The word fantasy often brings to mind stories of a magical world where dragons, heroes, and incredible lands are filled with danger at every turn. The reality is that writing fantasy is much more than that.

A fantasy world is a world where anything can happen. The magic is real and it works. The heroes save the damsels in distress. Even mythical creatures can be found wandering around. This is just the tip of the fantasy iceberg.

There are many sub-genres that the fantasy writer can use to craft their story and take their work down a whole new path – a path into a whole new world. These are some of the most popular subgenres.

fantasy subgenres

heroic fantasy – The hero is strong and skillful in fighting. The lady is beautiful and in distress. The villain is powerful and can only be defeated by the hero, all others will fail. Mystical creatures abound and magic is a part of everyday life. Often this subgenre has a medieval quality.

epic fantasy – In this subgenre the hero is an ordinary person thrown into an extraordinary situation. He or she must complete their task or his world is in danger of being changed forever or even destroyed. While they often have the help of people who can stand up for them, they usually end up on their own to finish their quest. This tale has many characters, both for and against the hero, and a large and dangerous world.

high fantasy – This is the kind of fantasy that the casual reader hopes to read. This story will have lords and ladies, kingdoms and castles, and dragons and knights. A true medieval story.

Magical realism – Magic is a way of life in this subgenre. Wizards and sorcerers are as common as blacksmiths. Magic is used, but always at some cost. This can be used alone or as part of another subgenre to add an extra dimension to the character’s plight.

dark fantasy – This subgenre is harder and more nightmarish than regular fantasy. Demons and evil mystical creatures run crawling. The hero must face numerous creatures sent by the villain to destroy him.

sword and sorcery – Adventure stories with a medieval touch highlight this subgenre. The amateur swordsman hero must defeat the evil villain to save humanity and the woman he loves.

modern fantasy – These are tales of power and magic set in modern times. The hero can be a fighter from the present or a warrior from the past brought here to fight evil.

comic fantasy – They can be parodies of serious fantastic tales, or fantastic tales told with humor.

Any of these subgenres can be combined to create a unique and fun fantasy story. It just depends on what you, the writer, want to do with your story idea.

Writing fantasy means knowing your genre well and following the rules without getting caught up in them. As a fantasy writer, you want to spark not only your reader’s imagination, but your own as well.