanks for the breakdown. Awesome video. Delivered concisely.

[@gTANK7777]

This was great, thank you. Ill be sure to check out your other video now

[@G-Blockster]

Another iconic example of a dark fantasy and also a military fantasy is Glenn Cook's Black Company series. Think of the Vietnam War on LSD.

[@angelicamarie104]

I'm making a book of short fantasy stories to start off, learn and improve. I'm hoping someday I can be able to write a full novel. :]

[@adamplentl5588]

Just remember that short =\= easy. Each format has its own constraints. As a person whose short pieces tend to want to digivolve into sprawling multiplanar epics, it takes a genuine force of will to stick to lower word limits.

[@discoverybg31]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Chretien de Troyes's Arthurian romances. These could be considered the actual birth of the fantasy genre, even more than the poetic Edda of the Norse and the Homeric myths.

[@williamhathaway7351]

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned such classics as E.E."Doc" Smith's Lensmen series and H. Beam Piper's Paratime, particularly Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen.

[@izegaegbe]

About the best fantasy video I've seen so far. Thanks Michael, it was very helpful.

[@zeratai2465]

For those interested in dark-fantasy, this genre is well-developed within the video game industry, with some even having books related to them. Example series are Diablo, Dragon Age, and Dark Soul to name a few. Each of them focuses on different aspects of the genre and succeed in their intent. A basic thing to look out for is the overall atmosphere of the world; such worlds tend to have an air of hopelessness about them, which by the end has been somewhat lifted. In case the world stays hopeless by the end, you may be actually writing a grimdark fantasy. Slightly off-topic, the Legacy of Kain is a gothic fantasy any fantasy writer could at least check once, being kind of a graphic novel series with added gameplay. There are cutscene movies on the Tube you can go through.

[@NonameWriter]

Thank you for your videos, they’ve been very helpful❣️

[@sarahherbison5419]

Me. Strange and Dr. Norell is great historical fantasy of the regency period.

[@marinaalsaqqaf3700]

i have a request for you if it is possible..Could you do more about 1. the fantastic elements. 2. George MacDonald and his works as he is considered the father of Fantasy. Best wishes for you

[@tinad359]

Thank you so much for this video! It was very helpful.

[@annmanzo]

excellent video, thanks.

[@oceanc5357]

My novel takes place in a fiction world but it doesn't contain magic. But it models arthurian fantasy a little and is more character driven. What genre would this be?

[@youtubeuser8387]

I'm writing a similar book and I have the same question...

[@sarahherbison5419]

Historical fiction

[@SuperMonkey94]

Have you ever read the Black Company books?

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Not yet. I hear great things about them though.

[@CM_Marquez008]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@rachelthompson9324]

Talent is only 10% of how this works

[@Jonas_Fox]

Thanks for the insights. I wonder if there's a book or a website that helps you understand how to appreciate each of these genres, something like "How to Enjoy Military Fantasy For Dummies."

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Not that I know of unfortunately...

[@obakpo88]

Thanks for this video. For anyone interested in a work of fantasy from an very unusual setting, check out "Nada the lily," by H.Rider Haggard. It's an amazing, yet sadly forgotten work of Historical fantasy set in South Africa during the reign of Shaka Zulu. It's well written and researched, it never overstays its welcome, coming in at about 300 pages.

[@manymusings]

What genres would you place Harry Potter, or the Divergent series in ?

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Harry Potter is technically YA urban fantasy. I haven’t read Divergent, so not sure if that’s Sci fi or not. Definitely YA though.

[@zeratai2465]

@Erin Beer just the opposite, I find Harry Potter a low fantasy due to how it is within "our world" in terms of worldbuilding, as well as using parts of it in the story. High fantasy conveys that it's a completely unknown world where our own is completely irrelevant. I could be wrong tho

[@averyrichter5336]

I love your videos ❤️

[@88happiness]

I was hoping you'd mention Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy. (Assassin's Apprentice etc.) Would you say it's Epic Fantasy or Sword and scorcery ?

[@AuthorLevelUp]

I haven’t read it so I can’t say unfortunately.

[@romanberkutov2592]

Иногда читаешь книги вроде Принца теней и не понимаешь, что в них хорошего. Если первую еще можно перенести, то дальше воспоминание и гипертрофированное желание мести, просто убивает персонажа + рояли из кустов, и я не про взрыв замка, это было круто. Еще книга - война старика, ну очень медленное развитие, бои - так полная тоска, больше безвкусная копирка с Хайлана

[@samalraimi799]

If I am a Fantasy genre writer, can I write in any Fantasy subgenres or I have to pick only one of them?

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Write whatever you want. Don't let anyone tell you you have to follow certain rules. Once you've finished writing, then figure out where the story fits.

[@samalraimi799]

@@AuthorLevelUp Great, thank you

[@duberdurm]

Thanks for the wonderful explanation! Man, I can't stand overly complex fantasy. I like simple story-lines like American Gods, The Dark Tower, Neverwhere, Zombie Fallout, Dresden Files, etc.. Too many characters and complex story-lines diminish how much I care for any particular one. Inevitably, one is more interesting than another and I have to read through parts that I'm not interested in to get back to the interesting parts. As an example, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series started off really good, but then the stories and characters started going their separate ways. Rand sort of became a jerk playboy, and it really turned me off to the character. Perrin and Mat were the only characters that I remember liking because they mostly stayed the same.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Yeah, I like medium-complexity fantasy. I definitely can’t keep too many plot lines straight.

[@lucascoval828]

(Sigh) This is one of the reasons why I'm listening/reading pulps or Sword & Sorcery short fiction. Sometimes less is more.

[@mgtogno]

Really kike ur videos dude! It is helping me a lot in organizing my novel.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Thank you!

[@carrieloman6489]

Like always, great video! I was wondering if you could read a short story I wrote a bit ago and give me some feedback on it. I think it’s pretty good myself but I’d like to get your opinion. If you have any suggestions for editing or otherwise, please feel free to let me know! I love your videos haha. Much love from me, Jasper. Here’s the short story. It’s title is “The Girl Who Wore the Stars.” There once was a girl who wore the stars. It was almost as if they were freckles that had been replaced by small, glimmering flecks of gemstones. Like stars, they shone brightly under the soft light of the moon, making it easy for her parents to spot her during their night trek up the mountainside. Like the stars she wore, her personality was bright and cheerful. She had beautiful, flowing locks of hair that framed her delicate features in a lovely canvas that beamed with hope. She was her parents’ pride and joy, much like any other child would be, but they were unprepared when she had been born. They feared that they would not be good parents, so they gave her away. It was on that fateful day that the little girl’s stars stopped glowing and they faded into a muted shade of gloomy grey. As wet tears streamed down her face and soaked her cheeks, her stars seemed to become even more dull. It was almost as if her hope was being washed away by the pain of separation. Three years later, after she was given away to a quaint little town’s local orphanage, she learned of her parents being close by. They were just a town over. She was told that they were looking for her and greatly regretted giving her up. Full of joy, she rushed over to the town and visited many homes to find them. When she hadn’t found them, she cried out and they came rushing out of a cottage, just three doors down from where she had stopped looking. The girl rushed over to her parents and they shared an embrace. It was on that hopeful day that the girl who lost her stars regained them and they shone brighter than ever before.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Hey Jasper, cool story. I don’t normally have capacity to read people’s’ stuff but since this Is extremely short I took a look. My first thought is that this feels like a summary of a story rather than a story itself. There’s a lot of exposition and telling rather than showing. I probably would have told more of her story through actual scenes. Also, watch your cliches and non-specific words (“beaming with hope”, “tears streaming down cheek”). That’s an easy fix when you learn your habits. As far as editing goes, you can certainly edit this one, but I would just keep writing the next story and studying the craft. You’ll enjoy the moment you look back on this story after how far you’ve come. Keep up the good work.

[@carrieloman6489]

Author Level Up Thank you so much for taking the time to look it over. I’ll definitely take your points into consideration and make sure to take note of what I could improve. Thank you very much and I hope you have a nice day or night!

[@marinaalsaqqaf3700]

Wow...appreciated work.... I was struggling with this genre and i didn't know where to start..you gave me some guidance through 👍Thank you. @auhthorlevelup

[@vitortedesco2173]

hey, love ur videos but why ur glasses don't touch ur ears? hahahah

[@enzorocha2977]

You look like a young Captain Holt before he joined Brooklyn Nine-nine ;)

[@achieachie911]

4:05 It's true though😂😂