Serious Belief

That's one of the most important things when you're a Writer of the Fantastic.

Serious Belief.

I don't mean you have to believe what you're writing is real, nor that you can't have a good time when writing (snickering at the perdicament of your characters, say.) You just have to believe it when you're writing it and take it seriously. Never say "I'm above this" or "I could do better than this". Because unless you are a master of the craft (and sometimes not even then), it will show in the work and weaken everything.

Examples are abound in the various arts. The best come from films. Compare Tim Burton's Batman films to Joel Schumacher's. Or Tom Holland's (Fright Night) to that of Schumacher's vampire movie (Lost Boys).

(Looks like I'm picking on Schumacher, doesn't it? Well when you put nipples on the Bat suit, you should expect some grief. Decades worth, in fact.)

Of course, there are exceptions. Parodies, for instance, and the like. But I think its a good rule of thumb not to wink at your audience, nor elbow them in the ribs and whisper "But we all know better, don't we?"