Elements of a Fantasy Story
What do you want in a Fantasy Novel/Story?
There are many elements readers consider when making a selection. These often include items such as spice levels, violence, magic, dark themes and how the story ends. Below I will take a brief look at each of these elements, starting with spice levels.
The spice level (how much sex a story contains) is critical to a good many readers. Some people enjoy a high spice level, explicit sex, while others want no spice at all. To help readers with this, a somewhat standard 'pepper' scale has been created.
How much does the average reader want in the fantasy story? There is no solid data to report; however, a 2026 survey of the Fantasy Romance Audience asked what level of spice they wanted in their books. The results are below. It must be noted that a Romance Fantasy reader may be different from a Fantasy reader. Also, participants were allowed to select more than one answer; thus, the total is over 100%.
- None - no spice at all - 5.9%
- Closed Door (Fade-to-black) - 19.2%
- Open Door - 60.1%
- Explicit Open Door - 69.3%
- Explicit (Erotica-Adjacent) - 24.2%
From this survey result, it appears the average reader, at least among Romance Fantasy, enjoys a rather high spice level.
Aside from the spice (sex) in a story, readers often want to know the violence level in the story. Is it a bloody epic, or a non-violent fairy tale? The chart below has been developed to help in this category.
While some people enjoy a good deal of Spice and can tolerate a high level of violence, they may not enjoy profanity in their stories. To help readers with their story selection, the scale below has been created.
A fantasy story will generally have some magical element(s) included in the story. As with all things, some people like a little more magic while some enjoy just a small spattering. The chart below shows how much magic will be in any particular story.
Each story will have a certain level of emotional anguish involved. Some stories have a great deal more than others, requiring readers to become far more involved and perhaps to experience far more anguish than they may want. To help with this, the chart below has been created to help in this area.
How a Book end, for me at least, determines everything. In the area of Fantasy there are a number of possible ending types. Some of these will turn away certain readers while attracting others. Here we have everything from 'They lived Happily Ever After' to basically "They all died".
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So, now that we have established the rating system for each of the major elements of a Fantasy novel, how do my Third Kingdom Novels and Stories rate? Here is a very brief review for each book/series.
Spice Level - 1
Violence Level - 2.5
Profanity - 0
Magical Prevalence - 2
Anguish - 1.5
Ending - HEA
Spice Level - 2
Violence Level - 3
Profanity - 1
Magical Prevalence - 3.5
Anguish - 2.5
Ending - HFN
Spice Level - 2
Violence Level - 3.5
Profanity - 2
Magical Prevalence - 2.5
Anguish - 2
Ending - HEA
Spice Level - 4
Violence Level - 4
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 4
Anguish - 3.5
Ending - Cliffhanger
Spice Level - 2
Violence Level - 2.5
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 2
Anguish - 2
Ending - HEA
Spice Level - 2
Violence Level - 3
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 1
Anguish - 2
Ending - HEA
Spice Level - 1
Violence Level - 3.5
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 1
Anguish - 2.5
Ending -HEA
Spice Level - 2
Violence Level - 3
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 2.5
Anguish - 2
Ending - HPN
Spice Level - 1
Violence Level - 2
Profanity Level - 2
Magical Prevalence - 2
Anguish - 2
Ending - HEA
Spice Level - 3
Violence Level - 3.5
Profanity Level - 1
Magical Prevalence - 3.5
Anguish - 3
Ending HEA
