Chapter 1: A Hero’s Quest, a Writer’s Journey.

How to Use This Book.

An Adventure in Fantasy.

Genres of Fantasy.

Epic, High, or Heroic Fantasy.

Adventure Fantasy.

Dark Fantasy.

Fairy Tales.

Magical Realism.

Magic.

The Hidden Force.

Magic’s Moral Component.

Magical Words.

Magical Tools.

Practitioners of Magic.

Chapter 2: Threading the Theme.

Thinking About the Theme.

Understanding Basic Themes.

Theme Thread: What Do You Have to Say?

Additional Theme Threads.

Chapter 3: Forming the Fantasyland.

The Fertile Crescent, from Book Two in The Taylor Thomas Trilogy: The Rock of Jerusalem, by Mr. Gust.

Map-Making Assignment.

Map-Making Prompt.

Forming the Land.

Character Domains.

Determining the Terrain.

Villages and Places.

Embellishing the Map.

Chapter 4: Setting the Surroundings.

Riding Horseback Through a Storm on the Grasslands, from Eragon, by Christopher Paolini.

Landing in a Valley near the Great River, from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, by C. S. Lewis.

Daybreak on a Mountain and in a Meadow at Noon, from The Temple of Light, by Mr. Gust.

The Travelogue Assignment.

Travelogue Prompt.

Travelogue Guiding Outline.

Travelogue Rubric.

Travelogue Reader Response.

Using Sensory Words.

Creating Sensory Phrases.

Setting the Mood.

Traveling the Transition Trail.

Keeping the Action Moving.

Setting Description Practice.

Chapter 5: Crafting the Characters.

Contrasting Gandalf and Bilbo in The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Introducing Zanadar from The Temple of Light, by Mr. Gust.

Crafting a Cast of Characters Assignment.

Character Description Prompt.

Character Description Guiding Outline.

Character Description Rubric.

Character Description Reader Response.

Types of Characters.

Fantasy Characters and Creatures.

Character Illustrations.

Naming Characters.

Character Qualities.

Character Description Graphic Organizer.

Personality Traits.

Character Actions: How Do They Move?

Character History.

Character Voices.

Theme Thread: Contrasting Characters.

Chapter 6: Plotting the Path.

James Henry Trotter's Trip Across the Atlantic, in James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl.

Taylor Thomas's Trip Around the Fertile Crescent, in The Rock of Jerusalem, by Mr. Gust.

Plot Line Assignment.

Plot Line Prompt.

Plot Line Rubric.

Plot Line Listener Response.

The Linear Path.

Linear Plot Line Graphic Organizer.

Mission in Motion: The Complication.

The Circular Path.

Theme Thread: Traveling Inward.

Theme Thread: The Resolution.

Chapter 7: Wording the Wonders.

Before Beginning.

Point of View.

Transitions and Transitions of Time.

Story Showing.

Show, Don’t Tell: What Did They Do?

Can You Fantasize? Prove It. Show It!

Dynamic Dialogue.

Speaker Tags.

Tagging Your Speakers.

Quotations and Indents.

Say Do . . . Do Say . . . Say Do Say . . . Talk and Feel . . . Think and Talk.

Figurative Language.

Personifi cation.

Similes.

Be a Master of Metaphor.

The Sounds of Words.

How About a Little Alliteration?

The Land of Assonance.

Whack! Bang! Ping! Onomatopoeia.

Chapter 8: Sketching the Scene.

On Camazotz, in A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle.

In the Subterranean City Telos, in The Temple of Light, by Mr. Gust.

Sketching the Scene Assignment.

Get the Whiteout Out!

Scene Sketch.

Scene Summary.

Scene Summary Rubric.

Chapter 9: Starting the Story.

Starting the Story Assignment.

Chapter 10: Trimming the Tale.

Writers’ Workshop.

Readers Respond.

Conferencing and Connecting with Students.

Revising.

The Mechanics of Revision.

Proofreading.

Chapter 11: Booking the Boon.

Booking the Boon Workshop.

Bookmaking.

Bibliography.

Index.