Writing Tone shifting my novel

[PhoonEz]

Okay i've been writing a fantasy novel with a pretty comedic undertone,if i suddenly change the tone shift from pretty Go happy to kinda darkish,will it ruin my story?

 

[DarkCosmos]

Depending on how you execute it, you may even elevate your story... Just make sure the groundwork for the 'darkness' was there from the start.

 

[Eldoria]

it would be difficult to organically combine elements of comedy + dark fantasy without making it cringe

 

[PhoonEz]

Depending on how you execute it, you may even elevate your story... Just make sure the groundwork for the 'darkness' was there from

Ok lets just say i'm trying to make a backstory for a side character,tho he's very significant to the story later on,if i make it like an (extra) Side story kinda chapter,do you think it will work?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

How far along are you in it? Is the tonal shift sudden or gradual? If gradual, a lot of fantasy authors follow that trend (even Weiss and Hickman, the team that put out the Dragonlance novels). If sudden, without warning, you might ruin your story - or elevate it ... or even do nothing to it at all.
Best bet is if you can find a way to almost balance the light and dark moments (but favor the "side" that you feel you write the best).

 

[Racosharko]

Doing it is the only way to know which side of the buttered bread will land.

 

[PhoonEz]

it would be difficult to organically combine elements of comedy + dark fantasy without making it cringe

The comedic undertone is kinda leaning on this like self aware/meta jokes,like the main character actually Aware he's in a story.

How far along are you in it? Is the tonal shift sudden or gradual? If gradual, a lot of fantasy authors follow that trend (even Weiss and Hickman, the team that put out the Dragonlance novels). If sudden, without warning, you might ruin your story - or elevate it ... or even do nothing to it at all.
Best bet is if you can find a way to almost balance the light and dark moments (but favor the "side" that you feel you write the best).

5 chapters in actually.and i did give like this foreshadowing in the earlier chapter about the true nature of the world that my main character lives in.

 

[Arkus86]

Depending on how far along you are, how telegraphed the darker part of the story was from the start and how you execute the shift, it runs the risk of alienating your readers.
Considering your synopsis does not really say anything to that effect and your story is outright tagged as Comedy with no sign of anything darker, I do not think the shift will come across well, although I did not read the chapters.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It is POSSIBLE to marry the comedy to the darker fantasy - check out things like Garrett P.I. series by Glen Cook or, well, just about anything by Neil Gaiman. But it can take a lot of work to do.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

Depending on how dark-ish and how much dark-ish part there will be, but I think that if you hint at it on your blurb / cover a bit then it should be fine imo

 

[DarkCosmos]

Ok lets just say i'm trying to make a backstory for a side character,tho he's very significant to the story later on,if i make it like an (extra) Side story kinda chapter,do you think it will work?

It can work well, especially for a significant side character. Just be careful that the backstory chapter doesn't stop the main plot's momentum.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I just remembered one other place that seemed to do this well. I'd have to look up the title, but there's a Japanese TV series on Netflix about a police department with a bureau that investigates the paranormal. The scenes in their squadroom are pretty much solid comedy (the chief is a skeptic, the main male investigator just doesn't take much of anything seriously at HQ, and the female lead is an ultra-competent but not very likable actual psychic with little control of her, mostly sensory so far, abilities; their interactions are kind of "Addams Family meets Barney Miller" in tone) - but once they go out on a case, it shifts to drama with moments of suspense or intrigue and even skirts horror (kind of like the later seasons of The X-Files) ... but then snaps right back to silliness in the squadroom - at least in the three episodes I watched (it's subtitled only so can only watch when I have the time to actually WATCH, instead of listen and occasionally rewind key scenes like I usually do while cooking or cleaning).

 

[MFontana]

The comedic undertone is kinda leaning on this like self aware/meta jokes,like the main character actually Aware he's in a story.

5 chapters in actually.and i did give like this foreshadowing in the earlier chapter about the true nature of the world that my main character lives in.

It all comes down to the execution; but yes it can work well, especially with the foreshadowing set up.
Personally, I'd recommend building it up in layers, with foreshadowing as far back as the first couple of chapters. Nothing overt, or obvious, but present and ease the audience into the shift from the protagonist's perspective before a secondary "Inciting Incident" shatters the protagonist's delusions and thrusts them into the darker side of things.
That may just be me though, so take it with a grain of salt, while layering the moment with some of the character's self-aware commentary to maintain the comedic undertones you're working with.

That could just be me though; so take that with a grain of salt, if you will.
Ultimately, it's your story. Tell it how you would like it; but you can be sure that the combination can work when done well.