6*6 Fantasy Series — 3

Imagine you can be part of any fantasy universe

From Westeros to Narnia, you can choose any fantasy setting, movie, or novel

In praise of magic, wonder, fantasy, imagination, and adventure

There is not enough magic in our lives — and we humans crave magic all the time. Most of us live mundane and orderly lives. We feel stuck in our daily lives — trapped by obligations, routines, boredom, and work. It is in these moments that we yearn for more: Adventure, mystery, fantasy, fun, travel… Things that are immersive and magical. Things that will transport us to new realms. Experiences that will transform our hearts and minds. The following visual post describes these feelings brilliantly:

So, we are yearning for meaning, adventure, stories, and fantasy in our lives. This search is sometimes as intense as our need for food or water. We do not want to be trapped in a sense of boredom. Boredom is the worst — your brain immediately seeks a way out. How do we escape then? We are in constant need of dopamine. Dopamine comes from curiosity, novelty, learning, imagination, and new experiences.

One of the best ways to get our dopamine kick is from books. We can find adventure and wonder in fiction books or movies. In each fiction, we are immediately transported to new realms of imagination. It is captivating to take an immersive journey into the mind of the author. It gives you an adrenaline feel and dopamine kick. Novelty and imagination are as critical as oxygen for your brain. Fantasy novels or works of fiction provide your brain immediate access to some of the greatest minds of humankind. Research has demonstrated how engaging with fantasy stimulates an enormous amount of creativity. Fantasy feeds our sense of wonder and curiosity.

6*6 Fantasy Series

It is with this realization that I present you with this fantasy series. This series is about fostering our ability to use imagination and find fascination in strange places. Strange realms of imagination, fantasy, and fiction. In this series, I aim to bridge the worlds of creativity, fantasy, and imagination. It is called 6*6 Fantasy Series. In total, I present you with six imagination adventures or fantasy challenges. I will be developing these challenges during the months of August and September. The goal of these adventures is to help you expand your muscles of imagination through designing new worlds, universes, or stories. What you are reading now is the third installment of this series.

You can find the first two episodes of this series below:

Adventure 3: Imagine you can be part of any fantasy universe

In this challenge, imagine that you are a fanfiction writer. Imagine that you can travel to and be part of any fictional world. This can be a movie, a novel, a TV series, or any fantasy land.

For example, you can imagine yourself in the world of Harry Potter. Then, you will create a character for yourself in that fictional universe. Which house would you be part of at Hogwarts? You will write a scenario for your role in that setting and incorporate this story into that fictional universe.

You will write six fantastic adventures set in six settings of fiction. You can choose any of your favorite dramas, series, movies, or novels. Would you like to immerse yourself in a Christopher Nolan movie? Would you be part of Breaking Bad or House of Cards? Would you travel to Gotham city and collaborate with Batman (or Joker)? Would you put your character in Game of Thrones? How? What will be your story?

Choose your own adventure. Immerse yourself in your preferred fictional world. Create your character. Write down your story.

If you need some inspiration, you can choose among the top 250 IMDB movies. These are some of the most fascinating movies in the history of cinema. You can choose to situate yourself (your character) in some of the settings in these movies:

As you start writing your stories, loosen up. Do not judge your ideas and make sure you do this for fun. You can be naive, goofy, and foolish as you experiment with ideas. No one will judge you.

You can learn from the following online resources on how to write fiction. Please check out the following resources for guidance and inspiration:

Today’s Challenge

Now, it is your turn to create your own ideas. You will now create six stories set in fictional universes you choose. You will be constructing stories set in these worlds and try to make them compelling and exciting. Imagine yourself as a character or as a hero in that fictional universe. You can create a story where you will go on a transformative journey.

To create a compelling journey, you can use Joseph Campbel’s “The Hero’s Journey” framework in his classic The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this framework, the hero responds to a call of adventure, departs the familiar world behind, ventures into an unfamiliar world of adventure, experiences failures and hits rock bottom, goes through a series of tests and trials, sacrifices the self, proves own character, and comes back to the hometown after experiencing all the adventures and bringing back the wisdom/learning from the journey.

You can use the following points to create your stories or adventures:

1. Describe your character and his or her point of view.
2. Describe the personal history and background of the character.
3. Describe the fictional context and immerse your character in this setting.
4. Think about the storyline of your character and how it progresses. Describe the journey: What is the problem? Where is the call to adventure? Where is the tension/conflict?
5. Describe the unknowns and the challenges your character goes through. Describe the overall goal/mission of the hero. Define their success and failure.
6. Incorporate surprises and twists along the way — create a compelling story. Create some risks and rewards for your character.
7. Think of a compelling and satisfying finale if you can.

This is now your turn. You will create six different stories set in six fictional worlds and sketch an outline of key ideas for each story. You do not need to aim for fully developed stories. You just need to write a minimum viable story idea.

Do not judge or evaluate your ideas — just keep writing for about 5 minutes to create your main story or plot. Do not stop writing. Imagine that your hands have their own imagination and trust them. Keep your hands moving and do not think too hard. You will make it fast and practical — do not aim for a perfect story. Just an overall idea is fine. This is meant to be for fun — just play and mess around. Improvise as needed. Try to surprise yourself and your brain.

Fahri Karakas is the author of the Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.