{"id":26078,"date":"2022-02-25T16:41:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T16:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/?p=26078"},"modified":"2022-03-25T14:23:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T14:23:21","slug":"high-vs-low-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/high-vs-low-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"High Fantasy vs Low Fantasy: Everything You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Genre is a funny thing. It's the best way to classify the kind of story we're supposed to expect, but it's also this constantly shifting arrangement of tropes that people keep trying to use in new ways or subvert. Fantasy is all about dragons and magic and elves, right? Well, most modern fantasy stories like <em>A Game of Thrones <\/em>or <em>Shadow and Bone <\/em>omit several aspects of the classical fantasy genre that C.S. Lewis or Tolkien formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nicholas Eames did create a pretty typical fantasy setting for <em>Kings of the Wyld<\/em>, but it's all a bit tongue-in-cheek, taking every opportunity to make an 80's musical reference or crack a joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With so much change in the fantasy genre\u2014and so many different flavors of fantasy\u2014can we still define what high or low fantasy is anymore? <em>Yes<\/em>. Kind of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The collective understanding of high and low fantasy is messy. I think this is best exemplified by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tor.com\/2017\/02\/20\/ten-authors-on-the-hard-vs-soft-science-fiction-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Tor article<\/a> where they asked ten authors to define high and low science fiction (I know what you're thinking, but the concept of <em>high<\/em> and <em>low<\/em> speculative fiction applies to fantasy and sci-fi pretty much the same\u2014or at least that's what I'm going to argue so that I can refer to this article). Predictably, each author had different definitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can however extract some interesting ideas from it, notably that three things keep coming up here (and wherever else I look for an answer to this question of genres). A story's status as high or low fantasy is often bound to three major things: its setting, scale, and the characters\u2019 morals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"toc\">\nIn this article, you will learn:\n<ol>\n<li>What High and Low Fantasy are<\/li>\n<li>Examples of High and Low Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>How to craft a High or Low fantasy world<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>Table of contents<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-what-is-high-fantasy\" data-level=\"2\">What is High Fantasy?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-what-is-low-fantasy\" data-level=\"2\">What is Low Fantasy?<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#h-examples-of-low-fantasy\" data-level=\"3\">Examples of Low Fantasy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-worldbuilding\" data-level=\"2\">Worldbuilding<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#h-the-people-and-creatures\" data-level=\"3\">The People and Creatures<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-magic-systems\" data-level=\"3\">Magic Systems<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-logic-and-whimsey\" data-level=\"3\">Logic and Whimsey<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-internal-consistency\" data-level=\"3\">Internal Consistency<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-your-story-s-scale\" data-level=\"2\">Your Story\u2019s Scale<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-the-morality-of-characters\" data-level=\"2\">The Morality of Characters<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#h-morality-is-a-spectrum\" data-level=\"3\">Morality is a Spectrum<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-what-should-my-story-be\" data-level=\"2\">What Should My Story Be?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-high-fantasy\"><strong>What is High Fantasy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we get into the various parts of what makes up high or low fantasy, we should probably define what the heck those terms even mean. Let\u2019s start with high fantasy\u2014the least relatable of the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>High fantasy is defined by a secondary world<\/strong> in most definitions. Because of the way genre is nebulous (as we already discussed) it\u2019s hard to pin down an exact answer to this question\u2014but everyone seems to at least agree on this: high fantasy isn\u2019t set in our world. It\u2019s set in an alternate fictional world. That setting may have similarities to our own (sometimes it looks almost exactly the same at a glance) but there\u2019s always something that sets it apart. In <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> it\u2019s the history and geography and magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of High Fantasy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A few additional examples (some of whom we could argue have the exact same qualifications) include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><em>The Lord of the Rings <\/em>by J. R. R. Tolkien: You know what Tolkien\u2019s work is all about\u2014vast worlds with deep lore and forces of good who fight to thwart evil.<\/li><li><em>The Fifth Season <\/em>by N. K. Jemisin: Family tragedy occurs as an empire collapses\u2014all while a massive rift has torn across the world.<\/li><li><em>The Poppy War<\/em> by R. F. Kuang: Military fantasy with a dark and imaginative story based in part on our history.<\/li><li>And basically anything by Brandon Sanderson.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-low-fantasy\"><strong>What is Low Fantasy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Low fantasy is defined by fantastical events occurring in <\/strong><strong><em>our<\/em><\/strong><strong> world<\/strong>. Often that\u2019s a <em>Harry Potter<\/em> kind of result, where there\u2019s a magical element inserted into (or used in secret among)&nbsp; people\u2019s normal lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other than magic, another popular kind of low fantasy is adding some kind of godlike or supernatural figures into modern life. The show <em>Lucifer<\/em> put the devil in Los Angeles to solve crimes with the LAPD, and <em>Good Omens<\/em> showed an angel and devil team up to save the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes low fantasy is also considered a story in a secondary world\u2014much like high fantasy\u2014but grounded in more realism. That might mean the world is very familiar-looking, or the magic is more subtle, or something along these lines. When an author goes along this route you end up with something more akin to <em>A Game of Thrones<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-social-warfare-click-to-tweet social-warfare-admin-block\"><div class=\"sw-tweet-clear\"><\/div><a class=\"swp_CTT style1\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=With+so+much+change+in+the+fantasy+genre%E2%80%94and+so+many+different+flavors+of+fantasy%E2%80%94can+we+still+define+what+high+or+low+fantasy+is+anymore%3F+Yes.+Kind+of.&url=https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/high-vs-low-fantasy\/\" data-link=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=With+so+much+change+in+the+fantasy+genre%E2%80%94and+so+many+different+flavors+of+fantasy%E2%80%94can+we+still+define+what+high+or+low+fantasy+is+anymore%3F+Yes.+Kind+of.&url=https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/high-vs-low-fantasy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"sw-click-to-tweet\"><span class=\"sw-ctt-text\">With so much change in the fantasy genre\u2014and so many different flavors of fantasy\u2014can we still define what high or low fantasy is anymore? Yes. Kind of.<\/span><span class=\"sw-ctt-btn\">Click To Tweet<i class=\"sw swp_twitter_icon\"><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s right\u2014I\u2019m citing it as both high and low fantasy. I don\u2019t really know where it goes, if I\u2019m being honest, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019m alone in that. A quick glance at Goodreads and we can see that the first book in Martin\u2019s series is listed both as high and low fantasy. People seem to think it leans more toward high fantasy (probably because of the secondary world setting and all the dragons) but it\u2019s not exactly clear because the magic is subdued and the world is pretty familiar-looking to us. I mean, the original inception of the series was going to be a historical fiction tale based on England\u2019s War of the Roses: a conflict mainly between the Lancasters and Yorks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there\u2019s any takeaway from all this, it's that the genre is complicated. However, we can still gain something from discussing some of the expectations people have for high and low fantasy\u2014and the components that make them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-examples-of-low-fantasy\">Examples of Low Fantasy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you must adhere to the bounds of genre, though, here\u2019s a few more examples of stories that feature excellent low fantasy settings and themes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><em>A Darker Shade of Magic<\/em> by V. E. Schwab: Magicians run around the city of London, and multiple worlds are at risk.<\/li><li><em>American Gods <\/em>by Neil Gaiman: Set in the modern day United States, Gaiman imagines a world in which the Gods walk among us.&nbsp;<\/li><li><em>Good Omens <\/em>by terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: As armageddon approaches in a small UK town, an angel and demon attempt to prevent war\u2014and find the missing antichrist.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-worldbuilding\"><strong>Worldbuilding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>[In high\/hard fiction] the story becomes not one of plot or character or setting\u2014although ideally those are present as well\u2014but a story in which the action is broken down into a series of technical problems to be solved.<\/p><cite>\u2014Walter Jon Williams from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tor.com\/2017\/02\/20\/ten-authors-on-the-hard-vs-soft-science-fiction-debate\/\">Tor<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In everyone's discussion of high or low fantasy (or hard\/soft sci-fi in Williams\u2019 case) there's this element of the <strong>character vs the setting<\/strong>, with one taking priority over the other always. Of course, <em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em> is a story about a group of soldiers and hobbits who found this one magical ring, but a large part of the story is dependent on the worldbuilding. The longer you spend in Middle-Earth, the more you'll uncover and appreciate Tolkien's writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps a better example is <em>Star Trek<\/em>, which has a consistent cast, but puts much of the emphasis on exploring the universe\u2014on exploring a complex world that is not our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, low fantasy is more well known for <em>grounded<\/em> settings. Ones that we can relate to more easily. Westeros, from <em>A Game of Thrones<\/em>, is a great example of a fictional setting that's still a secondary world, but very similar to our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can get even more grounded than that, though. Many authors are reimagining Earth. <em>A Darker Shade of Magic<\/em> takes place in (one version of) London, <em>Harry Potter<\/em> takes place in some hidden corner of England, and the Shannara series is set in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n<section class=\"standard-cta testimonial\" id=\"cta-block_60a2bbb51823c\">\r\n    <div class=\"cta-inner row\">\r\n                    <div class=\"cta-media col-md-4\">\r\n                                    <div class=\"cta-media-inner\">\r\n                    \r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/click\/Atticus\" alt=\"Check It Out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">                        \r\n                                                    <i class=\"fa fa-play\"><\/i>\r\n                        \r\n                                                    <div class=\"img-overlay\"><\/div>\r\n                        \r\n                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Atticus.png\" alt=\"Atticus - the #1 Book Writing and Formatting Software used by thousands of authors.\" height=\"1384\" width=\"2210\">\r\n                        \r\n                        <\/a>                    <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n        \r\n        <div class=\"cta-body col-md-8\" style=\"text-align:center;\">  \r\n                            <a class=\"cta-heading\" href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/click\/Atticus\" alt=\"Check It Out\">\r\n                            <h3> Format Beautiful Professional Books<\/h3>\r\n                            <\/a>\r\n                        \r\n            <p>Easy to use, and and full of amazing features, you can quickly turn your book into a professional book.<\/p>\n            <a class=\"offer-button\" href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/click\/Atticus\" alt=\"Check It Out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">Check It Out<\/a>        <\/div>\r\n\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-people-and-creatures\"><strong>The People and Creatures<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the topic of worldbuilding in these sub-genres of fantasy and sci-fi, there's often discussion of how people and creatures are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Often, high fantasy will indulge in all manner of monsters and non-humans<\/strong> (<em>The Witcher<\/em>, anyone?). We might find intelligent dragons like in <em>The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim<\/em>, or fight armies of orcs like in <em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. There\u2019s often a thread through high fantasy that we\u2019re in a place totally unfamiliar to us, surrounded by new (usually dangerous) things. The people practice unusual cultural rites and the beasts are not always feral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The typical low fantasy story will be more human-centric<\/strong>\u2014with fewer literal monsters that go bump in the night. The focus is typically on more familiar things. Attention goes toward humans and creatures we already know\u2014and where anything not of Earth does exist, the beasts are typically more animalistic; the people more humanoid than their high fantasy counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-magic-systems\"><strong>Magic Systems<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The way a magic system works (or, rather the way it is explained) can also be highly telling as to the nature of the story\u2019s genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A very well explained system may indicate that it's high fantasy<\/strong>. Sanderson's work in <em>Mistborn<\/em> certainly is. There are charts and long guides about how each part of the magic system works\u2014and there's a lot of parts to Sanderson's magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Low fiction magic systems tend to be looser<\/strong>, like the kind we see in <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> or <em>A Game of Thrones<\/em>. We know magic exists in those worlds. Sometimes we see it being used. But the average reader isn't supposed to understand exactly how it works. It\u2019s supposed to feel magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference is that we are meant to understand most magic systems in high fantasy\u2014most technology in hard sci-fi. In low fiction we need to know a bit about what it can do, but even that is a stretch sometimes. <em>How<\/em> Gandalf returned after his fight was not as important as the fact that he <em>did<\/em> it. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campfirewriting.com\/learn\/how-to-choose-between-a-hard-or-soft-magic-system\">When choosing a hard or soft magic system<\/a>, the most important thing to keep in mind is how you want the audience to feel when they encounter it, and what strengthens your story the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, an author may reveal over time how magic works. In the <em>Powder Mage<\/em> trilogy, McClellan doesn\u2019t really spend much time explaining the magic of the <em>Privileged<\/em> for a long time. However, when a point-of-view character develops magical powers, they are educated in how it works\u2014and we see some of that, learning about the mechanics of the magic by proxy. It took a long time to get there, though, and up until that lesson all we needed to know about the privileged was how to defeat them since most of them were working for the baddies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-logic-and-whimsey\"><strong>Logic and Whimsey<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I'd like to take a break for just a moment to take a look at some of Hayao Miyazaki's thoughts on writing. A lot of worldbuilding lies in observing our world and reimagining it\u2014considering culture, technology, history, and writing your own version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Miyazaki seems to reject that idea slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cYou can't make a film with logic. Or if you look at it differently, everybody can make a film with logic. But my way is to not use logic. I try to dig deep into the well of my subconscious. At a certain moment in that process, the lid is opened and very different ideas and visions are liberated.\u201d<\/p><cite>\u2014Hayao Miyazaki, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteye.com\/interviews\/hayao-miyazaki\/\">Midnight Eye Interview<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to include this because we've spent a lot of time trying to <em>understand<\/em> worldbuilding\u2014but sometimes you just need to <em>feel<\/em> it. Not everything needs to have a reason. <em>The rule of cool<\/em> (sometimes you just need to add things you think are fun) exists. Sometimes things should be a part of your story just because they feel like they should be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tim Hickson (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCFQMO-YL87u-6Rt8hIVsRjA\">Hello Future Me<\/a>) raises an interesting point in that this sense of wonder is part of why the <em>Harry Potter<\/em> series was so much fun. It may also help explain why so many of author J.K. Rowling's <em>clarifications<\/em> have been off-putting to many fans. <em>Harry Potter<\/em> was supposed to be exciting and whimsical, and it was! But explaining the whimsy can weaken its impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-internal-consistency\"><strong>Internal Consistency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you're writing a high or low fantasy story, <em>internal consistency<\/em> is probably the most important factor when creating a setting for your story. The different parts of your setting should be consistent with one another, and more-or-less work together. Exceptions may apply, but they'll stick out, so it's important to have a reason for those exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-story-s-scale\"><strong>Your Story\u2019s Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The scope of a story is also a good indicator of its genre. This includes factors such as what the stakes are, how far the main characters travel, and what kinds of problems everyone's dealing with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>High fantasy tends to involve high stakes<\/strong>\u2014usually <em>really<\/em> high stakes. This is where we tend to get those stories about nearly world-ending events that a certain <em>chosen one<\/em> has to stop, or villains who want to take over the world because&#8230;that's just what they feel like doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is also where you tend to find characters who travel all across the world (or realm, galaxy, etc.) on a journey. <em>Lord of The Rings<\/em> has this in a very literal sense. <em>Star Trek<\/em> remains the perfect sci-fi example of massive scale as the crew of the Enterprise meanders around from planet to planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Low fantasy tends to be more relatable<\/strong>. This may not always be as initially exciting, depending on your taste, but I think it's safe to say we can all relate better to a sense of loss or territorial dispute than an evil monarch. Remember, these stories tend to be more character-focused, so these smaller scale stakes allow for more personal reflection and a closer connection to the characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It's worth noting that <em>Kings of the Wyld<\/em> kind of did both. The story follows a reunited band of monster-hunters who are going to Castia to rescue Gabe\u2019s\u2014a member of the band\u2014daughter. The stakes heighten quickly as we learn about the dire situation she is in, but the goal throughout the story is always to rescue this one person who is very dear to the band. Even though it does escalate quite a lot by the end. Had they failed, the world definitely would have been taken over by an evil-ish overlord and his monsters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-morality-of-characters\"><strong>The Morality of Characters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of villains who want to take over the world, let\u2019s talk about character morals! You know the kind of person\u2014the fellow cloaked in shadows (because they're just <em>that<\/em> evil) who believes everybody and everything should be under their boot heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Characters in high fantasy tend to have black-and-white morals<\/strong>, or at least it tends to look that way on the surface. In <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> we generally know that the hobbits, humans, and elves are <em>good<\/em> while the orcs and wraiths are generally <em>bad<\/em>. There's a clear line drawn between forces of light and darkness, sometimes a very literal one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, in the <em>Wheel of Time<\/em> the main villain is literally called \u201cThe Dark One.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The modern trend has moved toward gray morality<\/strong>, especially in low fantasy settings. We can find this in <em>A Game of Thrones<\/em>, where even though the Lannisters are clearly the main villains of the story, even they have reasons for their actions that we can relate to. Tywin is ruthless for the sake of his family. Eddard is noble, but na\u00efve and willing to compromise his own beliefs\u2014again for the sake of his family. They have motives that we can relate to, even if we don\u2019t support all their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also a point to be said that even in a world of black-and-white morals, not all characters will subscribe to that notion. Hayao Miyazaki explored this a bit with <em>Princess Mononoke<\/em>. With the Gods and Irontown on the verge of war, Ashitaka is compelled to pursue compromise and peace between them\u2014finding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campfirewriting.com\/learn\/third-way-conflict-resolution-avatar-studio-ghibli\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a way to resolve conflict that doesn\u2019t involve fighting or fleeing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-morality-is-a-spectrum\"><strong>Morality is a Spectrum<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There's not a switch somewhere that you turn on for strict or gray morals. Every character exists somewhere on a spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is something <em>Into the Woods <\/em>explores, a play that considers the actions of heroes from fairy tales more critically. Although Jack (his character inspired by <em>Jack and the Beanstalk<\/em>) is the protagonist\u2014he and his friends realize that things aren't as clear as they originally seemed. After all, Jack killed somebody, and they have to reckon with that. It's a wonderful re-examination of a classic fairytale story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201c\u200b\u200bWitches can be right, giants can be good.<br>You decide what's right, you decide what's good.<br>Someone is on your side.<br>Someone else is not.<br>While we're seeing our side<br>Maybe we forgot: they are not alone.<br>No one is alone.\u201d<\/p><cite>\u2014Lyrics from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5xaxP_kErTU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cNo One is Alone\u201d<\/a> in <em>Into the Woods<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-should-my-story-be\"><strong>What Should My Story Be?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the obvious question you came here to have answered (probably), but the fact is there <em>isn\u2019t<\/em> a clear answer. Everybody's story is going to be a bit different. Morality isn't the only thing that exists on a spectrum. You could have a story that's pretty low stakes in a setting that's grandiose, or characters with gray morals facing world-threatening villains. These are all just trends\u2014and by their very nature trends are not meant to be used as rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, if you want to make your story feel more like high or low fantasy, understanding some audience expectations might be what you need to push it in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The definitions are messy. Genre is always shifting with the times. Neither high or low fantasy looks quite the same as it used to in Tolkien's day\u2014and the fantasy then looked nothing like the fairy tales that inspired it. The genres will continue to change in the years to come. All that's left for you to do is keep reading or watching fantasy to see what others are doing in the space, and make the decisions that best fit <em>your story<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks for checking out this overview of high and low fantasy genres! If you\u2019d like to see more like this, check out the other <a href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/book-writing\/\">articles on book writing here<\/a>, or visit our friends at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campfirewriting.com\/learn\">Campfire Learn<\/a>, a blog filled with interviews, articles, video essays, and community spotlights. While you\u2019re there, give <a href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/click\/campfire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Campfire<\/a> a try (see <a href=\"https:\/\/kindlepreneur.com\/campfire-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kindlepreneur's review here<\/a>)! It\u2019s an organizational tool for writers that has a free version so you can try everything before you buy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not sure what the difference is between high and low fantasy? Learn all about both and how to create your own high\/low fantasy world here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[3870],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>High Fantasy vs Low Fantasy: Everything You Need to Know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not sure what the difference is between high and low fantasy? 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