Home » Fantasy Story Tips with Mythica

Fantasy Story Tips with Mythica

Mythica storyteller Jason Faller shares his best fantasy story tips and how he's preparing for the movie Mythica: Stormbound.

Mythica is a cult favorite if there ever was one. Five fully-funded Kickstarter campaigns has made the the five film series a reality. Produced and co-written by Jason Faller and Kynan Griffin, the story features Marek, an escaped slave and budding magician. When a priestess needs help finding her sister, Marek assembles a rescue party and fights alongside a warrior and half-elf thief.

Throughout the series, Marek and her team fight against the dark wizard Szorlok, giving fans plenty of magic and battles along the way.

Now, the creators are working to crowdfund and produce the sixth film in the series, Stormbound.

Jake Stormoen (The Outpost) will direct the film as the Mythica world explores a growing threat and the heroes that rise to face it.

Returning cast members include Nicola Posener, Adam Johnson, and Matthew Mercer.

Mythica: Stormbound

While much of the storyline for Mythica: Stormbound is being kept under wraps, we do know the epic will hold true to the major themes of the series while introducing new heroes, villains, and a new journey.

As a producer and writer, Jason Faller has worked to bring the fantasy story to life for a decade. Read on for his top fantasy story tips.

Interview with Jason Faller, Film Producer

Jason Faller is a co-Creator and Executive Producer of the TV series The Outpost. After leaving his Canadian roots to co-found a production company in Utah, Faller has written or produced more than twenty feature films including Curse of the Dragonslayer, Survivor, and the 5-movie fantasy series Mythica.

1. Mythica has had an extraordinary five film run. What challenges do you face as a storyteller preparing for the upcoming sequel, Stormbound?

Well, we really did wrap things up pretty conclusively by the end of the fifth film, the Godslayer. I won’t spoil anything for those who haven’t started watching yet, but some big characters obviously had died, and the threat that was built up over the five films was resolved. So with Stormbound, I think the challenge was to create a storyline that was completely new, and yet tied to and built upon the narrative that was created previously. And how to deepen and enrich the mythology and elements that make Mythica unique, while still expanding into new territory and story space. And we like to think we’re not just developing this one film, but laying the groundwork for a whole new sequel series. If Stormbound is good and creates demand for more, we want to produce plenty more of Mythica. But every day we find ourselves saying “That sounds good for this film, but what does it mean to the world going forward? Is this a plotline that can support five more movies?”… which is what we’re hoping to do!

2. What principles guide you in building a fantasy world that’s believable?

Sometimes I think fantasy creators feel like “anything’s possible” because it’s fantasy. Sometimes you think “Well, we have magic, right? Maybe she just teleports herself there…” But solving problems with magic is always… problematic. It’s actually more interesting when magic IS the problem, and creates more conflict than it resolves. And I suppose another thing we talk a lot about is that yes, it’s fantasy, it’s not real by definition…but the characters are just as real. Their motivations are just as real, and the struggles and dilemmas they face need to feel as real as any great film. None of that changes, and the dialogue and plot and characters should feel just as believable as in any Oscar-winning drama…or at least that’s the aspiration we should be aiming for. Ha.

3. Can you tell us about your team’s process for writing the script?

Well, we generally plan the story together (traditionally that’s myself and Kynan Griffin) and then one of us writes the first draft, and then rounds of notes etc. until it’s the best it can be. And then when we’re in production, adjustments are often made, sometimes by us and sometimes by a director. But for Stormbound, the story concept was by Justin Partridge, a producing partner who’s been working with us forever. And then Kynan and I jumped in and worked with him to develop the story into something with a bigger past and a bigger future, so it would tie into the world more closely, and create ongoing story for future films in the series. Justin is doing most of the writing, but each draft and story planning session feels a lot like our TV writers room on The Outpost series, where we talk a lot about the story and then one of us does the actual writing. It’s a fantastic script, and I’m excited to show it off when we get into production.

4. Do you have any suggestions for writers looking to craft dynamic dialogue?

Read it out loud. And not to yourself, to others. Get a feel for what it’s really like to say those words. Maybe that’s more important for screenwriting than writing, say, a novel, but I bet it helps either way. And work hard to give characters their own distinct voice, with their own dialect and language mannerisms. It’s hard, but obviously it’s important that the characters aren’t all just slightly different versions of the author’s voice.

5. What elements of the story are you most excited about pursuing in Stormbound?

The villains’ goals are a lot of fun. In a way, the story unfolds because one or more villains has a goal, and the heroes fight against that goal. So coming up with villain goals and sub-villain goals gives our protagonists strong conflicts to overcome and forces them to struggle. I’m looking forward to some great villainous plotlines.

6. How can fantasy fans support Mythica: Stormbound right now?

We are in the final week of our Kickstarter, and would love for anyone to share our link or support us directly by backing the project. We rely pretty heavily on fan support, so please check out the Kickstarter and help spread the word!

For More on Mythica

Website: MythicaMovie.com

Kickstarter: Stormbound campaign

Interested in more tips from writers who made it happen? Check out our Author Case Study series to learn from those who came before.

Rebecca Zornow

Rebecca Zornow is a writer and book coach. She writes science fiction and won the 2020 Hal Prize in nonfiction. Rebecca coaches writers in the speculative genres and works hard to impart the craft and professional skills it takes to be a writer. Find her at ConquerBooks.com.

All Posts »

Keep In Touch

Stay up to date with book news, author updates, writing tips, and more