struggle with Christian fantasy

[AgapeBible]

I am having trouble finishing my Christian fantasy stories. I write stories that are somewhat medieval and sometimes romantic with fairies, elves, unicorns and princesses. They have a lot of royalty, stories about the romances of royal families. But they tend to drag on and get long, like novels and coming up with an ending is hard. Getting to the ending, when I have the story basically written out in a nutshell, can be difficult as well. Well, perhaps I should just concentrate and do my best, push on ahead. i have thought of plots for realistic short stories, and holiday stories. i just need to write them down, I've already written the basic plots.

 

[Bluerose31]

It would be wonderful if you shared some of your stories in writers guild. I love stories about fantasy too, very much so.

 

[Alistair_Wonderland]

I love writing fantasy myself, and hope to one day make a career out of it. So my advice would be to write out the story's beginning and other important parts, work your way to the end, and then worry about going back and filling in missing bits or better embellishing it. I'm always going back to my writings and making a tweak here, altering a paragraph there.

As for coming up with endings, don't try and come up with something convoluted. Simply put yourself in each character's place. What would they do in such and such a circumstance? If you have well fleshed-out characters, a story can practically write itself. And despite popular belief, you don't have to answer all of the reader's questions. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and Sapphique all end with more mysteries and questions than you began with. That really keeps readers coming back for more.

And don't be afraid to use inspiration! You don't want to copy another artist, of course, but that doesn't mean you can't look at some of their works and see elements that you like, and can recreate in your own image. And the more inspirations, the better! Read new books, watch new movies, listen to new music, what have you! Inspiration is everywhere!

 

[Moonrise Lu]

For me, it feels easier to think of what kind of ending I would want from the start. It's easier to write the middle when you know where you're heading. Try brainstorming and writing down a list of how the book could end. Do you want it to have a happy ending? Bittersweet? A sad ending? If you are ending up with a really long novel, you can revise your story where you break it into parts to have a sequel, instead of one long book. Focus on what the main conflict/biggest plot point is and decide how you want it resolved. Your ending could be that resolution.

Another thing I find helpful is being able to let go of what you have already written. It might feel like you are losing something, but taking out scenes or altering them can help you get a better story. Especially since you don't have an ending in mind yet, trying to keep every part you've already written might be holding you back from getting to an end point.

 

[MariaJLM]

I rather enjoy Christian themed post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories. Those are fun. I can't say I've ever tried Christian themed fantasy before, though.