What Type of Fantasy is Best for My Story?

I’m on the last half a dozen scenes of my fantasy novel, Heavenly Lights. After writing those, I am going back and making quite a few tweaks which include, but are not limited to new subplots, new characters, are settings. The biggest change I may be making, however, is the type of fantasy that my story will be.

“There are different types of fantasy?” you may ask. Indeed there are! There are many, in fact. The most popular type of fantasy that you see in film, television, and books is the traditional medieval fantasy. Many more subgenre are becoming more and more popular these days, but I believe that traditional fantasy wild be staying around for a while.

At this current moment, Heavenly Lights is a flintlock fantasy. This means that it is set in an era in which my society has progressed from your typical medieval weapons and technology to gunpowder, muskets, canons, and the like. However, this will change.

You see, I absolutely love flintlock fantasy. It’s became a quick favorite of mine starting with Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan (if you have not read it, you really should). The things is, as I have been writing my novel, the sense of mysticism and wonder that I am trying to insert just wasn’t there. As the story has a lot to do with religion, that sense of mysticism is needed to make it work.

In light of this, I have decided to revert to the traditional fantasy genre. There will, however, be some hints of flintlock fantasy in there as well. In fact, the sequel, And the Mountains Fell will primarily be flintlock.

In conclusion, one has to keep in mind that, although you may prefer one genre (in my case, subgenre) over another, you must always keep in mind what serves your story best.