Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series
Master the architecture of high and low fantasy, from the gritty political webs of Westeros to the whimsical environmental storytelling of Albion. Learn to weave multi-book arcs, subvert ancient tropes, and build worlds that feel lived-in and legendary.
Like Duolingo, but for Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
57 levels across 8 sections, about 114 minutes end to end, roughly 23 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Hook and the Subversion, Character Architecture, Dialogue and Social Dynamics, World-Building: The Living Setting, Conflict and Stakes, Tropes and Cliches, Plotting the Epic, and The Craft of the Series.
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Key ideas in Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series
- Reluctant heroism in high fantasy stems from the protagonist viewing the prophecy as a loss of autonomy rather than a gain in power
- A red herring prophecy functions by leading the antagonist (and reader) to focus on a specific ritual or weapon while the hero develops a separate, mundane solution
- The narrative tension should shift from 'will they win' to 'what part of their humanity will they sacrifice to fulfill the role'
- Internal conflict is heightened when the protagonist actively attempts to fail the prophecy to save their personal relationships
- True agency is demonstrated when the protagonist ignores the 'destined' path to solve the conflict through their established character growth
- The Call to Adventure should force a character to abandon a non-heroic ambition
- Destiny creates a logic break where survival instinct is overridden
- Applying the Chosen One as a burden to character motivation
- The cost is felt most when original life goals are permanently unreachable
- Fate is an external magical force; Circumstance is the intersection of history and situation
- Using prophecy as a red herring for character agency
- Grounding a hero in Circumstance makes success feel earned
- The False Chosen One must be established as the 'perfect' candidate to set a high bar for success
- Identifying the cost of destiny on character logic
- The actual protagonist must operate in the shadow of the False Chosen One to build resentment or feelings of inadequacy
- Differentiating between Fate and Circumstance
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Imagine a prophecy speaks of a 'Sun-Blade' that will end the Dark Lord. How do you use this as a red herring to subvert expectations?
Get it right to open this lesson and 56 more in the app.
Where Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series takes you
- 1
The Hook and the Subversion
- Subverting the Chosen One
- Grounding the Fantastic
- 2
Character Architecture
- The Reluctant Hero's Evolution
- The Sympathetic Antagonist
- Moral Alignment and Agency
- 3
Dialogue and Social Dynamics
- Period-Authentic Modern Dialogue
- Banter and Group Dynamics
- 4
World-Building: The Living Setting
- Environmental Storytelling
- Deep Lore as a Plot Driver
- Magic Systems and Constraints
- 5
Conflict and Stakes
- Political Machinations
- Natural vs. Forced Conflict
- 6
Tropes and Cliches
- Reclaiming the Quest
- The Hidden World Trope
- 7
Plotting the Epic
- The Multi-POV Tapestry
- Pacing the Middle of the Epic
- 8
The Craft of the Series
- Series Arc vs. Book Arc
- Mastering the Cliffhanger
- The Grand Finale
8 sections · 19 units · 57 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series is taught in the Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Crafting the Epic Fantasy Series today.
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