I binge-watched The Wheel of Time from season one to two, TWICE. And I'm not someone who rewatches shows. But the series isn't a hit for nothing.

It is one of very well-done fantasy fiction works of our time with great storytelling, worldbuilding, and power systems.

If you often wonder what it would take to write a bestselling fantasy fiction of your own, I've done the good work of extracting secrets and tips from this successful show.

In today's post, I am going to reveal these practical tips so you can use them in your own story writing.

(Like many of us, I haven’t read the books, so I'm pulling from the series alone.)

Good Fantasy fiction Character Development Tip

Good character development happens when your character can show growth and real recognizable traits.

Some of the best character development in the series were Egwene, Mat, and Moraine.

Take Egwene, her character development was chef’s kiss — from her humble beginnings in the Two Rivers, we knew Egwene to be someone who believed she had potential and was ready to put in the work to unleash it. She sought mentors, and put in her best, all while trying to hold on to her friendships.

We slowly learned of her unbreakable will from the stories Nynaeve told and her ordeal at Falme. There was a lot of depth to this character and you don’t even realize when you start rooting for her.

Mat was a tortured soul who only wanted to provide for and protect his sisters. Mat was true to those ideals when he left his friends hoping to go back home.

But we saw how others’ plans for him only added to his torture. It was a full circle moment when May finally discovered who he really was. And when we realized the vision of him killing Rand was misunderstood.

What you quickly learn from this:

📌Don’t be afraid to add depth to your characters. Make the traits as real and recognizable as possible.

📌Try to shift away from common character tropes to what is real in today’s time. This is what makes memorable characters that develop beautifully in your work.

Good Fantasy fiction Storytelling Tip

Subplots carried this show.

Did you catch it? The rich subplots literally carried the show by progressing the story.

And I believe these kept us watching. Because a dragon supposed to save the world from a dark one is nothing new or special. It was the subplots inserted brilliantly into the main one that made the storytelling great.

The pacing was perfect. Nothing revealed too fast or too slow. The unfolding felt natural and worth giving your attention to.

Plus, I love how it left intriguing hints for a new season with new subplots.

Season 2's storytelling was especially better when compared to Season 1 (which was still solid). And you can attribute this to the fact that the first season was mostly all the introductions.

What you quickly learn from this:

📌Create rich subplots to fuel your main one.

📌Here’s a hack to generate these sub-plot ideas — make it about the characters’ growth or an old legend in your story.

Good Fantasy fiction Worldbuilding Tip

Lovely, lovely, I say.

I’m a sucker for good world-building. It’s important to pay attention to the tiniest details. And the show nailed that.

When you look at the world-building of the show, you see how expansive it was. From different cultures to locations, the power system and how it affects the world; the political system; it’s all nicely done.

What you quickly learn from this:

📌In world-building, there’s nothing like too much work/detailing. Leave no stone unturned. Finesse every tiny detail.

📌Do the Hypotheticals — if this, then what?

📌The best fantasy works had an impressive world-building. They made it feel real, clear, and exciting. That’s what you need to do too.

I RECOMMEND PURCHASING MY WORLDBUILDING GUIDE & WORKBOOK, IT'S UNBEATABLE PREMIUM MATERIAL FOR HELPING YOU FLESH THE MOST IMMERSIVE OF WORLDS.

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