Dan Birk Author

We've now covered setting, tone, and scope. I'll talk about the fourth and final factor, magical integration, tomorrow.

As with setting and tone, scope is a spectrum. A story can take place almost entirely within a single house, or even in one person's mind. Or the story can span eons.

By contrast, in low fantasy, the stakes and conflict are more personal and local. In Ninth House, for example, the story never really leaves Yale, and the stakes are personal to Alex, her friends, and the victims of injustice on campus.

But high fantasy usually involves epic clashes of good vs. evil on vast scales. In The Stormlight Archive, the characters fight to prevent the return of ancient enemies that would destroy global civilization. In The Poppy War, Rin's quest has consequences for the entire empire.

Scope refers to the stakes of the story and the nature of the conflict. High fantasy is about separation from the reader's ordinary reality. For most readers, everyday reality is personal and local. Most of our decisions don't have globe-spanning or earth-shaking consequences.

The third factor in what makes a work high fantasy or low fantasy, after setting and tone, is scope. What do I mean by scope, and how do high and low fantasy differ in scope?

But setting and tone don't cover the waterfront. There's also scope and magical integration. I'll talk about scope tomorrow.

The point of the graph I posted at the start is that one can measure how "high" or "low" a work of fantasy is along multiple axes, since multiple factors affect how much separation a reader will feel from their ordinary reality. Here's a blank chart for your own use.

Tone also can change over the course of a series. Think Harry Potter, which can be almost whimsical at the outset but gradually becomes more serious in later novels.

Or think about the use of genre conventions, such as romance in A Court of Thorns and Roses, or police procedural in Rivers of London. This can change the feel significantly. A noir-style story about an orc detective at Barad-Dur, for instance, would have a very different feel than The Two Towers.

But tone is more than style. Think of the grit and subversion of fantasy expectations in A Song of Ice and Fire or (even more so) Joe Abercrombie's terrific First Law series. Or think of Mat Cauthon's irreverence in Wheel of Time.

High fantasy style can be lyrical, literary, philosophical, mythic, archaic. Low fantasy style can be satirical, vulgar, vernacular, contemporary.

By contrast, a more casual, conversational, or even humorous tone can lessen separation and make a work feel more like "low" fantasy, even if it's set in a secondary world. Think of the Discworld novels, which take place in an even more secondary world than Middle Earth.

A formal, elevated tone provides more separation from the reader's ordinary reality and thus takes a work more in the "high" fantasy direction. Think of the almost Shakespearean grandeur of some of the language in Lord of the Rings.

Yesterday, I posted about setting in high and low fantasy. Today, let's talk about tone...

Totally, but it's essentially a secondary world. Tolkien said LotR was set on the Earth of an earlier age, but it's also essentially a secondary world. As I note below, the fictional link to earth lessens the feeling of separation. WoT and LotR would be "9s" on a 10-point setting scale.

But again, setting is only one of the dimensions by which we can measure separation. I'll talk about the rest in another post.

By contrast, claims that the story world, while apparently secondary, is actually a primogenitor (LOTR) or future version of our world (Shannara) lessen separation.

The presence of non-human races (LOTR) or magical creatures (Harry Potter) also create separation. Portal fantasies (The Magicians) fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, depending on how much of the story takes place on earth and how much in the other realm.

But there are gradations. Historical settings (Jonathan Strange) are more removed from the reader's everyday experience than present-day ones. Mythical settings on Earth (say, Arthurian Britain) are more removed than verifiable historical milieus (Han China).

Let's start with setting. How similar is the story world to the reader's ordinary world? The Dresden Files (present-day Chicago) are on one end of the spectrum, while The Wheel of Time (completely secondary world) is on the other.

High vs. low fantasy comes down to the degree of separation between the fantasy work and the reader's ordinary experience. There are four central dimensions on which that separation takes place: Setting, Tone, Scope, and Magical Integration.

There's been some discussion recently about the difference between "high" fantasy and "low" fantasy. CW is that low fantasy takes place on earth and high fantasy takes place in a different world. But that's an oversimplification.

Howl's Moving Castle X Lemony Snicket
📚☕️ A cosy, magical middle-grade adventure:
The Amazing, Travelling ZOOLINGUISTORIUM #PosterPit #PosterPitW #MG #F #Whimsical #Adventure

Thanks! Notre Dame’s been put through enough lately…

The Genesis Clock, YA historical romantasy. A cryptographer must time travel to reverse her ruined reputation and regain the fiancé she lost—but when her path collides with a handsome time-traveler, she wonders if finding love in her past is worth the risk.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE x THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR

Cryptographer Georgiana must time travel to reverse her ruined reputation and regain the fiancé she lost—but when she meets time-traveler Joshua, she wonders if finding love in the past is worth the risk.

#YA #F #HF #PosterPitQ #PosterPit

SE7EN x THE WAILING x GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO x INCANTATION

A Hongkonger Taoist demon and a British Christian exorcist hunt a ghostly killer inspired by Buddhism’s five poisons.

#PosterPitW #PosterPit #H #A 💙📚 #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #horror #agentsguide #asian #writing #OwnVoices

Picture is a movie poster for the book “Mark of a Magpie.” In the background is a ship sailing across open waters, with two magpies flying at each other above it. Between the two birds is the title, “Mark of a Magpie.” At the top of the poster, there are four tropes and themes that read: Thief x Assassin, Forced Proximity, Morally Gray, and Women’s Wrongs. The very bottom of the poster reads, “A Young Adult Fantasy by Emilia Young.”

A poster for “Mark of a Magpie”! 📖🐦‍⬛

When a small-town thief crosses paths with the kingdom’s big-shot assassin, an unlikely partnership is born; but can their goals align before their egos and secrets land them both a spot on the gallows?

#Q #YA #NA #F #R #Dis
#PosterPitQ #PosterPit #amquerying

A mock-up movie poster for my YA fantasy novel, THE PIRATE, THE PRINCESS, AND JOHN. This poster features a digital illustration of a dark blue wave carrying a tall galleon past a castle. Beneath the waves, a mermaid is subtly silhouetted above a lush coral reef. A lone bird flies above the ship, both silhouetted against the rising sun. The poster contains the following text: TOP: Amir (the pirate), Mira (the princess), John (for now*); * written in the colors of the trans pride flag. A SHIP IN HARBOR IS SAFE BUT THAT ISN’T WHAT SHIPS ARE BUILT FOR. Middle: THE PIRATE, THE PRINCESS, AND JOHN Bottom: YA FANTASY. 82K. MULTI-POV. ANTI-COLONIAL NON-WESTERN. POLITICAL INTRIGUE. BESTIES TO LOVERS. FOUND FAMILY. PLATONIC TOUCH HER AND DIE. STRONG GIRLS. BIG FEELINGS. SHARP PROSE. DIVERSE. QUEER. MAGICAL

Coming to query inboxes July 2025 🏴‍☠️👑🧜🏿‍♀️

#posterpit #posterpitw #YA #F #LGBT #amediting

A movie poster that displays the image of a sailboat beneath the reflection of the night sky. This is to showcase my novel “Whispers of the Sea.” Across the top can be found a list of what to expect in the novel. The list includes: epic adventure, forced proximity, earth magic, and Hawaiian influences. At the bottom of the poster is a summary that reads: “Jasad Heir meets the Starless Sea in this young adult fantasy following a teen girl who embarks on a journey to uncover the whereabouts of her missing uncle. Maia must unravel a lifetime worth of secrets to understand the dangers that lurk around every corner—and she must do so before it’s too late.”

An introduction to my Hawaiian-inspired, young adult fantasy.

“Maia must unravel a lifetime worth of secrets to understand the dangers that lurk around the corner—and she must do so before it’s too late.”

#PosterPit #PosterPitW #YA #F #OwnVoices