An important key to pulling readers into your fantasy world is immersion. This is when the imagery, voice, and writing in your story work together to take the reader somewhere else. They want to know what happens next and they don’t even feel the time slipping by as they hurry to the next page. But how do you achieve this? Check out three tips for gaining fantasy immersion below!
Get the Voice Down
First, you need to get out of your own way. Even if you’re the writer and the authority, readers need to see how the character’s voice shines. It’s not about your voice on paper, it’s your character’s. To immerse the reader in a fantasy, whatever perspective you choose needs to pull the reader into the world. For example, if your main character is a child, they need to sound like one. If they sound like you, an adult, it’s not believable, and readers can’t get into a story.
So make sure you do the following:
1. Understand your character. To get your character’s voice, understand their personality. How do they react to their surroundings? Are they more cynical or optimistic? These attributes then shine in their voice.
2. Add special details. Additionally, little quirks and phrases that your character says make them stand out from other characters, so get creative!
3. Get the right tone. How does your character’s attitude manifest? Ask yourself what they might sound like and how they might approach a situation.
Include the Right Description
Next, you need to include the right description. Sometimes, writers focus too much on random details that readers don’t need to know either right then or at all. This weighs the book down and keeps readers from getting into the story. So how do you approach description?
1. Focus on what’s important. Imagine you need to describe a book. By a stroke of luck, your readers have absolutely no idea what a book is. To make what a book is clear, focus on what readers need to know to picture it themselves. Include information about the pages and spine. Then use that important information to paint a picture.
2. Remember your main character. When you introduce the main character, you get everything from their perspective. How you describe something to your readers should be how that character would see it. For example, if your main character is a child, how might they describe the fantasy city they live in? They’ll include important details and explain how things work, but they won’t ramble about things readers need to know or talk like a professor. So keep their voice in mind whenever you describe something.
Clarify
Lastly, if you want readers to be immersed in your story, then you have to make it easy for them to know what’s going on. If something isn’t clear, readers spend more time trying to picture or understand what you’re describing instead of getting into the story. This disrupts their “flow” of reading and keeps the story itself from guiding readers along.
How do you clarify your writing? Make sure to do the following:
1. Use specific imagery. Creates sounds, smells, textures, or sights that make sense for what you’re describing. If readers immediately understand what to see and feel based on how you described something, you’ve done a good job clarifying. Ray Bradbury has an epic time travel story that vividly describes a Tyrannosaurus Rex, for example. Check it out here.
2. Explain concepts (the right way). If you introduce something new, readers shouldn’t be taken out of the story because they are confused about it. Make sure your idea comes across clearly by going into detail, though without boring the reader.
3. Edit for conciseness. Every writer’s first draft is wordy. When you go back to edit, make sure your writing is as concise as possible. This clears up any sentences that might be hard to read and keeps writers engaged with your work.
If you’re a fantasy writer (or any writer!), knowing these concepts is vital. Just keep going and don’t give up. Happy writing!
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