Books: The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference

The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference
My Verdict: Skim It

If you've ever wondered how to start researching a fantasy novel that you want to set in the medieval ages then The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth And Magic from the editors of Writer's Digest Books is a good place to start. If you are not concerned about politics, clothing, and creatures from the Medieval and Middle Ages, don't bother reading this book. This collection of essays is meant to give you a historical approach to accurate settings for fantasy writers.

This reference book focuses on Europe, but Chapter 2 takes a brief world tour of other cultures that might inspire your own story (one culture per continent). 

Most of the book is bulleted with lists of professions, titles, clothing, anatomy of a castle and much more. If you are planning to use the right names for such details, this will be an indispensable book.

Personally, I feel you can skim or skip Chapters: 3, 4, 6, and 7. 

• Chapters 3 & 4 record the pagan magics in a very dry format. They don't evoke the wonder of using magic, instead they state historically when and where certain cults and societies developed. 
• Chapters 6 & 7 list different races of creatures (ones that obtained societies and civilizations) and monster creatures (horrors to be defeated or understood). If you are unfamiliar with fantasy, the chapters will be helpful. If you've grown up reading fantasy, you will find the lists too short (there are entire dictionaries of fantastical beasts and their origins).

If you'd enjoy a history textbook trimmed down to the essentials for historical world building, this book is for you (and I'd bump the rating up to Read It). It was published in 1998, but is still a good place to start your research because it explains so many terms.

Homework: decide how detailed you want your story to be. Will it be filled with lots of attention to detailing proper names for everything or only a few details sprinkled in to make it faster paced? (Always think back to the audience you are writing for: if you need more than one page to define new terms to the reader you are writing for a smaller more specific audience [perhaps people who have studied or previously enjoyed reading about Ancient Egypt].)


Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother