Fantasy where characters travel from the real world into a magical one, often through a literal doorway or gateway.
Portal fantasy is built on a simple, powerful premise: a character from our world crosses into a magical one. The wardrobe to Narnia, the rabbit hole to Wonderland, the tornado to Oz. The protagonist's outsider status lets the reader discover the world alongside them, creating a natural framework for worldbuilding exposition. The genre explores themes of belonging, escapism, and transformation.
Portal fantasy solves one of the hardest problems in fantasy writing: how to introduce a complex world without info-dumping. Your protagonist doesn't know anything, so neither does the reader, and that shared discovery is powerful. It's also one of the most resonant story shapes for young readers discovering fiction.
The genre's touchstone: children stepping through a wardrobe into a world that needs saving.
A deconstruction of portal fantasy, asking what happens when someone who read Narnia actually gets there and it's not what they expected.
Explores what happens after the portal closes: children who've been to magical worlds and can't readjust to reality.
Yes, your protagonist is new to the world. But having characters explain everything to them is still an info-dump. Let them discover through action.
The protagonist's ordinary life should inform how they respond to the magical one. Their background, fears, and skills from home should matter.
Write the moment of crossing: a character steps from their ordinary world into something impossible. Focus on sensory details. What does the transition feel like physically? What's the first thing they notice that tells them everything has changed? Make it visceral, not just visual.