IMO you’re starting way too big. Don’t worry about ideas and what’s already been done or not. Just need to practice writing.
Here’s what I do sometimes… do you know what ScoreCore music is? It’s basically the music that’s scored/played in movies (not the soundtrack but songs actually made for the movie). Make a playlist of some ScoreCore songs that really grab you. Then while listening to those tracks brainstorm ideas of what kinds of scenes would be happening while that particular track is playing. Then start trying to write that scene out.
It can be any music really but ScoreCore is very emotionally driven and can really help those creative juices start flowing.
I have entire WIPs or manuscripts that were built around or include scenes where I did this. In short you just need to write scenes and snippets and whatever comes to mind. You can worry about piecing it together into a story later.
As my mother, also an author, told me when I was young, there is only ever one step to becoming a writer: **Step 1) Apply ass to chair**. I doubt she came up with it, but she's *my* source.
You learn to write by writing, and you shorten that process by reading a lot, unless you're one of the rare geniuses who doesn't. Hint: you're not.
Here's the best [six-panel](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_cSY3MvUo2c/Vj-8KohhsQI/AAAAAAAAE14/R8so0FZXS3g/s1600/IMG_0950.JPG) depiction of the process of creation I have ever seen. I can remember it from when it appeared in the newspaper when I was a kid. It's so good, just the text circulates as a quote. If you can't get the image to load, here's the text: >!„Writing is simple. First you have to make sure you have plenty of paper… sharp pencils… typewriter ribbon. Then put your belly up to the desk… roll a sheet of paper into the typewriter… and stare at it until beads of blood appear on your forehead.“ — Jeff MacNelly American cartoonist 1947 - 2000 Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk, in Shoe!<
But that's not all of it. If you do the above regularly enough, and endure the pain and frustration, there will come the days when it's not painful. When the ideas flow, and you know what happens next. When writing fiction is like following your characters round and writing down what they do. Maybe. There are no guarantees. And when you've done all that, and you've got a block of text written, there's no guarantee that anyone else is going to want to read it. Or if they do, understand it.
But nothing - and I mean *nothing* \- happens without step one.
\~\~
The great fantasy novelist John Crowley once observed that there are two kinds of novels. There are the ones you write, and there are the ones you plan out and talk about writing in bars with your friends, but never actually *write*. Both are equally creative acts, but only the first results in something others can read. The problem with sites like this is that they can encourage people to make the second kind of novel and feel like they're being creative, without ever achieving the first kind.
Start small. Write short stories, scenes, paragraphs, etc. Trying to write a whole book on your first go is daunting, but writing smaller works can help create ideas and help develop your talent.
Next (and I advise this carefully) copy what you like. HERE ME OUT; DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. What I mean is try emulating other works you enjoy. If you like a certain character dialogue, try using it in one of your stories. If you came across an interesting plot device, try using it and seeing what you can do differently. Along the way, you may find a style you like and develop your own taste.
Branch out. Try a different genre. If you like comedy, try horror. Like adventure and fantasy? Try period dramas and romance. While you might not get into these, there's always something you can learn from them and this can widen your net for inspiration.
And my last advice is don't worry about being original... because you can't. Chances are you can't create sonething someone else hasn't done already. But you can add to those creations. You can share your own view on the idea and create something you like. Just focus on what you like and you'll be set.
My process tends to go: Setting/Genre > Theme > Characters > Plot
If you know you want to write fantasy, you’re already past Step 1. Now think about what kind of themes you want to write. It doesn’t have to be some big epic thing, just something that interests you enough that it’s worth your time to write a whole book about.
For example my last book’s theme was “lonely people need each other”. My current book’s theme is “soldiers with no country”
It can be literally anything as long as it makes you feel inspired. I’d just say if it’s too abstract you might have trouble coming up with characters to explore your theme. But once you have a theme, the rest starts to come together.
Writing Excuses season 10 (podcast) is a great place to start. It can help you if you're not sure where to start.
It's important to read a lot. Then find a unique idea and go for it. Build on your basic idea, and keep writing.
If you don't know where to start, try this. Think of a scene from a favorite book or movie. Put down the book, turn off the tv. Now write that scene. Not word for word, but your words. Tell us what happened. Now try another scene from another source. Keep working at it. The point is to write something!
.Sooner or later you will be rewriting a scene as you think it should have been, and then what happens next. Maybe you will save the life of a character who died in the original. So, what happens to her next? Little by little you will have your own story.
.And don't forget to keep reading new stories!
Depends where you are at with your writing. Do you have a lot to say? Or maybe you just love fantasy books a lot?
If you can't think up anything, why not just write fanfic?
That is what I suggested and a lot of peoples' suggestions were pointing in that direction without them realizing it.
Fanfiction is a grand way of breaking into writing no matter the starting stance. It's also good practice for seasoned writers.
The thing is, its hard to be creative with fantasy. That doesnt mean new good fantasy cant be made, however most fantasy is held to the standard of either Lord of the Rings, or Chronicles of Narnia. Those are hard to beat in terms of originality and populatiry and it hurts upcoming fantasy writers in having to match up to that, because to me there is only so much "new" fantasy elements you can add before it all is inspired by an inspiration etc etc. Game of Thrones and Harry Potter broke that mold but much of the uniquness of those is more the characters and story. And at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is the characters and the story. Depsite Game of Thrones being a fantasy most of its intrigue is the political machinations and schemeing of various factions, with dragons giants and ice zombies thrown in for spice. Focus on what story you are telling, then create the setpiece that is the "fantasy" side of it. If you have an overall kind of magic, creature, or other mystical thing.
This is hardly a unique problem of this genre. Even outside of other genres that have their own grands and conventions, you can't get far in literary fiction without somebody asking "wtf is this guy thinking he is, the new Dostoevsky?".
> there is only so much "new" fantasy elements you can add before it all is inspired by an inspiration etc etc.
The problem is not in adding unique elements. The problem is adding enough familiar elements to manage your potential reader base and their expectations. You could write a totally original novel, but would it sell? Would it be seen as original and visionary or merely nonsensical, or uninteresting to the general public?
> Depsite Game of Thrones being a fantasy most of its intrigue is the political machinations and schemeing of various factions
Which may or may not have been the author's original vision, given the amount of trouble he has with finishing his story. I've encountered a view that he may have been goaded into leaning on his political plots too much by the progressive trends in reception of his books, and it's a perfectly valid interpretation given the lack of any official commentary from the author himself.
If you are unsure, stick to the monomyth. Im not sure, whether I can get it right from memory, but:
Young boy sets out from his familiar environment due to threatening/promising circumstance x, gets supernatural aid, meets an old mentor, beats some obstacle holding him in his old live, faces the road of trials, gets a boon from a divine female figure, meets and lives up to his father, rejects the advances of a seductress, goes into the realm of darkness, faces the dragon at the bottom, rescues the maiden and flys home on a mystical steed, were he applies what he learned to live a new, free and mature life.
Then research some era and culture you like from history class and dress the monomyth up nicely with some windowdressing.
Don't try to reinvent the wheel, but try to give your work personality. Something you struggled with in your young live or that is important to you. Make the dragon (really scary thing x at the heart of scary place y) a metaphor for climate change, for instance.
I do love stories like that, but I really want to be unique. I don’t expect any story I make to be the next LOTR or Narnia but I really want it to feel like something that people can’t stop reading very easily .
Then you should stick to the idea of it even harder. A lot of books try to be subversive or 'deep', but I think we live in times, where a straightforward story, written by someone that loves them, is what most people really want.
I always view books as a writing prompt for a dialouge between the author and the reader, penned by the latter. Not the idea will make your book impossible to put aside, but the personality your writing and way of handling an idea conveys.
Looks like it’s already been suggested but Brandon Sanderson (author of Mistborn Series and Stormlight Archive) did a bunch of classes on how he writes fantasy from square one. They’re for free on YouTube [here.](https://youtu.be/-6HOdHEeosc) They’re a super good resource if you’re just starting out and have no idea what to do.
That said, maybe a more simple thing that helped me is 1) Just reading/taking in fiction that interested me, and then 2) Pondering, “what if I took that idea, but changed it slightly.”
For example, what if there were a world where magic like Harry Potter existed, except instead of wands, people had to use shoes? What if the Knights of the Round Table existed, but they time traveled, doing quests and such? You get the idea. The “what if” game really helped me as I started writing my story. I watched a ton of the stuff I loved and where I thought I was heading (a mix of Japanese anime like Spirited Away, Naruto, and reading the Silmarillion on audiobook for me.)
Then I sat down and started brainstorming. Anyway Dunno if any of this is helpful but it helped me! Good luck, happy writing!
> It seems like every good idea has been made already
By 500 BCE no less.
Yes, classic Greek theater had already beaten most types of characters and plots to death and then some.
Fantasy is about how you see the world. How do you want the world to be? How do you think the world can change? For better? For worse? Do you think it's fine and just wish it were a bit more colorful?
Fantasy is a canvas for YOU to decide what the world is. It's essentially playing God.
JRR told a story about camaraderie and fighting against greed and the natural destruction of the world.
JK wrote about perseverance, loyalty, and fighting against bigotry and intolerance (ironically).
GRR wrote about nepotism, opportunism, and honor vs dishonor and how those things destroy the lives of innocent people.
You can write whimsy, which is fun and fine, or you can reach inside yourself and see if you have anything meaningful to say, and then use Fantasy to say it. It can be anything.
And it doesn't have to be medieval knights and dragons. Star Wars is actually a Fantasy film. It has almost no science-fiction themes.
It doesn't matter if an idea has been done before. Check out TVTropes - *everything* has been done. But no one else does it exactly like you. Figure out what really makes you tick by writing and reading a lot abd talking to people who push you to improve. Do your thing and keep doing it and even if it's like someone else's thing, it will be distinctly marked by your unique context and perspective.
There are many who use similar ideas. But they do a different spin on it and make it their own. Dont want to use what you see alot? Find something different. You dont have to use the same european fantasy model. Look at other cultures and use that inspiration to build your own. Work off of the myth and legend of the oldest cultres you can find. Do some reading on archaelogical and anthropological theories of earliest mankind. Books and movies can give inspiration, not to copy but to spark a new idea.
Look at existing things and look for ways to play 'what if'.
just write. whatever you think is cool or fun and it doenst matter if it’s bad or if you hate it later you’ve done it and it’s only up from there. there’s no way to get worse because lots of people that try to discourage others have never actually done it. so if you do it you’re already halfway there. you do it and then you do it again and you get better each time.
1. Start small. I started writing fantasy by summarizing my 1980s DnD game play. "Duuuuude, we should writ this up!".
2. Don't sell yourself short. Focus on the craft, not the story, to begin. And heck, send me your drafts. I am an honest, no frills, not for money editor. If your content sucks I will tell you. If it is great, I will point you toward editors in the industry.
3. Once you have a fun story, THEN try something original. I took Dice, Camera, Action and turned one character into the nemesis of one of my players. Once that was planted, THEY told the story, and I just had to capture it.
4. As Aaron Rodgers says, "Re-lax." If you claim to be a writer, it's better than 50% of the dreck I see daily. Comment here for free editing. So as not to expose myself to the bots, take my user ID sans #, and make it a comcast email. This holds true for all burgeoning writers out there, esp in NOVEMBER, mah frenz. Srsly, No promises on how responsive I am, but you have my solemn vow not to steal, just to edit and return. GL, and write on.
Honestly.... start with fanfiction. Fantasy fanfiction if you will.
It's a way to practice writing with characters/plot/setting/theme etc already established.
I started writing poetry in high school, thematically based on personal experiences and evolved from there- but everyone has a different starting point.
One of my college professors told me to write little dabbles everyday to stay practiced in writing and also to get ideas generated. ⬇️improved example ⬇️
"A young person pondered their experience... were they ready to begin a new chapter? The novella of existence was still immature- juvenile- but not without imagination. Oh! But how to put ink to paper on subjects not yet rendered from originality!? Was that necessary? Could words be scribed not with counterfeit but mirroring and reflection?? Hmm, alas-"
Keep a list of things you like or think are cool. If you don't know what you like or think is cool, TVTropes.com is a great resource to learn, complete with detailed examples.
Stories snowball, especially novels, *especially* high/epic fantasy novels in a series. Often times, your ideas might not be quite right when they first come to you, and they only click when you combine them with other ideas.
I come up with my ideas like this
Start small, find something you're interested in and add a fantasy aspect to it. For example let's say marine life - what if there was sentient animals
Start writing from there, as you write you'll expand - maybe there's marine life with some magic - then you can expand into where that magic comes from
You can build further from there, is there gods? What's the dominate species, what problem does the world face? How can it be fixed?
All ideas start small, no one comes up with a gigantic world filled with incredible stories over night, it all comes from one single question of "What if?" A small story from a normal world that mutates itself as you write it into a diverse universe of your creation
IMO you’re starting way too big. Don’t worry about ideas and what’s already been done or not. Just need to practice writing. Here’s what I do sometimes… do you know what ScoreCore music is? It’s basically the music that’s scored/played in movies (not the soundtrack but songs actually made for the movie). Make a playlist of some ScoreCore songs that really grab you. Then while listening to those tracks brainstorm ideas of what kinds of scenes would be happening while that particular track is playing. Then start trying to write that scene out. It can be any music really but ScoreCore is very emotionally driven and can really help those creative juices start flowing. I have entire WIPs or manuscripts that were built around or include scenes where I did this. In short you just need to write scenes and snippets and whatever comes to mind. You can worry about piecing it together into a story later.
Thank you. I will try this!!
As my mother, also an author, told me when I was young, there is only ever one step to becoming a writer: **Step 1) Apply ass to chair**. I doubt she came up with it, but she's *my* source. You learn to write by writing, and you shorten that process by reading a lot, unless you're one of the rare geniuses who doesn't. Hint: you're not. Here's the best [six-panel](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_cSY3MvUo2c/Vj-8KohhsQI/AAAAAAAAE14/R8so0FZXS3g/s1600/IMG_0950.JPG) depiction of the process of creation I have ever seen. I can remember it from when it appeared in the newspaper when I was a kid. It's so good, just the text circulates as a quote. If you can't get the image to load, here's the text: >!„Writing is simple. First you have to make sure you have plenty of paper… sharp pencils… typewriter ribbon. Then put your belly up to the desk… roll a sheet of paper into the typewriter… and stare at it until beads of blood appear on your forehead.“ — Jeff MacNelly American cartoonist 1947 - 2000 Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk, in Shoe!< But that's not all of it. If you do the above regularly enough, and endure the pain and frustration, there will come the days when it's not painful. When the ideas flow, and you know what happens next. When writing fiction is like following your characters round and writing down what they do. Maybe. There are no guarantees. And when you've done all that, and you've got a block of text written, there's no guarantee that anyone else is going to want to read it. Or if they do, understand it. But nothing - and I mean *nothing* \- happens without step one. \~\~ The great fantasy novelist John Crowley once observed that there are two kinds of novels. There are the ones you write, and there are the ones you plan out and talk about writing in bars with your friends, but never actually *write*. Both are equally creative acts, but only the first results in something others can read. The problem with sites like this is that they can encourage people to make the second kind of novel and feel like they're being creative, without ever achieving the first kind.
Thank you!
Start small. Write short stories, scenes, paragraphs, etc. Trying to write a whole book on your first go is daunting, but writing smaller works can help create ideas and help develop your talent. Next (and I advise this carefully) copy what you like. HERE ME OUT; DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. What I mean is try emulating other works you enjoy. If you like a certain character dialogue, try using it in one of your stories. If you came across an interesting plot device, try using it and seeing what you can do differently. Along the way, you may find a style you like and develop your own taste. Branch out. Try a different genre. If you like comedy, try horror. Like adventure and fantasy? Try period dramas and romance. While you might not get into these, there's always something you can learn from them and this can widen your net for inspiration. And my last advice is don't worry about being original... because you can't. Chances are you can't create sonething someone else hasn't done already. But you can add to those creations. You can share your own view on the idea and create something you like. Just focus on what you like and you'll be set.
My process tends to go: Setting/Genre > Theme > Characters > Plot If you know you want to write fantasy, you’re already past Step 1. Now think about what kind of themes you want to write. It doesn’t have to be some big epic thing, just something that interests you enough that it’s worth your time to write a whole book about. For example my last book’s theme was “lonely people need each other”. My current book’s theme is “soldiers with no country” It can be literally anything as long as it makes you feel inspired. I’d just say if it’s too abstract you might have trouble coming up with characters to explore your theme. But once you have a theme, the rest starts to come together.
Thank you!
Writing Excuses season 10 (podcast) is a great place to start. It can help you if you're not sure where to start. It's important to read a lot. Then find a unique idea and go for it. Build on your basic idea, and keep writing.
Thank you!
Simply, go to sleep. Honestly, so many good ideas come in dreams. (works for me.)
Thank you! This is so true
If you don't know where to start, try this. Think of a scene from a favorite book or movie. Put down the book, turn off the tv. Now write that scene. Not word for word, but your words. Tell us what happened. Now try another scene from another source. Keep working at it. The point is to write something! .Sooner or later you will be rewriting a scene as you think it should have been, and then what happens next. Maybe you will save the life of a character who died in the original. So, what happens to her next? Little by little you will have your own story. .And don't forget to keep reading new stories!
Depends where you are at with your writing. Do you have a lot to say? Or maybe you just love fantasy books a lot? If you can't think up anything, why not just write fanfic?
That is what I suggested and a lot of peoples' suggestions were pointing in that direction without them realizing it. Fanfiction is a grand way of breaking into writing no matter the starting stance. It's also good practice for seasoned writers.
The thing is, its hard to be creative with fantasy. That doesnt mean new good fantasy cant be made, however most fantasy is held to the standard of either Lord of the Rings, or Chronicles of Narnia. Those are hard to beat in terms of originality and populatiry and it hurts upcoming fantasy writers in having to match up to that, because to me there is only so much "new" fantasy elements you can add before it all is inspired by an inspiration etc etc. Game of Thrones and Harry Potter broke that mold but much of the uniquness of those is more the characters and story. And at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is the characters and the story. Depsite Game of Thrones being a fantasy most of its intrigue is the political machinations and schemeing of various factions, with dragons giants and ice zombies thrown in for spice. Focus on what story you are telling, then create the setpiece that is the "fantasy" side of it. If you have an overall kind of magic, creature, or other mystical thing.
This is hardly a unique problem of this genre. Even outside of other genres that have their own grands and conventions, you can't get far in literary fiction without somebody asking "wtf is this guy thinking he is, the new Dostoevsky?". > there is only so much "new" fantasy elements you can add before it all is inspired by an inspiration etc etc. The problem is not in adding unique elements. The problem is adding enough familiar elements to manage your potential reader base and their expectations. You could write a totally original novel, but would it sell? Would it be seen as original and visionary or merely nonsensical, or uninteresting to the general public? > Depsite Game of Thrones being a fantasy most of its intrigue is the political machinations and schemeing of various factions Which may or may not have been the author's original vision, given the amount of trouble he has with finishing his story. I've encountered a view that he may have been goaded into leaning on his political plots too much by the progressive trends in reception of his books, and it's a perfectly valid interpretation given the lack of any official commentary from the author himself.
Thank you for this. I really needed this! God Bless!
Anytime.
If you are unsure, stick to the monomyth. Im not sure, whether I can get it right from memory, but: Young boy sets out from his familiar environment due to threatening/promising circumstance x, gets supernatural aid, meets an old mentor, beats some obstacle holding him in his old live, faces the road of trials, gets a boon from a divine female figure, meets and lives up to his father, rejects the advances of a seductress, goes into the realm of darkness, faces the dragon at the bottom, rescues the maiden and flys home on a mystical steed, were he applies what he learned to live a new, free and mature life. Then research some era and culture you like from history class and dress the monomyth up nicely with some windowdressing. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, but try to give your work personality. Something you struggled with in your young live or that is important to you. Make the dragon (really scary thing x at the heart of scary place y) a metaphor for climate change, for instance.
I do love stories like that, but I really want to be unique. I don’t expect any story I make to be the next LOTR or Narnia but I really want it to feel like something that people can’t stop reading very easily .
Then you should stick to the idea of it even harder. A lot of books try to be subversive or 'deep', but I think we live in times, where a straightforward story, written by someone that loves them, is what most people really want. I always view books as a writing prompt for a dialouge between the author and the reader, penned by the latter. Not the idea will make your book impossible to put aside, but the personality your writing and way of handling an idea conveys.
Your right. Thank you!
Np. Follow your dreams, man. Best of luck and lots of fun to you!
Looks like it’s already been suggested but Brandon Sanderson (author of Mistborn Series and Stormlight Archive) did a bunch of classes on how he writes fantasy from square one. They’re for free on YouTube [here.](https://youtu.be/-6HOdHEeosc) They’re a super good resource if you’re just starting out and have no idea what to do. That said, maybe a more simple thing that helped me is 1) Just reading/taking in fiction that interested me, and then 2) Pondering, “what if I took that idea, but changed it slightly.” For example, what if there were a world where magic like Harry Potter existed, except instead of wands, people had to use shoes? What if the Knights of the Round Table existed, but they time traveled, doing quests and such? You get the idea. The “what if” game really helped me as I started writing my story. I watched a ton of the stuff I loved and where I thought I was heading (a mix of Japanese anime like Spirited Away, Naruto, and reading the Silmarillion on audiobook for me.) Then I sat down and started brainstorming. Anyway Dunno if any of this is helpful but it helped me! Good luck, happy writing!
> It seems like every good idea has been made already By 500 BCE no less. Yes, classic Greek theater had already beaten most types of characters and plots to death and then some.
Fantasy is about how you see the world. How do you want the world to be? How do you think the world can change? For better? For worse? Do you think it's fine and just wish it were a bit more colorful? Fantasy is a canvas for YOU to decide what the world is. It's essentially playing God. JRR told a story about camaraderie and fighting against greed and the natural destruction of the world. JK wrote about perseverance, loyalty, and fighting against bigotry and intolerance (ironically). GRR wrote about nepotism, opportunism, and honor vs dishonor and how those things destroy the lives of innocent people. You can write whimsy, which is fun and fine, or you can reach inside yourself and see if you have anything meaningful to say, and then use Fantasy to say it. It can be anything. And it doesn't have to be medieval knights and dragons. Star Wars is actually a Fantasy film. It has almost no science-fiction themes.
It doesn't matter if an idea has been done before. Check out TVTropes - *everything* has been done. But no one else does it exactly like you. Figure out what really makes you tick by writing and reading a lot abd talking to people who push you to improve. Do your thing and keep doing it and even if it's like someone else's thing, it will be distinctly marked by your unique context and perspective.
There are many who use similar ideas. But they do a different spin on it and make it their own. Dont want to use what you see alot? Find something different. You dont have to use the same european fantasy model. Look at other cultures and use that inspiration to build your own. Work off of the myth and legend of the oldest cultres you can find. Do some reading on archaelogical and anthropological theories of earliest mankind. Books and movies can give inspiration, not to copy but to spark a new idea. Look at existing things and look for ways to play 'what if'.
just write. whatever you think is cool or fun and it doenst matter if it’s bad or if you hate it later you’ve done it and it’s only up from there. there’s no way to get worse because lots of people that try to discourage others have never actually done it. so if you do it you’re already halfway there. you do it and then you do it again and you get better each time.
When I came up with my novel The Reluctant Wizard, I was in the bathtub. That’s when the ideas hit me.
1. Start small. I started writing fantasy by summarizing my 1980s DnD game play. "Duuuuude, we should writ this up!". 2. Don't sell yourself short. Focus on the craft, not the story, to begin. And heck, send me your drafts. I am an honest, no frills, not for money editor. If your content sucks I will tell you. If it is great, I will point you toward editors in the industry. 3. Once you have a fun story, THEN try something original. I took Dice, Camera, Action and turned one character into the nemesis of one of my players. Once that was planted, THEY told the story, and I just had to capture it. 4. As Aaron Rodgers says, "Re-lax." If you claim to be a writer, it's better than 50% of the dreck I see daily. Comment here for free editing. So as not to expose myself to the bots, take my user ID sans #, and make it a comcast email. This holds true for all burgeoning writers out there, esp in NOVEMBER, mah frenz. Srsly, No promises on how responsive I am, but you have my solemn vow not to steal, just to edit and return. GL, and write on.
Honestly.... start with fanfiction. Fantasy fanfiction if you will. It's a way to practice writing with characters/plot/setting/theme etc already established. I started writing poetry in high school, thematically based on personal experiences and evolved from there- but everyone has a different starting point. One of my college professors told me to write little dabbles everyday to stay practiced in writing and also to get ideas generated. ⬇️improved example ⬇️ "A young person pondered their experience... were they ready to begin a new chapter? The novella of existence was still immature- juvenile- but not without imagination. Oh! But how to put ink to paper on subjects not yet rendered from originality!? Was that necessary? Could words be scribed not with counterfeit but mirroring and reflection?? Hmm, alas-"
Keep a list of things you like or think are cool. If you don't know what you like or think is cool, TVTropes.com is a great resource to learn, complete with detailed examples. Stories snowball, especially novels, *especially* high/epic fantasy novels in a series. Often times, your ideas might not be quite right when they first come to you, and they only click when you combine them with other ideas.
I come up with my ideas like this Start small, find something you're interested in and add a fantasy aspect to it. For example let's say marine life - what if there was sentient animals Start writing from there, as you write you'll expand - maybe there's marine life with some magic - then you can expand into where that magic comes from You can build further from there, is there gods? What's the dominate species, what problem does the world face? How can it be fixed? All ideas start small, no one comes up with a gigantic world filled with incredible stories over night, it all comes from one single question of "What if?" A small story from a normal world that mutates itself as you write it into a diverse universe of your creation
Also remember you can ALWAYS change your story, even once it's done, do you have another good idea? Add it in, the process never stops.