Five Common Mistakes in Fantasy Story Submissions
Fantasy gives writers room to invent impossible cities, ancient powers, strange creatures, and entirely new rules of reality. That freedom can make a short story vivid, but it can also tempt a writer to include every idea at once. Editors and contest judges still need a focused narrative with a clear emotional centre.
The strongest fantasy submissions usually make their imaginative elements feel purposeful. Magic, mythology, and worldbuilding should deepen the characters’ problems rather than distract from them. A polished manuscript also shows that the writer understands the needs of a short-fiction magazine: limited space, immediate engagement, and a satisfying ending.
Avoiding common errors does not mean making a story predictable or conventional. It means giving unusual ideas the structure and clarity they need to reach readers. These five mistakes are especially important when preparing a fantasy story for publication or a themed writing contest.
Starting with a glossary instead of a story
A frequent problem in fantasy submissions is opening with several paragraphs of history, geography, royal succession, or magical terminology. The writer may understand the world perfectly, but the reader has not yet been given a reason to care about it. Background information becomes far more effective once it is connected to a character facing an immediate difficulty.
Begin with movement, danger, a decision, or a striking change in ordinary life. A courier might discover that the message in their keeping is alive. A village healer may have to choose which of two patients receives the last dose of enchanted medicine. These situations introduce the setting through action, allowing the reader to learn naturally.
Short stories have little room for lengthy orientation. Study how published fiction reveals its world in controlled fragments, as in I stopped breathing yesterday, where the central premise gains power through narrative focus rather than an extended information dump.
Let the worldbuilding serve the plot
Inventive settings are valuable, but fantasy fiction can lose momentum when its rules exist only to demonstrate creativity. A submission may contain elaborate systems of spellcraft, detailed maps, or multiple invented cultures, yet still lack a meaningful conflict. Every major worldbuilding choice should affect what the protagonist wants, fears, or can do.
Before including a piece of lore, ask what work it performs. Does it create an obstacle, reveal a secret, change a relationship, or force a difficult choice? If removing the detail would make no difference to the story, it may belong in a separate document—or nowhere at all.
Magic also needs boundaries. A power without a cost or limitation can remove suspense because it allows characters to solve any problem conveniently. The rules do not need to be explained like a textbook, but the consequences should be consistent enough for readers to understand the stakes.
Giving characters spectacle without agency
Another common mistake is building a fascinating setting around passive characters. The protagonist may travel through haunted forests, witness a war between immortals, or encounter a magnificent creature, but simply react to events. Description and spectacle cannot replace character-driven storytelling.
Give the central figure a desire that matters personally. They might want to protect a sibling, escape an inherited role, recover a stolen name, or prove that a forbidden tradition is not evil. Then place that desire in conflict with another value. A compelling fantasy protagonist must choose between outcomes, not merely wait for the plot to reveal itself.
Secondary characters should have purposes beyond explaining the world or assisting the hero. A rival, mentor, companion, or antagonist becomes memorable when they want something independently. Their choices should complicate the protagonist’s path and make the final decision more costly.
Ending with a twist that changes nothing
A surprise ending can be effective, but a twist is not automatically a satisfying conclusion. Some fantasy submissions reveal that a character was secretly royal, dead, enchanted, or a mythical being, yet the discovery has little emotional or practical effect. The reader may be surprised for a moment and then feel that the story has stopped rather than ended.
A strong ending grows from the choices established earlier. It may resolve the central conflict, transform the reader’s understanding of an earlier event, or leave a deliberate question about the future. Ambiguity works best when the emotional movement is complete, even if every plot detail is not explained.
| Submission concern | Warning sign | Stronger approach |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Several paragraphs of lore before the conflict | Start with a character in motion |
| Worldbuilding | Rules appear without affecting events | Tie each major rule to a cost or obstacle |
| Character | The protagonist mainly observes | Give them a difficult, consequential choice |
| Ending | A twist arrives without preparation | Build the reveal through earlier details |
| Presentation | Formatting and guidelines are overlooked | Proofread and check the publication brief |
A short story does not need to explain the entire history of its invented universe. It needs to deliver a meaningful experience within its chosen frame. Precision often makes an imaginary world feel larger because readers sense that more exists beyond the page.
Treat the submission as a professional document
Even an excellent manuscript can lose impact when it arrives with avoidable presentation problems. Missing contact details, inconsistent formatting, careless file names, excessive author notes, or an ignored word limit can make the submission seem unfinished. Editors are assessing the story, but they are also seeing how carefully the writer handles the publishing process.
Read the current guidelines before sending work to a magazine or contest. Check whether simultaneous submissions are allowed, whether a cover note is required, and what file format the publication accepts. Review the platform’s privacy policy when submitting personal information, and share only the details requested.
Use a clear title, readable formatting, and a final proofread. Spellcheck will not catch every misplaced word, repeated phrase, or confusing sentence, so read the manuscript aloud if possible. A clean presentation allows the imaginative qualities of the story to receive full attention.
A final submission check
Before submitting fantasy fiction, use a practical checklist that separates creative revision from administrative preparation:
- Confirm that the opening introduces a problem, desire, or disturbance quickly.
- Remove worldbuilding that does not influence character or plot.
- Check that the protagonist makes meaningful choices with consequences.
- Test whether the ending feels earned rather than merely surprising.
- Verify the word count, file format, guidelines, and contact information.
Leave time between finishing the draft and sending it. A short break can reveal pacing problems that were invisible during composition, especially in scenes crowded with invented names or unfamiliar concepts. Ask a trusted reader where they became confused, bored, or emotionally engaged, then revise with those responses in mind.
Fantasy readers are willing to enter unfamiliar worlds when the story gives them a clear path through them. Clarity does not reduce wonder; it helps wonder land with greater force. The best submissions balance imaginative scale with human urgency, creating fiction that feels both strange and recognisably alive.
Read the free magazines at Inspiring Fiction, review the current submission requirements, and send a carefully revised story that gives its magic a purpose. A focused manuscript can bring an emerging writer’s world to new readers—and place it in consideration for publication or recognition.