How can I come up with ideas for realistic fantasy stories?
To come up with ideas for realistic fantasy stories, consider your own dreams and nightmares. They often contain elements that can be turned into a story. If you've had a dream about flying, for example, you could create a story where a select few in the world have the ability to fly using a magical device that's powered by their emotions. You can also draw inspiration from historical events. Take a real - life mystery from history and add a magical twist. Say the disappearance of a group of people was actually because they were abducted by a magical being.
You can start by observing the people and places around you. Maybe there's an old, abandoned building in your town. Imagine that it's a portal to a magical realm. Or think about the different personalities of your friends and family. What if one of them was secretly a shapeshifter? Also, reading a lot of different fantasy stories can give you inspiration. You can take an idea from one story and twist it into something new and more realistic - feeling. For instance, instead of a far - off magical land, make it a hidden part of your own city.
Look at real - world problems and think about how magic or fantastical elements could be used to solve them. For example, if there's an environmental issue, perhaps there are magical creatures that can heal the damaged earth. Another way is to combine different mythologies. Take elements from Greek and Norse mythologies and create a new world where they interact.