The Difference Between Low Fantasy and High Fantasy

Question: What is the difference between high fantasy and low fantasy?

Answer: There are several ways people have attempted to define these terms. Essentially, the difference has to do with the extent to which the story is set in the real world versus a world that is far removed from present reality. Low fantasies take place in worlds that largely resemble the real world, with some fantastic or supernatural elements added. High fantasies take place in different worlds, with different natures, that are mostly unconnected to the real world.

For instance, The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy that takes place in a different world (Middle Earth) that resembles ancient Europe. The author, J.R.R. Tolkein may have expressed the belief that in his mind Middle Earth was our world, but there are clear differences such as the existence of magic, species (intelligent and non) that do not exist in the real world world, and a rich history of events that did not happen in real history.

C.S. Lewis's Narnia books are similarly set in a world whose only connection to ours is a magic portal. Again, though Narnia resembles something out of our history, it is a world that is different in many ways (magic, talking animals, mythological creatures, etc.).

Peter Pan is another example in which a magical journey which only a few can take leads the characters to a world that resembles the past but where magic occurs and mermaids and fairies live.

We should also note that, in a high fantasy, the fantastical elements such as magic and other species are accepted as normal by the inhabitants of the fantasy world.

So to summarize, high fantasy worlds are separated from the real world by...

1. Apparent historical period. They frequently resemble a period of history far removed from the reader's (typically one in which technology and civilization is less developed).
2. The presence of supernatural powers and species that don't exist in the real world.
3. Travel from the real world to the fantasy world is either minimal or non-existent.
4. The supernatural elements of the fantasy world are accepted as natural throughout the world.

Often, high fantasy stories will involve the exploits of upper class characters, such as kings, queens, knights, etc., in addition to the other elements. However, this is not a rule.

Note too that, if a story resembles a high fantasy except that the world contains advanced technology rather than or as well as magic, it will generally be called by another name. If spaceships are involved, it may be termed a "space opera" (e.g. Star Wars). Without spaceships, it may be called a "planetary romance" (e.g. John Carter, Warlord of Mars).

As for a low fantasy...

Low fantasies usually take place in a world that is almost identical to the real world, with the mostly same history and geography. However, low fantasy worlds are based on the idea that there are things in the real world that humanity does not know about. These can include species that have remained hidden for the most part (vampires, werewolves, the Loch Ness monster, etc) or things that operate on different physical laws we have not discovered (magic).

Low fantasies can include urban fantasies, such as Twilight or Kelly Armstrong's werewolf books.

In some low fantasies, magic existed in the story world in ancient times, even if it can no longer be created at present. Consequently, some objects or beings left over from the past still possess magic properties. (This is a common device in gothic stories.)

Sometimes, a low fantasy world is based on the idea that a separate community of magical or supernatural beings exists in the real world, but is hidden from most people. Examples include Harry Potter, City of Bones, or Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children.

Low fantasy worlds provide much easier interaction between between the fantasy elements and "real" world elements, even if it is only one-way. For instance, in Harry Potter wizards easily interact with the muggle world, although they keep muggles from visiting or seeing certain parts of the wizard world, such as Hogwarts. Similarly, vampires and werewolves usually manage to keep their existence a secret from most humans, while still interacting with and feeding off humans on a regular basis.

To help with the secrecy, the supernatural community is usually either small or has access to magic that helps keep them hidden.

So a low fantasy world...

1. Resembles the real world for the most part, but...
2. Includes supernatural species or magic within the real world.
3. Is one in which knowledge of the supernatural elements is kept secret from ordinary people.
4. Feature interaction between people in the real world and the supernatural elements.

Some people think of low fantasy as fantasy stories where the major characters are lower class, but this is untrue.

Finally, some alternate history stories occupy a middle ground between high and low fantasy. I'm thinking here of stories that take place in a world that resembles the real world except for one important change in history, such as a major event that happened differently or a supernatural element or being that caused history to unfold differently. In such cases, the fantasy world shares a history with the real world - but only up to a certain point of departure. The story takes place long after this departure point, so that the world looks quite different from our own.

Writing an Original Fantasy

by Noah Trevor
(Coatesville)

Question: I'm trying to write a book like Game of Thrones, but don't want to copy it. I want to be writing an original fantasy story, any advice?

Answer: Yes. Don't copy it.

Okay, let me be a little more helpful.

Ask yourself what it is you like about Game of Thrones. Is it the journey of a particular character or characters? Is it the fantasy world, including the setting, the technology (e.g. swordplay), the magic system, the power politics, etc.? Is it the scale of the story? Is it the theme? The plot?

Once you know what you like, you can design a story that may be similar on an abstract level, but also different.

For example, when The Lord of the Rings was published, it began a wave of interest in high fantasy stories set in worlds where magic and mythological creatures existed and technology was similar to the Bronze Age. GoT owes something to Tolkein's legacy.

While you can say all these stories fall into the same genre, all of them are unique.

For instance, some fantasy writers just wanted to write about swordplay and fights involving rogues (like Aragorn) and evil wizards (like Saruman). This led to the subgenre Sword & Sorcery.

Others were interested in the power struggles between various kingdoms and peoples (e.g. Gondor vs. Mordor), so a lot of fantasy books focus on the politics. They also drew upon medieval romance literature for this.

Others were interested in the hero's journey (e.g. Frodo) so they created stories about innocent nobodies becoming heroes.

Some people who like the exploration of underground catacombs (e.g. Moria or the Lonely Mountain) created the game Dungeons and Dragons, and many other similar role-playing games.

Others were fascinated by magic and invented complex fantasy magic systems.

You have to decide what interests you.

At the same time, ask yourself what you don't like about GoT. What improvements would you like to have made? Maybe a little less of X and a little more of Y?

When you know what kind of story you want to write, what the most essential elements you want to include, what you feel most passionate and inspired to write about, change everything else. Change the stuff you didn't like and the stuff you feel indifferent to.

If the world is what you care about, replace all the names. Replace everything in that world with things that have a similar essence (the essence that you care about) but are externally different (and better).

Then change the characters, the plot, the story problem. Replace them with ones that excite or interest you even more.

Keep doing this until you have a story that still has the essence of what excited you about GoT, but is now totally different -- and even more exciting.

This may take a lot of thought and time, but the result will be well worthwhile.

Detailed Worldbuilding when Writing Fantasy?

by ISreya Ray
(India)

I am a 20 year old wannabe author...... I have written a few short stories.... on different types of genres... but now I want to have a go at writing a fantasy novel.....example (Percy Jackson, Harry Potter) I even have the basic plotline out but its really the minute details which are persistently being a major obstacle. How do I do detailed worldbuilding when writing fantasy while avoiding writer's block?

For example I am very poor at architecture so how can I describe buildings/monuments in a realistic manner? Do you know of any good mythological book/websites where I can get updated about myths, folklore, legends (as they are always helpful in this particular genre) and finally the issue which is agonizing me to no end...how do I avoid comparisons/accusations of plagiarism to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson?? Apart from the protagonist's gender and the genre there are no similarities to these bestsellers....should I wait for some years before publishing my book to avoid controversies and negative publicity??

Please help me out!!!!

Response: Honestly, there are so many good books written on architectural history you should have no trouble finding what you need - that is, if you are basing your fantasy on a particular place and period in earth's history. Same with myths, folklore, etc. Go to a good library and ask the reference librarian for help. Or spend time googling subjects that interest you. If you love researching these subjects, you can spend a lifetime doing it. Just remember to keep writing as well If you're creating a fantasy world, you have a lot more leeway to use your imagination than if you were writing historical fiction.

As for your second question, if the only similarities between your book and Percy Jackson are the genre and the main character's gender, you are worrying about nothing.

Think about it. Did Rick Riordan break some rule by writing in the same genre as J.K. Rowling? Of course not. If that were the case, there would be no fantasy genre. There could only be one fantasy book at a time that wasn't in public domain.

You only get in trouble if you borrow substantially from another work or if you try to pass off someone else's story or characters as your own creation.

Harry Potter and Percy Jackson had their forerunners. J.R.R. Tolkien's works inspired a great many other writers, and there are many other fantasy books in print with male protagonists. So relax.

Is Fantasy without Magic Still Fantasy?

by Laurel
(from California)

Question: Is fantasy without magic still fantasy? For instance, I've created in my novel an Island with its own culture and people, completely devoid of contact with the outside world. Never does it even try to contact the outside world. There is no fantasy and technically it could fit into any time period in the real world, but it is completely fictional and has its own problems. Even though it doesn't have dragons or magical superpowers, does it still count as Fantasy?

Thanks for your time!

Question: Ooooh great question!

Usually, fantasy is defined as a story with fantasy (non-real) elements, which can take the form of ...

* magic (people or objects that can break the laws of nature)
* non-existent species, often with magical powers (e.g. centaurs, witches, vampires)
* non-existent places (fantasy worlds, other dimensions, hidden places within the real world)

In the latter category fall stories such as jungle romances (stories about lost kingdoms) or planetary romances (set on imaginary planets). Both of these often contain magic and/or magical species as well. We would call them "high fantasies," in the sense that few people from the real world (except in some cases the protagonist and his/her friends) can get to them.

(A great example of a story with a fantasy setting, but no magic or magical species, is "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges.)

It sounds to me as though you may be writing a high fantasy, since the story takes place in a non-existent, imaginary world.

However, the real issue is which shelf in the bookstore to put your story, and that is an area where you may need to rely on your publisher, who should have some expertise as to which readers it will appeal to.

For instance, would you want it among all the "sword and sorcery" books labelled high fantasies? Probably not, if it contains no magic or swashbuckling. You don't want to disappoint readers.

Depending on how it is written, the book might be better off in the literary, mainstream, or magical realism section. Or, depending on the plot, it might fit under romance, mystery, suspense, etc.

If you already have a fan base in the fantasy genre, it might be more profitable to market the book as a fantasy. But if it's a first novel, it might be better to not get hung up on a label.

Fantasy with no supernatural elements?

by Cleo

I’m still not sure what genre my novel would fit into. It's fantasy with no supernatural elements. I know that similar questions were asked before, but even with looking at your answers to them, I‘m still not quite certain.

The story is set in a world with fictional landscapes, coastlines, countries and cultures, but otherwise it is exactly like our earth and it follows our natural laws, even so far that it even has the same star and planet constellations (with other names of course).

But there’s no magic or any other supernatural things.

The cultures of my fictional people are partly inspired by Celts, Romans and Greeks and the story would fit into the time period of about 500 BC.
The culture of the people, their customs and even the history of their country is very detailed and the plot is about a revolution (so mostly politics and war) with a very large cast of characters.
To me, it has the same feeling as a Historical Fiction (the genre I like to read the most) but since the people and the world never existed, this obviously isn‘t the case.

So does the story still count as Fantasy, even though there’s no magic at all, or is it something else?

I've been using your site since quite some time now but even with all the great information (thank you so much for this!)

Have a nice day and thank you very much in advance!

Answer: Well, I would call this story a Fantasy, since the setting is a world that has not, does not, and never will exist. For this reason, I think librarians would be more likely to shelve it with Fantasy than Historical fiction. Fans of Historical fiction would be more likely to be disappointed with the story than fans of Fantasy.

There are many readers who feel that magic and/or magical species are crucial in Fantasy. However, I'm not sure this is a deal breaker. Many fantasy readers enjoy political machinations and the exploration of fantasy cultures more than magic. In some fantasies, magic is subordinate to the power struggles. It is only a small step to leave out the magic altogether.

These days, genre blends are very popular. So a story that blends Fantasy with Historical fiction, may well find a readership.

Best of luck.

Differences Between High and Low Fantasy

by A Jehrum Aranda
(Salt Lake City, USA)

Question: I read a question in this section about the differences between high and low fantasy and it's got me wondering what type of fantasy some novels I have planed to write after my first series of science fiction novels will be. I planed on writing a series that takes place on another world that is later inhabited by humans from Earth and becomes a major player in interstellar human politics in my current science fiction novels. The "fantasy" novels take place before this happens and will be connected to the overall setting, but also be stand-alone stories that don't require the reader to know anything about the science fiction series.

This "fantasy" world is inhabited by humans with medieval like technologies and politics but also something that kind of resembles magic. This "magic", however, follows very distinct and clear rules and has set boundaries that can be understood.

By the four general things that usually mark a high fantasy you mentioned earlier (apparent historical period, supernatural powers, travel between the real word and this world limited or impossible, and supernatural elements accepted as commonplace) it would seam that this story will be high fantasy, but the traditional elements that high fantasy novels usually have are missing. There are no additional sentient races, no talking animals or mythical beasts, the supernatural powers are somewhat tame, and the world itself is pretty realistic and travel to this world is more inconvenient than it is impossible.

So would these novels be classified as high fantasy, or somewhere in between high and low fantasy?

Answer: I hope I mentioned before that there is plenty of grey area between genres (that's sometimes where new genres are born or where stale genres are re-birthed into new vitality).

If the physics on your world are the same as the real universe (i.e. all apparent magic can be explained via science) then I would say you have a planetary romance - which is an adventure story set on another planet, rather like film John Carter, Warlord of Mars, which was based on the novel Princess of Mars.

I would think this is the most likely, if you are to merge this story with your science fiction later. You can't have real magic in a true SF world, because the presence of magic turns it into fantasy.

Of course, you can have advanced technology in a fantasy world, whether it operates on magic or conventional physics. I would classify Star Wars, for instance, as a mixture of fantasy and space opera because, midichlorians aside, the Force is really magic, not science (and because the series does not try to depict our future but a fantasy-galaxy located long ago and far away).

Medieval Fantasy Setting

by Ser Lin
(Malaysia)

Question: I'm a 16-year-old who has an interest in writing. So I'm already planning for this novel with a medieval fantasy setting, in which a centaur is the hero/heroine and the clan of centaurs are part of the central plot. (I've noticed writers usually put centaurs in a supporting role, so I'm hoping to be different and unique)

The story is most likely to fit in a medieval/fantasy setting. But I've never experimented with writing such settings before. Is it necessary to research that particular period? If so where can I get references? Is it just better to use my imagination and think up of a whole new land to put my story in?

Answer: Obviously, if you're writing about centaurs, you're already in the realm of a fantasy world. What that fantasy world is like is entirely up to you. Some of your choices include...

* a completely fictitious planet, with its own history, culture, species, technology, etc.

* a parallel universe, in which your story takes place on earth, but an earth very different from ours, possibly one where magic can occur.

* an alternative timeline, in which certain key events in earth's history happened differently, and they changed everything that happened since.

* an alternative history, in which centaurs did exist in earth's distant past but were wiped out at some point.

The key to designing your world is to have it make sense, to make it consistent. You may need to consider things like the level of technology, to determine what tools, clothing, food, architecture, weapons, understanding of science, etc. exist. You may have to decide if magic or some alternative physics exists in your world, and how it works. Are there other creatures/inhabitants of that world that don't exist in ours? What is the geography like? What is the history of your world? What's the political system, religion, art, etc.?

You might start by looking at what Greece was like, around the time the mythology of centaurs was created. Or if you prefer a medieval level of technology, look at the history of that period. Just remember, medieval technology was in some ways more advanced than that of ancient Greece. You have to decide how much knowledge your world has of things like engineering.

A good library should have plenty of material you can get ideas from. Librarians can help you target the best references. For that matter, an internet search for historical information on any period may turn up more than you need.

You don't have to be bound by a certain period, of course. You just want your world to be consistent. Reading a little about history helps to give you a sense of why people lived differently in different times and places - how it depends on things like technology, resources, etc. Thinking about all the elements that go into a culture will help your imagination come up with a more realistic world.

Of course, the danger with worldbuilding is that you can get lost in it or overwhelmed by it. There's no limit to how much detail you could potentially create for your world. Fortunately, you don't need to have it planned down to the last detail.

Rather than designing a complete world ahead of time, you can just decide on the broad strokes and the details you need to tell your character's personal story.

As you write, you may realize you need to fill in other details, and that can send you back to the history books or the drawing board. (You may want to keep a notebook where you record the details about the world as a reference.)

Any inconsistencies that accidentally creep in can be fixed in your second draft.

Sexuality in High Fantasy

Question: I am a die-hard fan of high fantasy, and would love to make a career of it. But more than modern pop-culture fantasy (orcs, elves, etc.), I take a lot more inspiration from classical mythology, mostly from around the ancient Mediterranean. One of my biggest problems: Sexuality plays a major part in all these mythologies, and so my work does too. I personally see nothing wrong with it, but obviously sexuality is a much bigger deal than it needs to be in certain circles of today's society. I don't know how much mythology you may or may not have read, but sex turns up A LOT. Never explicitly or highly detailed; it's just brought up a ton of times in a ton of situations for a ton of different reasons. Sexuality plays a huge part in the worlds and stories of my fantasy novels too, and in similar ways to the myths. I was wondering if you could give me any advice on how I might include this kind of content in my work without too many people reading it and freaking out... or, if the worst comes to pass and I have to omit or censor something (fingers crossed!), how might I make the publishers or whoever happy, but still keep my story together? After all, like I said, sexuality plays a big part. Thank you very much for any input!

Answer: I was going to start with a comment that the ancient world was a lot less hung up about sexuality than today's, but then I realized that's not true. Sexuality has always been part of literature, and it abounds in ancient writings as well as in today's fiction, with a few exceptions.

The exceptions are things like ...

1. Children's books (naturally).

2. YA books that are marketed to the younger part of the YA spectrum (the older part consists of adults in their early 20s). Sexuality for the younger YA crowd seldom goes beyond kissing.

3. Some parts of the world where more Victorian attitudes prevail (not too many any more).

3. YA books marketed to school libraries, bookclubs, or other organizations that feel a duty to choose wholesome books for young adults rather than just let them read what interests them (and who fear complaints from parents).

4. Books marketed specifically to Christian readers.

If you're writing for adults, I think you have little to worry about. You can never please everyone, but you can please most people if you treat your subject matter with honesty, portray your characters realistically, and avoid mere gratuitous sex.

If you're writing for YA readers, you may broaden your market by being less graphic in your depiction of sexuality. Again, honest, believable characterization matters. I would suggest you read a few YA books where sex occurs to get a feel for how other writers handle it.

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