Hello, Hello :)
My name is Erin, I am 24 from Western Australia and I love fantasy and have been writing my first epic fantasy novel, part-time, for almost two years :) ... As a mother of a 3 year old and a 1 year old writing can be slow going at times :)
I have decided to try a blog as my experience with most writing sites and forums has been a bit blah! I'm not sure why but there seemed to be a lot of people out there claiming to be fantasy lovers, but complaining about every aspect of the genre!
*Rant Alert*
I'm not sure when it became taboo to write epic fantasy with magic? or an epic journey to win the war and save the world? I don't know why but all of the sudden everyone has this fear of 'Fantasy cliches'!
These people need to forget about 'cliches' and think about what makes fantasy great!
Tolkien, Lewis, Fiest, Pratchett, Eddings... these writers have become legends of the fantasy genre! The works of these authors are full of battles between good and evil, wise wizards, mighty armies and wilful princesses, yet have been consistently popular for many years!
This is because it takes more than just an original and out there idea to write a great story! Great fantasy is all in the details! It's the complexities within the structure that makes us fall in love with a series, the characters and there world!
*end rant*
So, If there is anybody out there who is interested in writing, or fantasy or just wants to meet new people, I'd be happy to hear from you :)
Ciao for now!
Atkogirl!
I have to say, I'm a fan of genre cliches, especially in fantasy.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a good genre story, I think, is to use the cliches as the basis of your world, and then tweak and define them into something that's instantly recognisable, yet unique.
I've tried to addapt that mindset when I designed my own world.
Well, Tolkein really legitimized the genre, in the same way that Herbert and Aasimov legitimized science fiction. Pratchett has made most of his bank by mocking stereotypes (like Carrot's "it's just a sword." piece in Guards Guards).
ReplyDeleteI think there's a time to follow through with stereotype and a time to break it. For example: prophecies are a great fantasy crutch, but they can make your story weak and predictable. Of course, if they're being chanted constantly at your main character by a trio of witches... that makes it a little more interesting. It also depends on whether you're going for comedy, action/adventure, or horror.
This is the point... If epic fantasy was really so over told and dated why make The Lord of the Rings into a movie etc etc? Its all about using the right elements in moderation, as needed. :)
ReplyDeletewell hey I write fantasy stuff, if you want to check it out http://daemons2010.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI think some writers have to be careful of the whole cliches thing, one or two are fine but when its one after the other your left with a sense of, have I already read this?