I passed!

[lucy_lapine]

This link still made me nervous though. It's a fantasy writer's quiz, and it has about 75 questions on what fantasy genre rip-offs/stereotypes exist in your novel. If you answer "yes" to even one, you fail. I'd still recommend it as a checklist though; it may make you rethink characterisation and some aspects of your plot, and it's just damn funny

Comments

[inkflowers]

Thanks for the link. I was looking at it and realized that my fantasy story I had been planning had a couple of yeses to that exam. -___- I'm not as original as I'd like to think.

[lucy_lapine]

It's difficult to write fantasy that breaks away from the formula. Everytime I come out with a new angle in my plot, I feel like it's so similar to what I've read before that I discard it, and then I'm left with nothing.

[inkflowers]

That's quite frustrating. I wish there was some way to prevent that.

[lucy_lapine]

I think the key is to work within established parameters but have your own unique twist on it, which is of course easier said that done! Tad Williams, for example, has a fantasty series where the good guys are on a quest for three magical sword that a prophecy says will defeat the enemy (at least, they interpret it that way). But the twist is that when the three swords are brought together, they actually make the enemy stronger.

And I guess it's okay to have answered "yes" to one or two of the questions, but if you have a book full of fantasy stereotypes and knock-offs, then you'd have to watch out. Although obviously I think that your writing would be better than that :)