Comments on: Why I hate Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, and…

By: Jeremiah Tolbert

Jeremiah Tolbert — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:09:13 +0000

Now, now. You don’t have to be a writer to evaluate someone’s writing abilities. My suggestions are just that–suggestions. Don’t take anything you read around here too seriously. I’m not trying to tell you what to like. I’m just talking about what I like.

By: Jeremiah Tolbert

Jeremiah Tolbert — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:08:08 +0000

Let’s work on your comment, shall we? It’s full of bad grammar and poor sentence structure. Here’s my suggested edits:

“My suggestion is that if you want to use the typical fantasy creatures in a story, you should add a twist on the old idea. Also, completely tangentially to my point and because I am an angry little kid with nothing better to do, I have assumed that you are a mediocre author at best, primarily because I have never heard of you. While that speaks more to my ignorance than it does to your actual quality of writing, which I have never read, all I am saying is, you shouldn’t give advice to sniveling brats like me who don’t understand the difference between opinion and fact. Also, J.K. Rowling is the best author I can think to evoke when talking about writing. So, you should probably not pay attention to me.”

Your comment gets a C-. Try harder next time.

By: bob

bob — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:03:18 +0000

Actually- I take back the part about you not being a good author. I was thinking, and realized that i shouldn’t say that, especially when i am not even a writer.
Thank you for your suggestions above- i will take them into consideration since i am sure that many people agree with you (as do I)

By: bob

bob — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:59:03 +0000

my suggesting is that if you want to put the typical fantasy creatures in a story- add a twist to the races that make them still similar to the expectations of readers, yet different. I would also like to point out that you are most likely a mediocre author at most. if you knew how to write really good then i would have probably heard your name before. all I am saying is don’t go and give out advice to other people when your not exactly J.K rowling.

By: ADerksen

ADerksen — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:38:19 +0000

Come on, Tolbert - all media by its nature cannot help but to be derivative from that which has gone before. It is as you say - even Tolkien never claimed to be original, merely remixing and organizing the creatures of the fantastic documented by prior authors. Perhaps doing so is lazy, but the established tropes of any genre are inevitably a time-saving device for a later author. This means that at some level the work may be unoriginal, but these assumptions and prejudices that we bring to the table may allow for deeper exploration of the subject matter - or the pleasant surprise we find when our expectations are defeated by a clever author’s novel spin on a traditional concept.

Sure, we know that tall and skinny folks with pointed ears are liable to be pretentious and live for a long time - but what does this agelessness do to their psyche or their interaction with their children? Just why is it that they have such a difficult relationship with the short and stocky bearded folks of the world? Why is their physiology thus, and what does their low birth-rate imply for the ecology of a given world? Why is their technologically powerful society in decline? Why have they developed a magic system that is so distinct from that of other peoples? Are they exploiting different properties of the same physical laws in your magical world, or do they actually access a different source for their power?

Remember: they don’t have to be elves trapped in a traditional fantasy realm to still be elves. Star Trek has long had Space Elves and Space Orks, even if Mr. Roddenberry called them by different names.

By: Reinhart

Reinhart — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:45:36 +0000

I think I’ve made this same point, but more focused on magic. I hate it when generic fantasy has generic magic of pointing a stick and saying something vaguely vulgar Latin.

Or much worse, when magic is just some psychic force that’s harnessed by concentrating really hard. I feel that magic, and even psionics, needs to be demonstrated to the reader as something other than wishing hard and chanting a word. Unless the writer really wants to suggest that magic is just prayer but where god-like beings actually intervene . . . but that creates bigger narrative issues.