Horror author here. Not sure if my fantasy novel is worth writing...

[Blackwell]

Hi everyone, I'm a horror author with three published works. One of them has really launched my career. I've always wanted to write a fantasy novel, but I'm not sure if it would have any appeal to fantasy readers. I wanted to ask this community for some pointers.

A long time ago, I created a 200-page treatment for what I believed (as a 17-year-old) would become a successful fantasy video game. That of course went nowhere, but I am still quite proud of the work I put into it. I ended up with a worldbuilt-universe, its peoples, and their many histories, but no plot at all.

Over the years I've mulled the idea of writing a proper novel within that universe. The plot consists of two men from enemy civilizations meeting each other under odd circumstances in a strange place. The entire book is just the week they spend together on a journey through the countryside, where very little in the way of action happens, but a great deal of conversation and self-exploration occurs. It's a contemplative work about the role of memory in self-delusion, politics, and culture. The "action" sequences are all flashbacks and nightmares of the characters.

I think I've got a compelling set of characters and an "interesting" plot, but it certainly won't be action-packed. Is this something I should be concerned about?

 

[Brightdreamer]

It's possible to write good introspective fantasy, certainly. Not every fantasy story needs to be nonstop action. And action in flashback counts as action.

The only way to know if you can write a good introspective fantasy (and if this particular introspective fantasy is good, as written by you) is to write it and get some feedback. Then, and only then, will you know if you've made the introspection and character interaction interesting enough to carry the story or if you do indeed need to be concerned...

For myself, I'd consider a parallel here-and-now story other than just two characters wandering around relating backstories (which is what I get from reading this description; I may be wrong), some goal they're working towards or problem they have to resolve or obstacle to overcome, that their backstories/flashbacks helps bring into focus (or thematically echoes).

 

[dickson]

As long as the reader cares about what passes between your protagonists, they will want to keep reading. W. Sebald isn’t to everyone’s taste, but once I got a bit into The Rings of Saturn I wanted to find out where he would take things next, and the entire novel was nothing but a walking tour up the Eastern coast of England.

The truism is that every scene in a novel needs a conflict, but what counts as the inciting element of conflict can be almost anything, so long as it elicits a response from a character. In the Sebald novel, that conflict was often the narrator’s struggle to reconcile the charms of the faded country houses, or formerly prosperous towns, or their vanished industries, with the imperialist depredations in far-off lands which made their existence possible. The effect was elegiac, seasoned with a dash of melancholy.

I’ve used your idea of inserting action in the form of flashbacks that punctuate dialog in some of my stories. You do want to break up long passages of dialog. Allan Guthrie famously claimed that no character should have a speech of more than three sentences before inserting some action, even if it’s only someone kicking a rock. Not to be taken literally, of course, but I do keep it in mind when revisit early drafts to make them seem less talky, even if the talk is what drives the plot forward.

At least that’s how I’ve approached things. I see no reason why you can’t tell a satisfying tale in the way you’ve described, and I wish you every luck.

 

[CWNitz]

There is a market for fantasy with introspective characters and interpersonal conflict. Everything you can write in a contemporary setting, you can write in a fantasy setting. Fantasy romance is popular, for instance.

Your story still needs the basics (goals and conflict), but it doesn't need to be world-changing.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Everyone was spot on. My only thought would be to find some works similar to what you want to do and see how much you like reading it.

 

[Elenitsa]

Any story, in any genre, is worth writing if you enjoy writing it! One does not need to have a stellar success in order to be worth it. If you like it, the time is well spent, you learn something, you hone your skills... and there will be somebody else to like it, too!

 

[Laer Carroll]

Elenitsa is exactly right. Go for it by all means. And you don't need everybody to love it, just enough (whatever ENOUGH is for you).

 

[CMBright]

Define worthwhile. I would find the resource commitment of flash fiction or a short story worth the challenge of writing in different styles. A novel in a genre I am not as attracted to would be difficult to justify resources as well as maintaining my interest in completing such a project. So simply the challenge of writing fantasy when you normally write horror might be worthwhile, even if you don't finish or do and don't publish.

Resources are not just money. Time, stable income, housing, even mental resources and health care can all be necessary resources in creative activities.

On the far end of the spectrum, if worthwhile is almost definitely sale worthy, it is unlikely to be worthwhile. It might succeed, but any book can fail to be published. If you self-publish, it might not find any readers. Or "fail" because it doesn't make more in sales/royalties than you pay out for reasons.

 

[Chime]

if you feel like it will be meaningful and worth the effort, it is worth it!! Love what you do!

 

[Shorthawk]

I really like the idea you have here! The concept of a smaller story in the middle of a much bigger conflict/universe to be very compelling in its potential. I agree with Brightdreamer with the advice on including some sort of parallel/overarching goal or conflict to keep things moving, but besides that I'd definitely say it sounds worthwhile to me.

Also echoing the thoughts of others to some extent, if you feel the expression and end product created through writing brings joy or value to you, even if it is only you, it has worth.

 

[in_one]

Write whatever you want. It's your world!

 

[Bisoulami]

Sometimes what's different really takes off. (Just look at legend and latte). Smaller conflict is in vogue right now and if you have a story to tell go ahead!

 

[Crowned in Fireflies]

I can't speak to the market viability of the idea, but it sounds like something that I would personally be into.

 

[Sully317]

There is a market for fantasy with introspective characters and interpersonal conflict.

Can someone recommend some good ones? This statement describes the novel I want to write, but I'm not particularly well read. -Sully

 

[CWNitz]

Can someone recommend some good ones? This statement describes the novel I want to write, but I'm not particularly well read. -Sully

Circe by Madeline Miller is one of the most popular these days. The House in the Cerulean Sea by Klune is another good one. Also, Omens by Kelly Armstrong. I guess you could add Interview with the Vampire by Anne , although it's more horror than fantasy.