The Fantasy Novelist's Exam

[khaosworks]

"Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, it seems like every windbag off the street thinks he can write great, original fantasy, too. The problem is that most of this "great, original fantasy" is actually poor, derivative fantasy. Frankly, we're sick of it, so we've compiled a list of rip-off tip-offs in the form of an exam. We think anybody considering writing a fantasy novel should be required to take this exam first. Answering "yes" to any one question results in failure and means that the prospective novel should be abandoned at once."

Don't necessarily agree with all of its no-nos, but amusing nonetheless.

Comments

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

I was fine up 'till they said that all novels containing elves or orcs should be abandoned.

Man what?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Like I said, I don't necessarily agree with all of this. But on contemplation, perhaps this particular cliche ought to be re-examined. The thing about elves and orcs in modern heroic fantasy is that they seem ultimately derived from Tolkien... sometimes in whole cloth, which gives rise to the somewhat curious idea that elves and orcs are Tolkienish throughout multiple universes.

In fact (again with the caveat that I'm not a big fantasy reader), there only really seem to be one type of elf in modern heroic fantasy... i.e., the Tolkien mold, and for orcs, two types: the Tolkien completely brutish faceless hordes, and the Warhammer/World of Warcraft model of them as a violent, but viable civilization. It's an almost lazy kind of shorthand, as if the writer can say, "that's an elf" and nothing more need be said because Tolkien's elves have had such a powerful impact on the fantasy reader psyche that everything is visualized in a flash. Ditto with orcs.

Again, not that you can't or shouldn't use them, but the question then becomes, why do you need them, story-wise? What's the thematic or in-story role for them? Or even, why call them "elves" or "orcs" to begin with? Can you call them fae, or goblins, or another made up name? Do they even need to look tall and lanky, or brutish and fang-toothed, as the case may be?

My favourite kinds of elves, though, are the ones that Pratchett wrote about in Lords and Ladies, and Gaiman touched on in his Sandman stories. Beautiful, elegant, powerful, and complete and utter bastards. Which turns the Tolkien expectation of them, which has somehow become more prevalent, on its head and takes the idea of the elf back to its more earthy roots. As it should be.

[lonemagpie.livejournal.com]

Autumn Mist, a Dr Who written by, er, me, also uses the buggers rather differently.

But then, I'm a Celt and know the original stories and legends!

[etherial.livejournal.com]

My favorite fantasy setting, Earthdawn had a very good answer to this. Elves and Orcs and Humans and whatnot are all Races. They're peoples, and while they have individual culture, to paint any of them in such broad strokes is beyond stupidity. The Elven Blood Wood is corrupt, judgmental, and possibly the servant of extraplanar entities out to torture us to death for their own amusement, but elves in general are tall, charismatic, long-lived, and the ability to generalize ends there. The Orc Kingdom of Cara Fahd is a fertile valley populated by nomadic tribesmen. Orcs in general are passionate, free-thinking, short-lived, and are still facing the ghosts of generation after generation of slavery.