But at the time, prior to later reflection, it did seem like a good idea to plug those into my empty eye sockets to lessen the impact of mine baleful, eyeless gaze on the commoners. Though I wish I had a way of removing them without destroying my eye sockets further. Those nobles back home seemed especially disturbed by my ability to see perfectly well with an eyeless glare.
I want a book where the main protaginist tries to find the key of whatnot, someone tells them they are the key, and it turns out that they are literally, secretly a giant sentient key
@@lockematthews6049 i could probably just make it the heart and just get that fucker ripped out of someones chest because who doesnt need a bloody battle where hearts are being ripped put of chests
"the key was inside you all along" "You mean all of my friends and family died for nothing!?" "It was all to teach you the meaning of-" *Can't continue due to being stabbed by the mc*
Imagine a world where every hero's tragic backstory (parents dying/village being destroyed by villains) was actually deliberately done by the "good guys" to motivate the character into becoming the key.
In my book, the mc finds out the person he was looking for for three years was his friend for a couple of months, and as soon as he figures that out his friend is killed by the villains, who are really powerful people, and the only reason the mc defeated them was because he was so mad he just wiped them off the face of the planet. Is this ok or is it an overused thing?
For me it's the "we knew you were Chosen and would have a Dangerous Life so we decided to keep you totally ignorant and untrained so you could have a childhood." Trope.
Not completely guilty of this one, but I'm gonna count that my MC's parents hid that he was a fucking Prince to avoid getting people who want to kill him... even thought said MC has already done things that warrants others wanting him dead.. . -_-
DrawciaGleam02 The fact that in those types of books, letting the character have a normal childhood leaves them ignorant and vulnerable to the shit that their parents/guardians hide from them. And said shit is very likely to kill the kid and they were probably better off knowing about their secret because their parents/guardians die before the kid gets to know, ultimately defeating the purpose of hiding the secret and training their kid just as their life was getting started.
Okay, I see that. And I guess that having to go through all that training can SOMETIMES prevent the kid from acting selfish/ spoiled. In other words, they aren't as likely to blatantly disregard the rules set in place to protect them from said dangers.
DrawciaGleam02 You forget the threat the they're being protected from. Like, they could just confront the kid in one of their safe zones. Cuz evil always finds those characters no matter how well they're protected. Whether they follow the rules or not. Examples, the Lorian series.
@@thecakegarden5324 My book also has a mc/love interest (its dual pov) with brown eyes. I love brown eyes personally, both the way they can blend into the pupil if dark, and especially the way some glow with a reddish brown tint when the sun hits them just right.
Here's an idea. The prophecy says that the kid will become the chosen one. So, from the moment of birth, the chosen kid is brought up and forward as a prophet and a savior, always being trained and hearing he's special. This leads to some sense of narcissism and self-righteousness. (Could also lead to jingoism, racism, etc. Basically, use the prophecy to explain why he starts going off the rails.) So, the chosen one essentially gets fueled by this self-belief and becomes the antagonist of the story.
My story is pretty similar, but simlutaneously the opposite. The mc, Eyeris, gets bullied out of jealousy. That, combined with being brought up in a bad home environment, stradles her with horrible bpd. In the end, since she feels responsible for everything and refuses to give up, it slowly eats her up until her chosen power destroys her from the inside. Yeah, it's edgy. Sorry.
Great descriptions of brown eyes: "Caramel candies", "melted chocolate swirls", "warm as a cup of coffee in the morning", "the likeness of afternoon tea", "in the shadows: endless galaxies; but in light fertile grounds kissed by the sun", "Trees in the depths of a winter's snow", "Reflective as a royal's mahogany table", "Farmlands envy the richness in who's eyes reflect a field fit of planting", (or my favorite quote) "My eyes are a poop brown," -Lin Manuel Miranda. btw: I have brown eyes.
eleora I.S. I saw the first few words of this comment and screenshotted immediately. This feels like some sort of sacred, holy grail i wasn’t supposed to stumble onto because of how rare descriptions of brown eyes are. Thank you so much.
A year after I commented this, I feel like I need to clarify, my friends. This is actually lyric from *"See You Again"* by *Tyler, The Creator.* It's from his album *Flower Boy* which has a lot of great similes and metaphors pertaining to nature. I highly suggest you check his stuff out. He's quite an unconventional lyricist. Great stuff.
Now I want to see that played with... “Ok, so, I’ve cleared an entire dungeon full of murderous demons, had to murder a dragon with my bare hand after my other one was cleaved in two, nearly blacked out from the pain of summoning another, and had to walk across an entire continent that’s in the middle of a second Grand War, So this key, where are you hiding it?” “I am not hiding it, it has been inside you all along.” “.......ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?!” “*Hysterical Laughters* My Gods no! Could you imagine, after everything you went through and that’s what I give you? Forget being labeled the worst prophet in this entire world, Hirama would probably just drag me all the way down to the Undergrowth and have me suffer for thousands of years.” “Thousand? I think million would be more appropriate.”
Person: The key was inside you all along. *Proceeds to look for something in their satchel(which I assume they have coz I love me some satchels in my fantasy plots)*. MC: *Frantically shoving and twisting his fingers into the lock* Person: *Finds a scroll* Yeah so you just need to make this hand symbol real quick and that shou-- MC: *Finger breaks with loud crack. Cries out in agony* Person: ......Oh shi- (Then they get wiped out by the Big Bad)
Due to LGBT rights reforms from the '60s to present, "fairy" has now returned to its former folklore meaning: nature spirits resembling miniature people.
Side character: "The key was inside you all along." Hero: *walks away* Side character: "Wait? Where are you going?" Hero: "I'm off to dig a hole and find a bush with a lot of leaves."
7:07 . . . . . . “Where’s the key.” She demanded, pressing her foot onto his chest, pinning him securely to the ground. The nymph’s eyes widened, his hands instinctively flying to her ankle. He sputtered for a few seconds, his words refusing to leave his mouth in a cohesive fashion. She rolled her eyes, effortlessly swinging her blade to rest near his neck. “You!” He gasped, his eyes wide as his legs struggled to slide his body along the floor in a panic. She looked away from him, eyebrows drawing together. His breath caught in the silence; he was nervous to break her thoughtful quiet lest she plunge her rapier into his jugular. *”What?”* She spat, pressing the tip of the blade so that it touched his skin, almost piercing it. “You’re the key,” he said in a sigh, looking up at her with truth and fear in his eyes. “It’s locked in your magic. After he killed your father and attempted at your life, his magic is ingrained in yours. You can walk straight through his barriers, always could have.” His words were met with her stony glare, as she pressed her weight deeper into his chest. He let out an almost inaudible whimper, his grip around her ankle tightening instinctually. *”So what you’re saying,”* she hissed, sliding the tip of her blade down his throat, resting just in front of her toes and right above his heart, “is that my *friends* died for nothing?” “No, no I didn’t mean that-“ his nerves revived his stutter as his breath quickened. He swallowed dryly, daring to look at the intimidating blade resting just above his life, ready to take it away from him in a single shift of the woman’s weight. “Then tell me, what was their sacrifice for? Why are they *gone* when we’ve had our prize all along?!” Her voice was menacingly low, and her free hand was clenched at her waist, fingernails leaving crescent marks along her bloodstained palm. “I...” the nymph started, his words failing him. He let out a shuddered sigh and let his head fall to the thick dust below him, a thick cloud of desaturated brown coating his pale skin and hair. He clamped his eyes shut, knowing there wasn’t any hope fighting against someone so broken and desperate, someone who had lost their moral compass on their journey. “Someone has to pay for their losses,” she whispered, her eyes locked on his features, “and you’re the one who happens to be at my mercy.” It happened faster than he would’ve liked, the thin blade quickly sinking into his thin skin. He swore under his breath, face contorting in pain. This wasn’t his fault, he knew it wasn’t. He’d died for an unjust cause, he knew his Gods would never let him into the afterlife now. “May he take mercy on your soul,” he choked, his legs trying to reach themselves to his chest to no avail, “he is the God of your fate, and he may take your justice away as quickly as you have taken mine.” Her eyes widened in realisation. His people, they relied on a truthful death to lead them to the afterlife. She had damned him. Oof I was inspired If its bAd thats because its a yOuTUbE coMMenT
I hear you but, on the flip side, a writer could take any of these weaker tropes and turn them on their heads. For example, that "you were the key this whole time" bullshit...let's say our protagonist has been suffering a lot on his journey to find this key. Everyone around him keeps dying, he's nearly died himself more than a couple times, and he's starting to wear down. By the end of his quest, he's tired, he's discouraged, he's grieving, and he's wondering how all of this could possibly be worth it. Then, the mystical priest or whomever, tells him, "you were the thing you've been seeking this entire time. Sorry all your loved ones are dead." The protagonist then proceeds to kill the priest, everyone in the temple, and even takes out a small village for good measure. When we meet him again in the second book, he's pretty much the villain. With magical key powers. Everybody's screwed. Enter new hero, who may or may not be connected to the former hero in some way. It's not perfect, but if people want to use abused tropes, they need to utilize twists and a little more creativity to keep them interesting.
Or maybe the key dude is a leader of a group. When the leader decides the journey is too tough and not worth it, his group reveals to him he's the key himself. Mr. Key calls bullsh!t and orders to go home but his followers restrain him and force him to lead on.
The little red haired girl from across the street is right (sweet name, kid). You basically can't not write without using tropes but you can write without using cliché tropes or just bad ideas.
@@lolimsooedgy7809 I don't mean ALL anime does it, I have seen some anime that were fairly tame. But there is quite a lot of anime series out there that tend to be so.
“Diversity in a novel sounds very unlikely and unrealistic” *continues to write about dragons talking to elves and faeries bringing the dead back to life*
I always believe that faes and elves are earthen spirit from what I conclude and they naturally can communicate with what's on the under so it's valid to have necromancer faes! :D Like Kitsune from Japanese folklores are alluded with fairies and they often cohabitate with ghosts, living around tomb and all
@Harmony Alexandria Cultural and racial mingling has appeared *many* times in history, so what you said is a blatant lie. But even if it wasn't, Alexandria, it's *fantasy* . The entire point is to indulge in the pleasure of imagining things you know will never be true. If people in your book can shoot fire from their fingertips and fly on brooms, they can intermingle with colored folk -_-. Like Jenna said, the "realism" ship sailed as soon as you decided it was fantasy.
I guess since brown eyes are so common authors often have issues making them appear special. It's like writing about a man of average height to short. Female readers won't fawn over that. But what I'm sick of are eye color and hair color stereotypes in fantasy. This is perfectly illustrated in Wheel of Time; Elayne's blue eyes are a symbol of her royalness, femininity, and innocence, Aviendha has green eyes and red hair because she's a fiery warrior chick, and Min has brown eyes and brown hair because she's a nerd. I want more books with bookish blondes or fiesty brunettes. AND, it's not always either green/red, blue/blond, or brown/brunette.
My biggest issue with a lot of the fantasy I see in books and movies now-a-days is it all seems like bad rip offs of Lord of the Rings. The reason Tolkien was successful is because he heavily researched myth and lore, removed all the lame bits and put his own spin on the genre. Most people writing fantasy aren't adding anything new to make their books interesting and unique.
Kat Yes, good point. I started to write a fantasy book but am still in the world building stage. World building is both time consuming and worth while when enough and good research is done with proper care and thought. Tolkien has certainly set a good bar for that. I expect the majority of the problem is that a lot of people are too lazy to do the mental work involved with doing that sort of writing. This only my opinion however, so don't skewer me for it.
Melo Tolkien did a hell of a lot of world building. He made the series almost as a justification for his obsession with making a world, its people, and especially their languages. He made way more than needed for the books, but it all went into a great lore. People can piggyback off it’s success for a fantastical story, sure, but then cutting and pasting or pretty much photoshopping already existing material is just begging for trouble.
I'm not going to lie but I have a bad joke in my book that is also a respectful nod to Tolkien. The currency of the world isn't known as tokens but instead Tolkiens.
The eye thing is seriously true! XD I remember reading a book where the heroine referred to her love interest's eyes (which were brown) as the color of warm coffee, or strong tea in the evening. But that's the only instance I can think of, and more often I read things where people have green eyes and grey eyes, despite those being genetically uncommon. There are tons of ways to romanticize brown eyes! Always great content :)
My friend told me to read tigers curse. I’m Indian and the fact that a white girl got chosen for an Indian curse really ticked me off not to mention referring to anything in India was not described. Ugh I quit reading like in to a 1/4 of the book...
Puneet mander I’m Indian too, and if you wanted to read more books with South Asian representation, Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series provides a pretty great outlook and gives me the representation I’ve been looking for 🙂
There's this new adult kungfu fantasy or some sort where the setting is pretty much around chinese folklore but The Choosen One™ is a 30yo self insert white author smh
CheyenneThe Unicorn screw brown eyes, I want to see amber eyes! It’s always blue eyes and green eyes and hazel eyes, but I have yet to see the beautiful mix of grey and yellow on a main character.
I get the feeling that you read A Court of Thorns and Roses and it ruined your life, cause you keep making references in your videos of how much you hate it.
A Court of Thorns and Roses was... alright. Too bad I hated the second guy. Luckily I found out that he would get the girl eventually, so I didn't waste my money on A Court of Mist and Fury.
@@EvolverForU It's my favourite series of all time. The first book was just okay, the second is my favourite book of all time. The huge emphasis on mental health that SJM writes in book 2 and beyond really hit home for me so it means a lot to me.
That's for the classic Bram Stoker style vampire. But vampires have always been a staple of fantasy fiction. Unless she is giving a very restricted definition of "fantasy" fantasy for me ranges from The Arabian Nights to Conan the Barbarian to King Arthur to The Lord of the Rings and beyond.
On an added note I just edited a book for a friend where the vampires were all female and wanted nothing but sex, nymphs also only wanted sex and the harpies were all naked sexy bitches with huge tits and feathers. I cringed. I cringed so hard
I'm actually working on a novel where the main vamp is a bonafied jackass for a reason and most of his wives ( yes Wives as in more then one) are trying to actually kill him X"D
Welp , The main characters of my two novels have green eyes and blue ( Though for symbolic reasons) but major characters in both of my book ideas have brown/ black eyes lol
Thank You! Brown eyes and brown hair are the most common combination of features ever, but you always feel super ordinary because none of your fantasy crushes have them! Or is that just me?
I totally agree with you on all of these, especially the lack of brown eyes. I'm an artist, and brown eyes are actually one of my favorite colors to paint. If they're lit right they almost look like fire, they're so gorgeous!
Mine is twenty, didn't want to make her too young since she is studying magic but I still want to give her plenty of room to learn life experiences and develop. She will get older in later books.
---obligatory comments section fic--- "Stop with your riddles, old man!" Gareth shouted. Marie winced. This wasn't going to be pretty. "Tell me how to stop Xearethon or so help me--" "Alright, alright, calm yourself. Warriors these days, always so hasty... You will learn in good time..." "Good time?" His voice was dangerously low. The Sage didn't seem to notice. "I have spent years of my life searching for a way to stop his evil, _years_ trawling the myths and folktales for some whisper of where the Eminent Sage could be found. For where an answer could be found. And now some old fart tells me "in good time". No time is good, not while Xearethon still breathes." Gareth drew his sword. Marie grimaced, but loosened her own blade in its sheath. If it came to a fight against the Sage... "Nonsense, dear boy, nonsense. I don't hold the answer!" A subtle tensing of muscles. "What?" "You do!" The rotund little man laid a wrinkled hand against the flat of Gareth's chest. "It was in here all along. The journey wasn't to find me! It was to find _yourself_ ." Gareth stared, his swordhand trembling. "Then... it was all for nothing?" "In a way, yes. In a deeper way, no. Not at all." "But you, the Eminent Sage, you're... you're not instrumental in the turning of the tide?" The Sage smiled, perhaps a little sadly. "No, dear boy. I am afraid that responsibility fall t--" Marie blinked and heard only a startled gurgle before the grating noise of metal on bone. Gareth wiped crimson splatters from his face, then spoke. "Serves him right for a wild goose chase."
Great descriptions of brown eyes: "Caramel candies", "melted chocolate swirls", "warm as a cup of coffee in the morning", "the likeness of afternoon tea", "in the shadows: endless galaxies; but in light fertile grounds kissed by the sun", "Trees in the depths of a winter's snow", "Reflective as a royal's mahogany table", "Farmlands envy the richness in who's eyes reflect a field fit of planting", (or my favorite quote) "My eyes are a poop brown," -Lin Manuel Miranda. btw: I have brown eyes.
What I really don't like about the fantasy genre is that the worldbuilding seems to be limited to medieval european worlds with tolkien races. Seriously? You can literally create ANY kind of world yet it's always the same? WHY???
Why? Because not everybody is very creative...not even everybody who creates for a living. It's hard to create something so fantastical that it is utterly unfamiliar, because we mostly must draw on our experiences in the world for inspiration. That's why tropes become tropes: because lots of people had experiences (not necessarily personal - it could be knowing a person who has X personality flaw, or reading a book where X happens...) that can be modified and shaped into that particular element. In other words, writers like that world. It's familiar to them. Their childhood favorite stories took place in that world. They don't seek out books that take place in different worlds. It's not a bad thing - everybody has different things they like to read and talk about, and writers themselves are no different - after all, why should a writer write something they don't want to write about? If a reader wants to read a certain kind of story they can't find, then they don't get to just complain that authors don't write about it. A reader can either A) write the story they want to read, or B) look a little harder. There are plenty of fantasy stories out there that take place outside of the Tolkien-Europe-style world, but the Tolkien-Europe world has been popular for such a long time, especially in the English-speaking world, that it is synonymous with the fantasy genre, which leads it to become even more popular, and become even more synonymous with fantasy. If you want to see something else, try your hand at writing it. Or branch out in your own reading. Look for a modern-fantasy book. Find an English translation of a Japanese martial-fantasy novel. Find some space fantasy. There's a lot out there, if you ignore the default and familiar.
Japan and China were filled to the brim with all sorts of magical monstrosities, but oh no. We can't have a badass Qilin or the Hone-onna or the Jiang-shi or literally any facet of fascinating Eastern mythology- let's have dragons.
Well what's most self explanatory to the average English reader? The Dragons of the mythologies they've grown up with and all the legends of the west with names they can phonetically pronounce, or some weird looking Yokai from japan who don't really make sense to a westerner or have the legendary legacies of vampires, dragons, undead and orc hordes? If you have to explain the monsters of your story to the reader then it's wasted space in the book on explanations and descriptions.
Skillset ideas for various male characters: 1. Can cook. 2. Can dress wounds and apply bandages. Is actually the medic of the group, scolding his hot-headed friends, both male and female, for trying to kill themselves, again. 3. Is the jackass loudmouth fuckboy at first sight. Turns out he's a big brother of three. Can hunt, chop wood, build a cottage, make a kickass mushroom stew, and sing beautifully. But he has to be drunk for that. Leads the building of the adventure party's secret winter hideout. 4. Simply, speaks three languages and understands diplomacy and the cultural customs of a dozen kingdoms, principalities, commonwealths, city-states, dominions. 5. Can sew, can mend armor, is handy, he's the cleaning freak and usually cleans up the mud and dirty snow that the other adventurers carelessly dragged into said secret winter hideout on their boots 6. Is good with maths, manages the finances of the group, sorts through the adventurer group's checks and bills for armor maintenance, fines for drunk public urination, medical and healing magic bills, Adventurer Guild membership fee late fines, bar tabs. 7. Natural at empathy. Good with kids, traumatized victims, can charm a confession out of a seasoned swindler.
liz dean ...like, by all means, have an emotionally damaged stranger. But please don’t make them “sexy” and for the love of God do NOT make them into yet another asshole. Let them be kind, or have a hard time expressing their emotions or desires (like they just simply freeze up. It happens. It sucks). Instead of romanticizing their trauma and/or mental illness, let their character arc be about finding solace and purpose with learning to love their friends (and accepting that their friends love them back). ...then MAYBE give them a romance arc later. But not until they get their shit together. They deserve some healing before jumping into “yet another failed romance”/“romance is the cure” crap...and so does whoever their so-called love interest(s)
Now I definitely feel better about myself, thanks, I was scared that I'd done everything wrong but: 1. My main characters are not chosen per se, they more or less stumble into the story because of a demon who was bored. (Aaand I kinda question the logic of prophecies throughout) 2. My "heroes" (even though there are no real heroes there) are more likely emotionally unstable and fluctuating or simply naive (or even happy with their lives sometimes) than unavailable. 3. I guess diversity is okay, too. Have some LGBT+ and people of color in there (I mean, it's hell, there are people from all around the world in there) 4. My characters like never get assaulted, only that one time, but that is the creepy demon's fault 5. I consider myself a little guilty about that, but if you have an entire race of demons, not everyone can be nice or ugly. So yeah, the devil can control his appearance, of course he looks good, and he lived for thousands of years, he can be a douche once in a while (he can be nice sometimes, tho) 6. no fairies at all in there 7. is there even everything fixed? seems more like complete devastation to me, and nothing my protagonists can do could have prevented the situation from going south, at least the things that they could do at that moment 8. no "all inside you" trope. not at all 9. that's something I'm gonna fix in editing. I admit that I sometimes get a little carried away with descriptions, but it's still fixable I think, not on that large a scale 10. Characters with brown eyes: Daïna (one of my protagonists), Ava, Arren, Dibaro, Kamiro, Emilija, Irena, Olivier, Elena. I think that's it. But still. They exist. Well, for whoever read that till the end: have a cookie.
@The Only True Witch-King actually, it's not, it's just my perception of my story, that even the "heroes" cannot be seen as real heroes. No reference whatsoever
It really doesnt matter what ingridiences you put in your story. All what matter is that it is well written. The most bullshit plot with some plotholes here and there some generic protagonists and a bunch of klisches can and will be more entertaining to read if the author is good at writing. On the other side, the greatest ideas for a plot, the most creative and fancy world, the most interesting characters and villains all together in one story ccan be boring as hell if you cant write. Dont look to harsh on your ingrediances. Look at your sentences, the words your choosing, the structure of your text, the art of dialogue and keep your readers interested with every word and sentence you write.
Including most of these, I'd say a trope I hate in fantasy is the pure evil and pure good forces. Characters should have their own motivations that make them seem evil or seem good from certain perspectives- no matter how normal or morbid they may be.
Jakob Gifford I like the way JRR Tolkien handled evil in his book those you haven't read Lord of the rings In middle Earth there's no such thing as pure evil
Might I suggest a series known as Beserk or Beserker (I don't know what the difference is). It actually has no serious bad guy until the end of the golden arc. Now there are antagonist in the sense of opponents and some evil bastards but overall everyone is just fighting for their country or job. You have the Manga, the original hand drawn anime (really good but doesn't complete as the manga is on going) the CGI movies (most available on Netflix also don't fully complete as the manga is ongoing) and then there's the video game which uses cutscenes from the CGI movies. Now while it is a Japanese creation it really carries a more European setting to it. The main character Guts or Gutsu if in Japanese is at first rather bland but as time goes on him and all other characters gain depth over and over again leading to one of the saddest and shocking twists/tragedy that I've seen in a storytelling medium. I fully suggest checking them out as it plays on tropes effectively and grips you from start to finish (also there is beautiful artwork in the manga...though be warned that if you're sensitive to nudity, dark stories, and gory kills you won't enjoy it as much.
Bryan McClure Well, not exactly. Tolkien wove layers into his stories. There are indeed true Good and Evil (the grander, overarching scale). But Tolkien also focused on a more lesser scale, when shades of grey exist (the more personal, insular scale).
Bryan McClure Indeed. Even the few Orcs that became outside of Sauron's influence (after the second fall of Barad-Dûr of course) banded together and decided to keep mostly to themselves as roving bands.
At least give the evil dark lord a nice mom who loves him and waits him home and he's not telling her half the stuff he does because he started out trying to make a living for her and one thing came after another and he just loves that she's happy and won't tell her how gruesome and evil the way was that helped him put a roof over her head and food on her table. But she still thinks of him as her little son, and thinks the world of him and would be devastated if he didn't come home. Okay that's cheesy but hey... Something. Give the story something. Plus the underworld of the port city that directly or indirectly has jobs and income through his activity would be devastated if he was gone. See, the kingdom of good and justice the heroes defend has a very powerful merchant guild plus war refuges who could not enter the kingdom otherwise found a place in the criminal underworld who didn't ask about their nationality or religion, just put them to work and payed them. Now through the evil dark lord's endeavors, there's food on the table of the poorest too and long-persecuted nonhumans have shelter over their heads and can sleep through the night. That doesn't mean the evil dark lord didn't really blow up that palace, killed all those priests, murdered that princess in the temple and painted the inner city with the blood of the innocent. For which the heroes are hunting him. Yeah, he did that too.
Fantasy (particularly epic fantasy) is such a formulaic genre. Here's a few that annoy me. -The standard 'hero's journey' hero. You know what I'm talking about. The teenage boy who lives a boring life as a famer's son or blacksmith's apprentice and dreams of adventure, but sits on his ass and does nothing until a bunch of orcs or whatever murder his village. -The dark lord who doth not have a personality. -Medieval European (usually english) inspired setting. The world is vast with thousands of years of history to pull from. Pick something a little bit more unique to inspire your fantasy world. -Bad guys being ugly. How did facial scarring, pale skin, and black hair become associated with bad guys? -Magic being too easy and without cost. If magic is so easy, why aren't they living in a magitech utopia rather than being stuck in the middle-ages. -(related to the first one) The boring teenage hero is able to pick up a sword for the first time ever and kill trained soldiers. It took years of training to become proficient in swordsmanship. -The plucky tomboy who will be the love interest, but the dense hero mistakes her for a boy when he first meets her. I always see through this joke/twist as soon as she steps onto the page. I don't necessarily hate the archetype, just that particular way to introduce her. -Authors with lack of understanding how armour/weapons/fighting/tactics work. Do some research if you want to use these things.
YES to all of this, especially the third point. It's why I set a short fantasy story in an Arabia-inspired area; I was so sick of boring-ass Europe. Let's have more variety, people!
Laura Maue That's a cool setting. There's a fantasy book called The Desert Spear (I think the author is Peter Brett) that is set in a middle-eastern area and it was such a breath of fresh air to read something different. I'm working on a book that has settings/peoples that are inspired by Roman to Imperial Chinese to 18th century German to Jerusalem. Very fun to read and also work in a world with such a diverse cast/cultures.
What about a fantasy story where... The teenage boy has grand ambitions when setting off on his journey to defeat the charming dark lord and his narcissistic kingdom of hot people.
I know Disney helped popularise the whole 'He's evil! therefore look at all of his scars and shock all the sun is gone whenever he's (or she) is on screen!" trope
Yeah, honestly the moment I see the word "king" I put it down because it'll probably just be one of THOSE books. I prefer fantasy books that try to devolp their own unique world or try to bring magic into the real world somehow (which can be great when done well).
My main character “Charlious Grimsson” is autistic (because I’m autistic and it’s easier to write from experience) has brown eyes and brown hair. He isn’t really chosen more that his mother fucked up and his twin “Luwther” was damned for all eternity, so it wasn’t really “meant to be”. The co-main character “Dimitri Y.A.” is the one who’s broody and careful, completely opposite to Charlious. I take my main inspiration from Norse mythology since it’s one of the things I’m obsessed with so I have the knowledge to wave it into history. I have a perfectionist brain and a higher level in physics so I need it too be as realistic as possible and not have any weird plot holes, even though it’s a fantasy series. ...I’ve been at it since I was 15, I’m 16 now and I’m not planning on publishing it any time soon. At the moment it’s my universe, no one else’s.
"imagine reading an entire book, only to find out that all that suffering and death could have been avoided" To heck with fantasy, Thats every world history book ever.
Just because it could be avoided, doesn’t mean the story was worse for having it. Characters not making the best decisions have been a part of our greatest stories. They are the cows from which we milk our drama.
The teenage chosen one is definitely my top rage- inducing element but for a different reason, because then you need to justify manipulating a child to fight a war. When I read these kinds of books it makes me resent every adult presence around the kid. Severus Snape said it best, "You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter?" This pretty much sums up that trope in a nutshell and I can't stand that the only excuse authors have for this is because they need their story to connect to a younger audience.
to be fair....the world ending unless they fight is a pretty good reason. I'd rather that they not be children in the first place, but if they are children, and the world needs them to fight or else everyone dies, then they'd better fight.
The best answer to this question is Hashirama Senju's backstory in the Naruto franchise. It explains clearly how children and adolescents have fought in wars and the reasoning behind it. People mature at a different rate when born into a society actively strife with war or great adversity. There's a reason so many people died young in the past. Sometimes you cannot avoid children fighting in wars, because your side lacks numbers, or weaponry or supplies. Severus Snape is the most hypocritical person to use that line (example), as he was complaining about all his efforts being wasted, not because he cared about Harry Potter's own well being (which he demonstrates literally the next second) Dumbledore on the other hand, realized that he will be forced into that fight regardless of what he or anyone else wants, and thus prepared him best he could for the fight he knew was coming. Don't forget that Severus still didn't know the full contents of the Prophecy, only Dumbledore and the golden trio knew it's exact authenticity.
How about this concept as a twist on the whole "You were the key all along!" thing: Someone tells the protagonist or one of their closest comrades this fact, and while it seems set up to be that generic symbolism again, it turns out that, no, they literally ARE the key, or the key was literally inside of them as a part of their body they'll die without. Thoughts? Also, thank you for throwing brown eyes some love. I have them, and they never get the nice references other colors do. Edit: Flipped through some other comments and realized at least one other person had a similar idea. Oops.
Lol I was thinking about doing something similar in my work in progress as a funny way to make fun of the trope. So my main cast spends a good half of the book trying to find an orb that can defeat the main antagonist and one of my co main protagonists gets it but it gets mixed up during a fight and then they get separated. Later, that character ends up with one of the side villains and she's wondering where the orb is and I want the conversation to go something like this: "The Orb? Hehehe... don't you see? It was inside you the whole time." "WHAT?!" "Two hours! It was inside you the whole time." "You mean to tell me almost everyone I've ever known died for nothing?! This is so stupid!!" "No! It was literally inside you. I took an x ray and found it in your stomach. You swallowed it. Now I have to perform surgery to get it out, you fatass!"
@@jeremiahbooth423 Can't I get out the way less painful Well I'm not waiting another week for this damn thing when it's damn war that also looks like crap so you better suck it up
Here's a better twist. The main protagonist ends up cutting themselves open and grabs the key out of wherever it is located, and the main antagonist wins.
I just want a fantasy where it’s 1% humans and 99% Fantasy creatures (How the hell did we ever beat these superior beings?!) Magic has a Patton and organized through Halfing bureaucracy. The world (While old looking) should be advance with introduction of Magic and Technological fusion. Something that includes only the good parts.
Irish Mythology was actually a bit more like this. The entire point of the Books of the taking of Ireland was how humans did the impossible and actually took over after centuries of war with them.
Well, on one hand, it's true that in medieval Europe black people were very rare (no, Maghrebi people don't count), on the other hand, this guy needs to be better known. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas-Alexandre_Dumas Note that Alexandre Dumas of The Three Musketeers fame is his son.
In NORTHERN medieval Europe, black people were rare, but in southern Europe they knew very well they existed. The Vikings knew them, too. And there were black Roman soldiers in England during the Roman Empire.
As a black person it doesn't really matter to me if a person of color is included in some fantasy stories or historical romances. When I was in the Army I met white people that lived in small towns with like only one or two black families.
MrAstrojensen, there's a huge difference between knowing of their existence and them actually being not-super-rare. I live in Chile and I have known about the existence of black people since I can remember, yet the first time I met someone black in real life I was 14, and it was only because I went to Europe. Romans had very little contact with black people because, again, northern Africans aren't black. There's plenty of awesome stories about real black people to tell (and that I really want to read about) without the need to bend history to make an uncommon scenario seem common. Of course this video is about Fantasy, so you can do whatever you want in fantasy, but when people talk about history, which was tangentially to alluded here, it's different.
It’s funny because she’s like : Fairies Me: she’s about to destroy my whole career Her: i love demonic fairies Me: oh so the fact my fairies are worshipers of the goddess of night and eternal suffering is Jenna Moreci approved, cool
Fantasy novels where the author doesn't show normal, healthy, sexual relationships, but has no problem giving you a second-by-second walkthrough a woman being violently raped. Seriously, why is normal sexual activity such a mystery in so many ways (fade to black after kiss, oooh naughty scene), and yet violent sexual assault is front and center. God this annoys me. In fantasy novels, I find most depictions of rape to be utterly useless. Fading to black or alluding to this would be just as effective, as the main through-line and story rarely hinge on this thing happening.
I'm sorry is this rape in detail from Game of Thrones? I read 3 of the Witcher novels so far and they tend to give some detail to the sex bits....There hasn't been a rape yet....at least not upfront....though there was a funny bit where Dandelion (thinking these were his last moments before death) got to see the sexy parts of Yennefer due to her torn cloths. She says stop but he replies with (basically) "You got us into this mess and now I'm going to die but before I do I'm getting an eyeful of you" I should point out both of them along with Geralt of Rivia were tied up. #AlwaysRememberTheBathHouse
Jenna, why do you do this to me?? I have to go to bed (it's 1 am here in Germany) and study for TWO exams next week!! And now I have to watch one of your videos, because I can't resist it .__.
AAAAHHH, a heart AND a reply!! Now *I'm* going to shrivel up like a d*ck in the ocean, because that's waaaay to much attention from a famous person... ^^" BUT! My book has unbelievably none of these tropes... yet... I'm only halfway through so far, so there's still plenty of time to screw things up
I think sometimes there isn't always a need for diversity in every fantasy story. If I were to write a saga based on the Samoan Islands in the ancient times, I would probably create a 99% homogenous cast, if not 100%
There are settings in which one ethnic group will either dominate or be the only one -- such as your Samoan idea -- but it's absurd to have a trading port or imperial capital with less diversity than the average Southern town.
@@sunsetvlogs5500 - And I bet most were in the port cities and larger city centers where traders did business. That includes the merchants, their staff, servants, and guards. So, yes, there will be some diversity -- especially if you also count any non-Anglo-Saxons in Britain (such as the descendants of retired legionaries and their slaves; merchants from Phoenicia, Greece, Italy; assorted mercenaries, slaves, and paid labor).
I don't know, I think you could make an imperial city homogeneous if the setting is akin to a fantasy North Korea, for example, or something inspired from the Forbidden City in ancient China. There are settings where complete homogeneity can make sense, I think. It's more a matter of how it is explained/justified.
@Benja Freeman It's an entire world. The dwarves and elves may be Nordic, but the rest of the civilized world is very much western European, when parts of the civilized world could easily have been at least partially belonging to another race. No, I wouldn't have a problem with it if it were all East Asian (yellow is still derogatory, you should watch yourself on that) good guys and all white bad guys, because we don't live in a diverse but oppressive culture where East Asians are at the top and are the only race represented in high fantasy media. That's how it is with white people right now. The civilized people are all white, and the enemies of those civilized people are of other races. Now if in, say, Japan, they had a population that was made up of more than 50% minorities but still only made high fantasy movies with Japanese culture being civilized and, say, European or African cultures being evil barbarians with no cultural value, then yeah, I'd have a problem.
Weeeell, this should be fun. "Avyette!" shouted the old man on the tower. His daughter was running, purple cloak flying in the wind as she cradled her new born baby. Her footprints tracked all the way to the castle, but snow had covered most of them by now. The golden crown nestled atop her brown hair flew off into the blizzard as she struggled toward her next step. Then, as if the gale had aided him, the elderly man was at her side. "I never told you, but..." He lay a hand on her shoulder as she wimpered and held her child close. "You're the lost princess." Sorry this is so badly written but enjoy clawing your eyes out!
Pax Vobiscum The queen faltered. "You don't remember Avy?" The king's face remained blank. "Avyette? She's been missing for twenty years?" The king shook his head. "No? Well, anyway, a lord in the south says his daughter fits the description perfectly. Apparently they found her near his wife's corpse, but he thinks she died trying to save her, not giving birth. Point is, we should check it out."
The whole "key inside you" thing really is very frustrating and like a slap in the face to the reader. Sadly, some games are guilty of this too. So you experience the whole tale just for the climax to tell you that you, basically, went through all of that for nothing. Real nice...
I’m writing a fantasy x sci-fi set like 150 years into the future, and the main character has a pet dragon which she rides on and shoots villains with her guns from a high distance. I actually love her so much.
And then there's just me, with my dragon character that is basically a god (and he actually exists), and the characters have their power within them, not because of some decoration. And guess what, not just the mains have powers! In their world, every wolf has their own power! :)
I love the idea of a guild of bored, huffy wizards who spend their time enchanting swords for idiot heroes and grumbling the whole time about how adventurers are too stupid to cast a damn spell unless it casts itself. "Runes? You want runes, they cast smooth as butter, barely any chanting! Come on, not even a word of power or two? Or special offer, just for you- I have a great death spell, all you need to do is invoke the god of paladins and cut your hand, instant death for all who would slay you! No? "You want- You want a goddamned sword, don't you? Flames? Sure thing. And you want it to talk too, original. No, no, I get it; snarky but ultimately helpful. Of course; the most generic great sword I can find. "That'll be every scrap of gold and silver I can wring out of you for getting my hopes up that someone actually wanted to learn a *real* spell. I mean; special offer just for you, ya big, brave warrior! Oh, and you're *THE* chosen one! Why, I can hardly bring myself to take your money! I feel so guilty taking gold from such a brave, rugged hero, I insist on half price! That'll be 30,000 gold!" Bitter wizard marches down to the guild basement and hauls out a box labelled "Chatty fire swords" and grabs one without looking, muttering the whole while about useless, boring sword users. "He doesn't even want one measly rune!"
Sorry, one more trope I've learned to hate in Urban Fantasy: The Gated Community. This is where whatever magical community has barriers to keep the normies out. This feels like cheating of the highest order. You want a fantasy in modern times but then kick out all the stuff about modern life? You shouldn't have it both ways. You want it in today's world then pay a mortgage, get a job, deal with traffic the whole nine yards. If that is too cumbersome Naria/Middle Earth/Krynn is three streets down.
Oh I hate this! “I am a guy who looks SO NORMAL and I’m a normal dude who does normal things but Uh Oh, my village is in danger and I need to save the world which automatically makes a ton of women of all different species and races want to get into my pants!” HECK EVEN I’M GUILTY OF THAT BUT AT LEAST I MADE SURE TO MAKE MY MAIN CHARACTER BE CALLED BEAUTIFUL BY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST THE WOMEN
One novel trope that I'm getting really tied of is when every female (and male) character has the exact same body type. One might be an athlete, another might be a model, yet another might not even be human, and another might do nothing but sit on their butt and eat comfort food all day for a month because they're dealing with a bad breakup. But they ALL have the same body type! I see this sometimes with the male characters as well (all 7-foot-tall muscle studs), but I feel like I see it with the women more often. Maybe it's because their bodies get described more often or in more detail? Maybe I'm biased and I just notice it more with female characters? Either way, lack of body diversity might be a video topic that you could do.
Very true! At the same time, I think if there is a logical reason behind it. it is fine. In my WIP my cast all have fit body types. There's a reason behind it. Can't say why spoilers. The why can't be something lame. It needs to be reasonable and fit the story. Most books don't do that, in my opinion.
T Greene, I agree. If it's a story about the Olympics, then all of your characters are going to be fit (albeit in different ways because different sports require different parts of your body to be toned in different ways). If your story is about a group of people struggling to survive in the wild, then all of your characters are going to be frail and dirty. But if you're writing a story about the every-person, they aren't going to look like a supermodel because the whole point of the every-person is that the majority of people will be able to identify with them. And the people around them are going to look different from each other because real life people all look different. But I understand your point and I hope your WIP story goes well!
I was just dealing with eye coloring in my current story, and was realizing just such a thing about eye color. Even in romance novels, brown eyes are rarely used, the closest thing is black. Even though there are no such things as actually black eyes, they are dark brown, for some reason, brown eyes are considered unromantic. Personally, I love a set of dark, dreamy brown eyes as much as glittering sapphire blue orbs. I've come to the conclusion that the only color eyes my female protagonist could have is brown, no other eye color is working for her- I don't want her to have the stylish coloring of the time period (the typical blue eyed blond), she's a brown eyed brunette. As for him, I don't know- it keeps coming back to blue- great, says I to myself, I'm writing yet another guy with black hair and blue eyes, just like my last big crush who I'm still getting over. Maybe hazel would be a better choice for him, now that you mention it.
I hate the brown-eye discrimination, like come one people, all eyes are beautiful.... Unless they're blood red, cause that's demonic Edit: Omg, I was not expecting so many likes😂😂
About #3 From the start, LGBT people of course make sense and have existed anywhere at any. To caveat that, if you choose to build a world around medieval europe and try to emulate some of that times views on certain people, you can't have flamboyant gay characters running around (or even just normal ground to earth gay people), at least not openly, or they risk discrimination far worse than today. But in a different fanasy world or a different country in that world, yeah, of course. Second, people of colour. The way you argument, those characters would become token characters, which is not the best idea. Great job, including brown people just so you can say, yeah, there are brown people in this story. Not because is makes sense story- or lore-wise, nooo. If the story takes place on a continent where everyone is white (like Europe or let's say Westeros), having that one black guy or girl join your hero party or something is utterly unlikely. It bends the reality of the world you built to fit modern views on inclusivity and diversity and that is not a good thing. On the other hand, it would of course be possible to set the story or parts of the story in a more culturally diverse area, where this is not a problem. Contrast Westeros and Essos. In Westeros, pretty much everyone is white (which makes sense) while Essos is diverse and more colourful, with Ghiscari, Summer Islanders, Dothraki, Qartheen, Lysene etc.
About your second point.. I think you missed the point. It's not about creating a token black character. It's about making up a world that does not consist only of white people. And this can be done by just having different ethnicities in your world. A LOT of fantasy stories are about a journey and it seems like more of a token to leave out non white people then have them come across POC somewhere.
@@MissNymwhen It's still tokenism. I'll admit that diversity in an adventuring party is really easy to explain, but it still just doesn't make sense for every little village to have a metropolitan mix of peoples for the sake of it. Irl, people couldn't do that without modernization, and all we've had are simple wild animals and bandits as dangers on the roads along with simple geography. In fantasy they have those, plus all those things you and Jenna use as defense for the inclusion. Seriously, how many common folk would risk leaving familiar lands when you could get nabbed by a Lich in a European-like country, or pounced by a werelion in "Africa", or possessed by a Youkai in Asia? Only adventures could and should be prepared to handle those challenges, not the common folk who would be less diverse as a consequence.
I don't get why the argument is always "why do I have to include non-white people?" and not "why shouldn't I include people of different races/ethnicities?". People in the comments keep bringing up really specific historical scenaries to say that it would be weird to include someone of a different race, but we're talking about FANTASY. You're building an entire world. You chose the rules. One would think that the author who thinks of including different religions, political systems, different technologies and etc, would want to take the time to include different ethnicities as well, if only for the sake of worldbuilding. Maybe this is just the way I personally see it, because I'm from a very diverse country, and maybe a lot of people who resist this are just people who live in majority white cities or countries or something, but skin colour is just it: skin colour. It it attatched to racial tensions in the real world but it doesn't have to be in whatever world you create. I don't know. I think reading about a 100% white fantasy world would creep me out a little - like some Aryan-race nazi's wet dream kind of place. (just to be clear, not saying anyone who writes this is a nazi, just that that white-only universe is probably what they considered ideal and it is creepy af)
@@@brubs2556 Well, many fantasy stories do not deal with the entirety of a world - just because people are generally getting around on horseback or by sailboat as their fastest means of transportation. Tolkien for example included POC with the Haradrim and the people of Rhûn (who, just btw, are not all evil despite them being labelled 'evil men'. I mean: Aragorn's people came into Middle Earth and subjugated and conquered. How are the Haradrim evil for siding with the enemy of Gondor? That's not evil, it's just common sense). Is that inclusivity in the way demanded by OP or you for example? I'd guess not. These people come from kingdoms far away and do not communicate with the heroes (they probably couldn't if they wanted to) and they all are on the opposite side of the conflict. Yet the thing is you'd have to write in something extremely contrived to have them on the side of the heroes and speaking their language. If people live close to another, they intermarry. If they intermarry, racial differences disappear. You can see that in Europe were (even though some general traits might still be somewhat noticable) the intermingling of races will make it hard even for some Europeans to decide who from a group of five men is German, Italian, French, Polish or Irish. This was not the case a few hundret or even thousand years ago. So to have, let's say, black people around being fully integrated into society, that would mean that there was a great migration that saw either those people or the white people moving probably thousands of kilometers (yes, skin colours are linked to different geographical areas for multiple reasons). That would be a huge thing. And then these peoples would have to make friends with each other instead of fighting over ressources - well that is nice. And then they would have to for some reason unite into one people with one language and culture - this takes a lot of time and a bunch of good reasons. And then you have a few generations of probably very contrived racial diversity before intermarriage leads to a homogeneous gene-pool again (That is: If your fantasy society isn't much more racist than people in the real world). I'm not saying you shouldn't include any kind of racial diversity - but it should make sense in the context of the world you are describing. If Matt and Patt are from a archaic village were there are like six family clans that marry into each other basicly on a monthly basis for generations, I'd stumble over Matt being a white dude with blonde hair and blue eyes and Patt being a black dude with black hair and brown eyes - and Stacy probably having red hair and her mother was a brunette. That's not arguing against inclusivity, that's just being aware of biology. If it makes logical sense in a world, it should be in. If it doesn't make logical sense, it shouldn't be included just to appease people that value political correctness over realistic worldbuilding.
For lgbt people to be specifically present you surely have to deal with sexual themes or how else would one know or why would they care. Therefore if you don't deal in or with said themes any characters sexuality is irrelevant
I feel slightly proud that I made a point to give one of the primary characters in my book (still wip...) brown eyes. I mean... Just kinda fit her. Okay, not "just" brown. Described them as "Dark". So very dark brown. As for the whole World thing, I think there is merit to exploring the world in which a story takes place. I agree you shouldn't pull a Tolkien and use 10 pages to describe a meadow, but giving some information when appropriate, and exploring it through the characters, is of great benefit if you ask me.
I remember making thinking of funny conversation where the main character meets with some wise sage after seeing a mythical sword get destroyed. The sage talks about the true power to defeat the evil was inside them all along. Then the MC proceeds to get angry and threaten the sage if it turned this was going to be something about the power being inside the person the whole time. And he looks at the MC confused and explains how to repair the weapon and says something along the lines of: "I have seen my friends and many innocents die from the terrible evil. And you thought I sent you on some hogwash journey to learn some dollar store symbolic nonsense?!"
I've been trying my best to subvert tropes! Planning a book (working title Not Your Average Fairytale) all about subverting tropes. We have a prince who wants love who is betrothed to a princess from another kingdom. He's upset because he wants to marry for true love, and the princess is upset because she doesn't care about love at all. So, they run away together to go on an adventure and find some quest to fulfill. This does not end in them falling in love in any way. They also find this farm boy, the son of a witch trained in making potions. He joins them, also wanting adventure. The king announces his son and his betrothed have gone missing and asks his close friend, the king of another kingdom, to help him search. This other king is evil, so he sends his dragons out to find them so he can hold them for ransom. One of the dragons doesn't want to assist him, so he finds them himself and befriends them. They decide they gotta face the king themselves because they're a bunch of impulsive teenagers. However, the prince and the farm boy get into an argument. The farm boy is upset that the prince seems more interested in finding love than making sure they aren't caught, and the prince is upset that the farm boy doesn't want him to have fun. The princess tries to get them to stop fighting, and the farm boy storms off to go home. The prince, princess, and dragon continue on towards the evil king's palace, and they challenge him. However, he has his dragons arrest them. The dragon escapes and goes to find the farm boy, while the prince and princess are chained up and forced to work for the king. The dragon returns with the farm boy, who challenges the king to a sword-fight. They battle, and the king reveals he's the farm boy's true father, and that he gave him to the witch to "keep him safe", so he should join him. The farm boy basically says "stfu why do you think I care I love my witch mom" and the king falls off his tower to his death. The farm boy saves the prince and princess and they all go back home. The prince and the farm boy talk on the way back, bond, and they eventually get married. The princess becomes an adventurer with her dragon friend and visits often. And they all lived happily ever after. Also, the princess is a fairy
This video was a huge help! I’m planning a “High Fantasy” novel, and I hadn’t realized that six chapters in, and almost all my female characters are blonde and blue eyed... WOOPS!!!! I will be fixing that. So THANKS @JennaMoreci! I’d be interested on your thoughts in the realm of historical fiction as well. Thanks and be well!!!
I do have an issue with #3. If the fantasy world sticks to medieval technology where travel was long and hard then it doesn’t make sense if the land-locked farming town is filled with different races (unless there’s reasoning like an attempt to unify nations with a settlement or something.) Now, if it’s a major city, especially if it’s near a large body of water like the ocean, then it’s more likely that you’d find more variation. Diplomats and merchants come to mind. This doesn’t just apply to Europe. If the world is based off of medieval Africa or Asia then you’re not going to find a lot of white people because, as mentioned, travel was hard then. There’s also a good point my dad points out when we play DnD. I always want to play crazy races like Dragonborn or what have you, and he brings up this: Either the race is constantly noticed including issues like racism regarding me being a dragon person in a farming town with the thought of dragons being town-destroying monsters, which can cause conflict the other players might not want to take part of; or, the race aspect is ignored in which case why bother being some weird fantastical race if it’s barely mentioned. Some writers might not want to explore themes of racism or sexuality in their book because it either makes them uncomfortable, it doesn’t fit in the story, they have no experience in the matter, they don’t want to get it wrong and get whatever negative label thrown on them, etc. But, if you have a black person in a white town and everyone treats them like another whitey then why bother? This doesn’t just apply to race or sexuality. If my character has something like a stutter that never does anything to help or hinder said character, what is the point of it being there? Nothing would change if they didn’t have the stutter, and it doesn’t help when people with stutters want to relate because none of their daily experiences with their stutter is portrayed. Then it’s a cheap tool for characterization that could come off as offensive. Also, the ‘Its fantasy!’ argument only goes so far. Fantasy should be based in some form of reality. Our brains can’t comprehend something truly alien. Hence why dragons are (mostly) lizards and aliens are based on some kind of creature found on earth. You can have a world where the trees are giant mushrooms; but, they’re still mushrooms and we know what those are.
Klutzy Ninja Kitty - Well, a character being blond, ginger, tall or chubby doesn't change anything either so with that reasoning why having physical descriptions at all? You say, "why bother". But why not? To me having characters with different ethnicities, backgrounds and body types is a main appeal of fantasy. (Btw, I think that people who don't want to "bother" should probably not be writing a book in the first place...) It's fine to have people of color in your story without talking about racism (same goes for sexuality, etc...). Being black doesn't make you a minority and being white doesn't make you privileged, it's all a matter of background. About the ‘Its fantasy!’ argument only going so far... Well sure, but... what in diversity is alien and outside human comprehension? First, obviously it doesn't have to be a person of color, it can be any kind of diversity: race, species, sexuality, personality, health, morals, beliefs... And for "representation", if people relate to skin color they'll relate to skin color, if they relate to being discriminated against, they'll relate to that, it's two different things. But even if you want a black character being a minority, then you can make up a background story about a people of sailors whose descendants had spread through the lands over time; make them the child of a mysterious traveler from a far away land (might be the secret heir of some fallen kingdom's royal family); or have them being a quarter dark fairy... Heck, I even know a story with a guy having some kind of magical reversed vitiligo and it's one of the most amazing character I ever encountered. *It's fantasy~!* The possibilities are endless (and without reaching the limits of the human brain's capabilities). =) I mean, I'm completely fine with a story without diversity whatsoever, but _that's_ unrealistic and it has to have a reason for it. At the end of the day, it's all good. Diversity or not, PoC or not, it all boils down to being a good writer or a bad one. If someone has to be told "your black character can't just have 'black' being their only feature" they're probably not the former... Have a nice day! =)
I kinda have the second one, but I like to think I'm doing it well, he tries not to love because he's terrified to lose anyone he cares about, he does feel and love but he tries to suppress it because he's a coward (In his own opinion) who can't take loss. His whole character progression is to stop being so scared to lose people that he (unsuccessfully) tries to close his heart to the world.
Oh yeah, that’s true for pretty much all the characters, males included. I love the series so much, but that is definitely a flaw. The only defense I will give is the fact that Diana Gabaldon did try to be as historically accurate as possible, with time travel being the only real “fantasy” element. Women were definitely in far more dangerous situations back then. At least she gave a rare perspective of men dealing with ptsd after sexual abuse. Those scenes were highlights in my opinion.
God: You're the chosen one. Isn't there some soldier or ancient war hero that is more qualified than me? God: Nope! Ok, why not create something to stop the big mean threat? You are god, aren't you? God: I did create something! You! The chosen one! Ok, fine. What makes me a better choice than every warrior, wizard, king or warrior princess out there? God: Look, if I choose someone who can actually fight, the villain is just gonna go straight to them. If I choose you, you can fly under the radar. Really? God: Yup. Is that why the inciting incident is my village burning down and my family dying? God: What? *smoke rises from the background* God: Ok, that could be any village. Nope. God: And how would you know? There are no other villages within a 100 mile radius. God: WHO THE HELL DESIGNED THAT!? The author. God: Ok, new plan. I go pick new chosen one. Have fun with the villain's horde of lackeys! Wait, you can't just- God: *vanishes* ;-;
I'm writing a story with an MC whose chosen by a goddess, MC decided to take up the quest because she wanted to see the world, not because the bad guy came after her
"There are green eyes that look like emeralds; there are green eyes that look like baby poop" HAHAHAHA I seriously can't watch these videos without laughing like an idiot
Thank you so much for the last one! I always felt super self conscious because I had brown eyes and all the other "pretty girls" had blue eyes. The lack of brown eyes in fantasy -the genre I read the most - just made me more self conscious and I was REALLY happy that somebody FINALLY went over this kind of stupid trend. Your one of my favorite content creators and I really like your humor and I strongly agree with pretty much all of your opinions. Keep making content!
Brown eyes which almost look black are my favourite. Personally I like characters with neon eyes in fantasy as I like them to look different from reality but when we can’t have that, I like protags with either grey or brown eyes, even as a blue eyed person
I like brown eyes, and like Jenna said, it all depends on the shade. My eyes are blue/grey, and look kinda weird, so caramel brown or chocolate brown would be really cute in my opinion.
In my book, eye color can sometimes determine race. Example: Lyras commonly has brown eyes, but the Avi family has a slightly more hazel color to it. This is a really useful trope to me.
I do this with hair. The Astra family in my story are known for mainly having blue or purple hair. Yeah, the people in my story are part of an alien race who naturally have crazy hair and eye colours.
I was gonna say that the LOTR books don’t have these tropes until you got to the world building bit because....yeah JRR Tolkien likes to describe things
@@TheLoozerDonkey he had diversity. The Southrons were black. Corsairs may have been based off the north African pirates. The Rohirrim were based off Nordic people. Hobbits were midgets. Elves were immortal and Numenorean men were some strange mix between elves and men..... I reject the idea that just because there weren't a lot of different colors involved it means there wasn't diversity.
@@allotherlightsgoout I was talking about the human diversity(Hobbits and Elves are not really human and the people of Numenor are like half elf half human species), but yes I didn't really thought about the Corsairs, Haradrim and the Eastelings since I only thought about the Free Peoples which they were all white.
Yup. I'm writing a series about a line of chosen ones, each entry is about the successor of the previous entry's protagonist , and they all start out as normal kids but the gods choose them and temper them into powerful warriors through several trials
My most annoying fantasy trope: the never-ending story. Let me tell you about these cool characters, who I'll wrap up in a couple dozen other characters, each with their own side plot. Then, I'll divide the main characters from each other, and ignore some of them for hundreds of pages. The story will take twelve books, each 250,000 words. Each volume will add even more characters to follow, that way I can take the spotlight away from the original main characters for even longer. Then, I'll make each tome only advance the overall story by about a week. The plot will get more and more convoluted until no one remembers what the heck is going on, because fantasy. Please have a story question for each book with character arcs for each POV character that has at least SOME resolution by the end.
discoverybg31 How is Tolkien part of that? Most of his stories are rather self-contained and the longest series is three books long. They take place in the same world, sure, but they explore different aspects of it. I wouldn't say that Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion are the same. You can read one without needing the other.
JRR created a very rich and detailed world, but the actual four books based on the world are pretty straight forward. Same thing couldn't be said for The Wheel of Time which started with three friends and a love interest and then exploded into an unwieldy epoch. You can even feel it reading those books too. Jordan seemed to have more fun writing about Matt and Perin than he did most of the other characters in that series.
_"I realize that vampires aren't fantasy creatures..."_ I had a surreal, brief moment where I forgot you were talking about genre -- and assumed you actually believe in vampires. :P
![Whats wrong with me? // My Disabilities (Updated) [CC]](/img/n.gif)
You forgot....
Villan: You and I are not that different...
Hero: I aM nOThiNG liKE yOU!!!
SatelliteStargazer Harry Potter and other stories in a nutshell
SatelliteStargazer yah heard this about a thousand times
@@taylorgage5684: You see, you and I are not so different!
Spiderman: I'm nothing like you. You ate my chicken wings.
I mean yeah but clearly it doesn’t matter, otherwise we wouldn’t be enemies
Narrator: The dipshits were in fact alike
My eyes are beautiful aquamarine marbles.
It was a dumb idea to put those into my eye sockets...
Marco Meijer you have marbles in your eye sockets how do you see!
*LARGE OOF*
Marbles? I thought they were orbs XD
@@HetaliaGirl1 Orbees
But at the time, prior to later reflection, it did seem like a good idea to plug those into my empty eye sockets to lessen the impact of mine baleful, eyeless gaze on the commoners. Though I wish I had a way of removing them without destroying my eye sockets further. Those nobles back home seemed especially disturbed by my ability to see perfectly well with an eyeless glare.
I want a book where the main protaginist tries to find the key of whatnot, someone tells them they are the key, and it turns out that they are literally, secretly a giant sentient key
Have you never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Her sister was a key. Yes, really.
@@ann-margretparke9525 explain
@@ann-margretparke9525 Still waiting...
Well the main character in my book is kind of the villain, and it swaps perspectives in the second book
Gronkle Vlonkle YES
"The key was inside you you this whole time" the priest said sharpening a knife, " too bad it was you soul."
*casually puts this idea in my mental folder to eventually come upon and steal that shit*
@@Ash-pp3fm lol if if fits and you need to sacrifice someone then make it glorious!
@@lockematthews6049 i could probably just make it the heart and just get that fucker ripped out of someones chest because who doesnt need a bloody battle where hearts are being ripped put of chests
Man, now I really want to read that book.
I am awake
"the key was inside you all along"
"You mean all of my friends and family died for nothing!?"
"It was all to teach you the meaning of-"
*Can't continue due to being stabbed by the mc*
Then MC get they’re arm cut in half later on, and a key drops out of the bleeding arm
“...oh god how is this inside of me?”
Imagine a world where every hero's tragic backstory (parents dying/village being destroyed by villains) was actually deliberately done by the "good guys" to motivate the character into becoming the key.
@@jeramahia123 write a book
Plot twist: the key was inside of the mc's stomach
In my book, the mc finds out the person he was looking for for three years was his friend for a couple of months, and as soon as he figures that out his friend is killed by the villains, who are really powerful people, and the only reason the mc defeated them was because he was so mad he just wiped them off the face of the planet. Is this ok or is it an overused thing?
Not a fantasy Protagonist if they're not focused on someone's high cheekbones at all time.
But what about the =boobies= .... I mean.... the chest area?
Dingleberries.. Arian Gignlesaz’s cheekbones.. They were on _fleek_
Cheekbones are overrated.
#benedict cumberbatchs cheeckbones sharper than my kitchen knife
Pffffff-
For me it's the "we knew you were Chosen and would have a Dangerous Life so we decided to keep you totally ignorant and untrained so you could have a childhood." Trope.
Not completely guilty of this one, but I'm gonna count that my MC's parents hid that he was a fucking Prince to avoid getting people who want to kill him... even thought said MC has already done things that warrants others wanting him dead.. . -_-
Huh? What's wrong with letting someone have a normal childhood????
DrawciaGleam02 The fact that in those types of books, letting the character have a normal childhood leaves them ignorant and vulnerable to the shit that their parents/guardians hide from them. And said shit is very likely to kill the kid and they were probably better off knowing about their secret because their parents/guardians die before the kid gets to know, ultimately defeating the purpose of hiding the secret and training their kid just as their life was getting started.
Okay, I see that.
And I guess that having to go through all that training can SOMETIMES prevent the kid from acting selfish/ spoiled. In other words, they aren't as likely to blatantly disregard the rules set in place to protect them from said dangers.
DrawciaGleam02 You forget the threat the they're being protected from. Like, they could just confront the kid in one of their safe zones. Cuz evil always finds those characters no matter how well they're protected. Whether they follow the rules or not. Examples, the Lorian series.
I have brown eyes so thank you for advocating for my rights :)
Can I have points for my book's love interest having brown eyes?
Surely most authors should have brown eyes, why are they so underrepresented then? Or do only blue, green and purple-eyed people write fantasy?
@@thecakegarden5324 My book also has a mc/love interest (its dual pov) with brown eyes. I love brown eyes personally, both the way they can blend into the pupil if dark, and especially the way some glow with a reddish brown tint when the sun hits them just right.
@@ILuvMoogles Brown eyes represent
Not in my Vorin internet you don't!
Here's an idea. The prophecy says that the kid will become the chosen one. So, from the moment of birth, the chosen kid is brought up and forward as a prophet and a savior, always being trained and hearing he's special.
This leads to some sense of narcissism and self-righteousness. (Could also lead to jingoism, racism, etc. Basically, use the prophecy to explain why he starts going off the rails.)
So, the chosen one essentially gets fueled by this self-belief and becomes the antagonist of the story.
Mrytle Romilly
See the _Star Wars_ prequel trilogy.
Mrytle Romilly
I was just trying to contribute.
Akechi
Ian Byrne soo... Anakin Skywalker????
My story is pretty similar, but simlutaneously the opposite. The mc, Eyeris, gets bullied out of jealousy. That, combined with being brought up in a bad home environment, stradles her with horrible bpd. In the end, since she feels responsible for everything and refuses to give up, it slowly eats her up until her chosen power destroys her from the inside. Yeah, it's edgy. Sorry.
_Rose tinted cheeks, dirt-coloured eyes._
Great descriptions of brown eyes: "Caramel candies", "melted chocolate swirls", "warm as a cup of coffee in the morning", "the likeness of afternoon tea", "in the shadows: endless galaxies; but in light fertile grounds kissed by the sun", "Trees in the depths of a winter's snow", "Reflective as a royal's mahogany table", "Farmlands envy the richness in who's eyes reflect a field fit of planting", (or my favorite quote) "My eyes are a poop brown," -Lin Manuel Miranda.
btw: I have brown eyes.
@Ad Lockhorst That kind of sounds as if her eyes are pink or red. But sure.
eleora I.S.
I saw the first few words of this comment and screenshotted immediately. This feels like some sort of sacred, holy grail i wasn’t supposed to stumble onto because of how rare descriptions of brown eyes are. Thank you so much.
A year after I commented this, I feel like I need to clarify, my friends. This is actually lyric from *"See You Again"* by *Tyler, The Creator.* It's from his album *Flower Boy* which has a lot of great similes and metaphors pertaining to nature.
I highly suggest you check his stuff out. He's quite an unconventional lyricist. Great stuff.
@@i.s.9451 "shined like beer bottles in the fading sunlight"
"I'm the key?? But why?"
"rEaSoNs"
Now I want to see that played with...
“Ok, so, I’ve cleared an entire dungeon full of murderous demons, had to murder a dragon with my bare hand after my other one was cleaved in two, nearly blacked out from the pain of summoning another, and had to walk across an entire continent that’s in the middle of a second Grand War, So this key, where are you hiding it?”
“I am not hiding it, it has been inside you all along.”
“.......ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?!”
“*Hysterical Laughters* My Gods no! Could you imagine, after everything you went through and that’s what I give you? Forget being labeled the worst prophet in this entire world, Hirama would probably just drag me all the way down to the Undergrowth and have me suffer for thousands of years.”
“Thousand? I think million would be more appropriate.”
WHY CAN'T I WRITE ABOUT MY FERRIES! HOW ELSE WOULD PEOPLE GET ACROSS WATER
Ride sea horses.
@Death Omen or be Moses
Dinosaur helicopter.
Boats or bridges
Tolkien did it.
Person: You are the key
Hero: *Frantically starts trying to shove his fingers into the lock*
So damn underrated 💀💀💀
And it fits
Person: The key was inside you all along. *Proceeds to look for something in their satchel(which I assume they have coz I love me some satchels in my fantasy plots)*.
MC: *Frantically shoving and twisting his fingers into the lock*
Person: *Finds a scroll* Yeah so you just need to make this hand symbol real quick and that shou--
MC: *Finger breaks with loud crack. Cries out in agony*
Person: ......Oh shi-
(Then they get wiped out by the Big Bad)
"The key was inside you all along. Now then, I hope you're ready to get your stomach pumped."
@@Mar-hq9bm yes
Random side character: The key was inside you all along.
Hero: Procedes to have a mantal break down.
I'd havena mental breakdown too
@Random Songs In Locrian LMAO I-
hero; goes into bathroom with a bottle of laxative and a good book.
"Why are we still here, just to suffer"
Proceeds to shove his -- into the lock
Sorry
"Fairy the crap outta your book!"
Done and done, all my characters are now gay!
still not as gay as j.k.rowling is gonna make them..
Due to LGBT rights reforms from the '60s to present, "fairy" has now returned to its former folklore meaning: nature spirits resembling miniature people.
Bisexual Witch Ahni That was genius
WHY DID I LAUGH SO HARD!?!?!? XD
Do they wear boots? I have it on good authority they wear boots.
Side character: "The key was inside you all along."
Hero: *walks away*
Side character: "Wait? Where are you going?"
Hero: "I'm off to dig a hole and find a bush with a lot of leaves."
7:07
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.
.
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“Where’s the key.” She demanded, pressing her foot onto his chest, pinning him securely to the ground. The nymph’s eyes widened, his hands instinctively flying to her ankle. He sputtered for a few seconds, his words refusing to leave his mouth in a cohesive fashion. She rolled her eyes, effortlessly swinging her blade to rest near his neck. “You!” He gasped, his eyes wide as his legs struggled to slide his body along the floor in a panic.
She looked away from him, eyebrows drawing together. His breath caught in the silence; he was nervous to break her thoughtful quiet lest she plunge her rapier into his jugular. *”What?”* She spat, pressing the tip of the blade so that it touched his skin, almost piercing it. “You’re the key,” he said in a sigh, looking up at her with truth and fear in his eyes. “It’s locked in your magic. After he killed your father and attempted at your life, his magic is ingrained in yours. You can walk straight through his barriers, always could have.”
His words were met with her stony glare, as she pressed her weight deeper into his chest. He let out an almost inaudible whimper, his grip around her ankle tightening instinctually. *”So what you’re saying,”* she hissed, sliding the tip of her blade down his throat, resting just in front of her toes and right above his heart, “is that my *friends* died for nothing?”
“No, no I didn’t mean that-“ his nerves revived his stutter as his breath quickened. He swallowed dryly, daring to look at the intimidating blade resting just above his life, ready to take it away from him in a single shift of the woman’s weight. “Then tell me, what was their sacrifice for? Why are they *gone* when we’ve had our prize all along?!” Her voice was menacingly low, and her free hand was clenched at her waist, fingernails leaving crescent marks along her bloodstained palm.
“I...” the nymph started, his words failing him. He let out a shuddered sigh and let his head fall to the thick dust below him, a thick cloud of desaturated brown coating his pale skin and hair. He clamped his eyes shut, knowing there wasn’t any hope fighting against someone so broken and desperate, someone who had lost their moral compass on their journey.
“Someone has to pay for their losses,” she whispered, her eyes locked on his features, “and you’re the one who happens to be at my mercy.”
It happened faster than he would’ve liked, the thin blade quickly sinking into his thin skin. He swore under his breath, face contorting in pain. This wasn’t his fault, he knew it wasn’t. He’d died for an unjust cause, he knew his Gods would never let him into the afterlife now. “May he take mercy on your soul,” he choked, his legs trying to reach themselves to his chest to no avail, “he is the God of your fate, and he may take your justice away as quickly as you have taken mine.”
Her eyes widened in realisation. His people, they relied on a truthful death to lead them to the afterlife. She had damned him.
Oof I was inspired
If its bAd thats because its a yOuTUbE coMMenT
Bad??!!!?? This was fucking awsome!
That’s some good shit right there
MMMMMHMMMMMMM THAT'S SOME GOOD SHIT! GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE! RIIIIIIIIGHT THEEEEEEERE! GOOD SHIT!
That was FUCKING AWESOME
Is good.
I hear you but, on the flip side, a writer could take any of these weaker tropes and turn them on their heads. For example, that "you were the key this whole time" bullshit...let's say our protagonist has been suffering a lot on his journey to find this key. Everyone around him keeps dying, he's nearly died himself more than a couple times, and he's starting to wear down. By the end of his quest, he's tired, he's discouraged, he's grieving, and he's wondering how all of this could possibly be worth it. Then, the mystical priest or whomever, tells him, "you were the thing you've been seeking this entire time. Sorry all your loved ones are dead." The protagonist then proceeds to kill the priest, everyone in the temple, and even takes out a small village for good measure. When we meet him again in the second book, he's pretty much the villain. With magical key powers. Everybody's screwed. Enter new hero, who may or may not be connected to the former hero in some way.
It's not perfect, but if people want to use abused tropes, they need to utilize twists and a little more creativity to keep them interesting.
Exactly! THAT'S a really good twist!
So... I'm off to use this.
Or maybe the key dude is a leader of a group. When the leader decides the journey is too tough and not worth it, his group reveals to him he's the key himself. Mr. Key calls bullsh!t and orders to go home but his followers restrain him and force him to lead on.
I don't think she means that every use of the trope is bad, just when they're used uncreatively.
The little red haired girl from across the street is right (sweet name, kid). You basically can't not write without using tropes but you can write without using cliché tropes or just bad ideas.
Your brown eyes lit up with rage when you started your point about brown eyes 😂
"Every fantasy creature you can think of has now gotten a sexy, but supremely disfunctional twist " *cough* anime *cough*
lol
I watch a lot of anime, but even I have to agree they oversexualize every fantasy creature and even some real-life animals in some cases. XD
@@nykolostark you havent seen seton academy but tgey dont fully sexualize them not all
@@lolimsooedgy7809 I don't mean ALL anime does it, I have seen some anime that were fairly tame. But there is quite a lot of anime series out there that tend to be so.
Uhm, I de sexualized them so I can get the mighty virginity woman to smite those who have sex for pleasure.
The problem I have is when a world seems super cool, but the author decides to focus on the stupid relationship that has the depth of a teaspoon.
☝️Most relevant thing said here.
“Diversity in a novel sounds very unlikely and unrealistic”
*continues to write about dragons talking to elves and faeries bringing the dead back to life*
I always believe that faes and elves are earthen spirit from what I conclude and they naturally can communicate with what's on the under so it's valid to have necromancer faes! :D Like Kitsune from Japanese folklores are alluded with fairies and they often cohabitate with ghosts, living around tomb and all
😂
All of those things are from European folklore and were seriously believed in in the past.
Sign me the fuck up
@Harmony Alexandria Cultural and racial mingling has appeared *many* times in history, so what you said is a blatant lie. But even if it wasn't, Alexandria, it's *fantasy* . The entire point is to indulge in the pleasure of imagining things you know will never be true. If people in your book can shoot fire from their fingertips and fly on brooms, they can intermingle with colored folk -_-. Like Jenna said, the "realism" ship sailed as soon as you decided it was fantasy.
I see Jenna, I see fantasy, I click.
yesssss!
Ikr
Eileen Nestman me
I see Jenna, I click
i thought that said “I dick”
Mostly an anime problem but.......THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!
THIS IS EVERYWHERE!! I BEG THE CREATORS TO STOP! HAVE MERCYYYYY!!
I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE AAAHAHHHHHHHHH
..... Haha, Miraculous Ladybug in a nutshell. Except in the Chat Blanc episode... There, not even their love was enough to stop the villian.
I mean, I know Miraculous is not an anime but it was supposed to be once, before they changed it to 3D.
Icy Fleckz that episode ruined me but it’s fine I’m fine
I swear, Jenna always finds some way to impress me. If it's not her opinions, it's her jokes. 😂
awww thank you!!!
Same. Preach the truth!
*And it's definitely not most of her opinions.*
I guess since brown eyes are so common authors often have issues making them appear special. It's like writing about a man of average height to short. Female readers won't fawn over that. But what I'm sick of are eye color and hair color stereotypes in fantasy. This is perfectly illustrated in Wheel of Time; Elayne's blue eyes are a symbol of her royalness, femininity, and innocence, Aviendha has green eyes and red hair because she's a fiery warrior chick, and Min has brown eyes and brown hair because she's a nerd. I want more books with bookish blondes or fiesty brunettes. AND, it's not always either green/red, blue/blond, or brown/brunette.
Rachael Lefler Min is hardly a nerd is she?
My protagonist has green eyes because I have green eyes, and I just like green eyes ._.
Steampunk there is nothing wrong with green eyes, it just gets annoying when every single character with green eyes also has red hair.
@@Carmen-kz4op Good thing most of my green-eyed characters have brown hair, or on occasion, black.
"bookish blonds" - you might be looking for annabeth chase?
My biggest issue with a lot of the fantasy I see in books and movies now-a-days is it all seems like bad rip offs of Lord of the Rings. The reason Tolkien was successful is because he heavily researched myth and lore, removed all the lame bits and put his own spin on the genre. Most people writing fantasy aren't adding anything new to make their books interesting and unique.
Melo Agreed! I read a juvenile biography of him and it was good. I get why The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is so popular. He did it like a boss.
Kat Yes, good point. I started to write a fantasy book but am still in the world building stage. World building is both time consuming and worth while when enough and good research is done with proper care and thought. Tolkien has certainly set a good bar for that. I expect the majority of the problem is that a lot of people are too lazy to do the mental work involved with doing that sort of writing. This only my opinion however, so don't skewer me for it.
Melo Tolkien did a hell of a lot of world building. He made the series almost as a justification for his obsession with making a world, its people, and especially their languages. He made way more than needed for the books, but it all went into a great lore. People can piggyback off it’s success for a fantastical story, sure, but then cutting and pasting or pretty much photoshopping already existing material is just begging for trouble.
I'm not going to lie but I have a bad joke in my book that is also a respectful nod to Tolkien. The currency of the world isn't known as tokens but instead Tolkiens.
Darek Baird I’d buy that. 😉
The eye thing is seriously true! XD
I remember reading a book where the heroine referred to her love interest's eyes (which were brown) as the color of warm coffee, or strong tea in the evening. But that's the only instance I can think of, and more often I read things where people have green eyes and grey eyes, despite those being genetically uncommon. There are tons of ways to romanticize brown eyes!
Always great content :)
I want to read about brown eyes. Basically everyone where I’m from has blue eyes, I’m bored of them.
My friend told me to read tigers curse. I’m Indian and the fact that a white girl got chosen for an Indian curse really ticked me off not to mention referring to anything in India was not described. Ugh I quit reading like in to a 1/4 of the book...
Puneet mander I’m Indian too, and if you wanted to read more books with South Asian representation, Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series provides a pretty great outlook and gives me the representation I’ve been looking for 🙂
There's this new adult kungfu fantasy or some sort where the setting is pretty much around chinese folklore but The Choosen One™ is a 30yo self insert white author smh
As a brown eyed person, I strongly agree
As a blue eyed person, I agree too
Someone finally understands my frustration with the lack of brown eyes used in stories.
CheyenneThe Unicorn brown eyes? I'm mad no one writes about blue skinned people
Dark Lol
CheyenneThe Unicorn screw brown eyes, I want to see amber eyes! It’s always blue eyes and green eyes and hazel eyes, but I have yet to see the beautiful mix of grey and yellow on a main character.
I get the feeling that you read A Court of Thorns and Roses and it ruined your life, cause you keep making references in your videos of how much you hate it.
A Court of Thorns and Roses was... alright. Too bad I hated the second guy. Luckily I found out that he would get the girl eventually, so I didn't waste my money on A Court of Mist and Fury.
I tried and DNF it after a couple of chapters, what is up with the author and romance??
Read all three books and loved it.
I was 13 and had no concept of shitty romances and little diversity in a book with 20+ characters.
Yeah cuz these are all except one in Thorns & Roses
@@EvolverForU It's my favourite series of all time. The first book was just okay, the second is my favourite book of all time. The huge emphasis on mental health that SJM writes in book 2 and beyond really hit home for me so it means a lot to me.
5:16 "Vampires aren't fantasy creatures" You must live in a very interesting reality.
Vampires aren't creatures from the fantasy genre, but from Gothic Horror, that's what she meant
That's for the classic Bram Stoker style vampire. But vampires have always been a staple of fantasy fiction. Unless she is giving a very restricted definition of "fantasy" fantasy for me ranges from The Arabian Nights to Conan the Barbarian to King Arthur to The Lord of the Rings and beyond.
Even Tolkien had werewolves and vampires in middle-earth.
@@timbuktu8069 Vampire are a term for anything that feeds on blood. Fantasy does has it but its not originally from there
@@atmo-sphere6799 it's originally from folklore. Which is fantasy's source so...
I’ve seen books with all most all of these tropes. I wanted to die
On an added note I just edited a book for a friend where the vampires were all female and wanted nothing but sex, nymphs also only wanted sex and the harpies were all naked sexy bitches with huge tits and feathers. I cringed. I cringed so hard
same
I would’ve just stopped and be like, “sweetie... sweetie.. no.”
I think people need to start flipping tropes.
I'm actually working on a novel where the main vamp is a bonafied jackass for a reason and most of his wives ( yes Wives as in more then one) are trying to actually kill him X"D
I feel you about the brown eyes thing, Jenna, and I don't even have them myself. The main character of my book has brown eyes because of it.
Emilie I can honestly say thank you for that. Good luck with your book.
Welp , The main characters of my two novels have green eyes and blue ( Though for symbolic reasons) but major characters in both of my book ideas have brown/ black eyes lol
Thank You! Brown eyes and brown hair are the most common combination of features ever, but you always feel super ordinary because none of your fantasy crushes have them! Or is that just me?
Jacy Faraldo Nope, it's not just you. I have brown hair and brown eyes.
So do I!
I totally agree with you on all of these, especially the lack of brown eyes. I'm an artist, and brown eyes are actually one of my favorite colors to paint. If they're lit right they almost look like fire, they're so gorgeous!
I’m brown-eyed, and I’ve been needing some brown eye love! Thank you!!!
Sci fi Jenna, talk more about soft sci fi, I need your sage guidance!
This we need
Please!
I'd love to see her rip apart the Virtual Reality stories out there
Tangurple Merclain I have a story like this planned 😂.
try shadowrun
Why are ALL fantasy protagonists 16!? WHY!?
To make them relatable to teens who read the book.
Mine is 17 almost 18 hehe
Because it creates -although not often used- a opportunity to develop that caracter.
Mine are around 20, they in college. Then sex scenes wont make you say "ew"
Because they are fun to write and relatable? (Glances as my WIP)
Mine is twenty, didn't want to make her too young since she is studying magic but I still want to give her plenty of room to learn life experiences and develop. She will get older in later books.
---obligatory comments section fic---
"Stop with your riddles, old man!" Gareth shouted. Marie winced. This wasn't going to be pretty. "Tell me how to stop Xearethon or so help me--"
"Alright, alright, calm yourself. Warriors these days, always so hasty... You will learn in good time..."
"Good time?" His voice was dangerously low. The Sage didn't seem to notice. "I have spent years of my life searching for a way to stop his evil, _years_ trawling the myths and folktales for some whisper of where the Eminent Sage could be found. For where an answer could be found. And now some old fart tells me "in good time". No time is good, not while Xearethon still breathes." Gareth drew his sword. Marie grimaced, but loosened her own blade in its sheath. If it came to a fight against the Sage...
"Nonsense, dear boy, nonsense. I don't hold the answer!"
A subtle tensing of muscles. "What?"
"You do!" The rotund little man laid a wrinkled hand against the flat of Gareth's chest. "It was in here all along. The journey wasn't to find me! It was to find _yourself_ ."
Gareth stared, his swordhand trembling. "Then... it was all for nothing?"
"In a way, yes. In a deeper way, no. Not at all."
"But you, the Eminent Sage, you're... you're not instrumental in the turning of the tide?"
The Sage smiled, perhaps a little sadly. "No, dear boy. I am afraid that responsibility fall t--"
Marie blinked and heard only a startled gurgle before the grating noise of metal on bone.
Gareth wiped crimson splatters from his face, then spoke. "Serves him right for a wild goose chase."
Nothin personnel kid
Horatio Nelson I laughed harder at this than I should have
Brown eye description example:
“Her brown eyes twinkled like a diamond in the rough.”
Let's just ditch similes all together
Great descriptions of brown eyes: "Caramel candies", "melted chocolate swirls", "warm as a cup of coffee in the morning", "the likeness of afternoon tea", "in the shadows: endless galaxies; but in light fertile grounds kissed by the sun", "Trees in the depths of a winter's snow", "Reflective as a royal's mahogany table", "Farmlands envy the richness in who's eyes reflect a field fit of planting", (or my favorite quote) "My eyes are a poop brown," -Lin Manuel Miranda.
btw: I have brown eyes.
can
can I use this
@@snekboop9687 It hasn't been copy righted yet.
1. Diamonds aren’t brown.
2. “Diamond in the rough” is a cliche.
What I really don't like about the fantasy genre is that the worldbuilding seems to be limited to medieval european worlds with tolkien races. Seriously? You can literally create ANY kind of world yet it's always the same? WHY???
Extreme laziness?
Why? Because not everybody is very creative...not even everybody who creates for a living. It's hard to create something so fantastical that it is utterly unfamiliar, because we mostly must draw on our experiences in the world for inspiration. That's why tropes become tropes: because lots of people had experiences (not necessarily personal - it could be knowing a person who has X personality flaw, or reading a book where X happens...) that can be modified and shaped into that particular element. In other words, writers like that world. It's familiar to them. Their childhood favorite stories took place in that world. They don't seek out books that take place in different worlds. It's not a bad thing - everybody has different things they like to read and talk about, and writers themselves are no different - after all, why should a writer write something they don't want to write about? If a reader wants to read a certain kind of story they can't find, then they don't get to just complain that authors don't write about it. A reader can either A) write the story they want to read, or B) look a little harder. There are plenty of fantasy stories out there that take place outside of the Tolkien-Europe-style world, but the Tolkien-Europe world has been popular for such a long time, especially in the English-speaking world, that it is synonymous with the fantasy genre, which leads it to become even more popular, and become even more synonymous with fantasy. If you want to see something else, try your hand at writing it. Or branch out in your own reading. Look for a modern-fantasy book. Find an English translation of a Japanese martial-fantasy novel. Find some space fantasy. There's a lot out there, if you ignore the default and familiar.
RianeBane ghost bride is the book you guys are looking for.
Japan and China were filled to the brim with all sorts of magical monstrosities, but oh no. We can't have a badass Qilin or the Hone-onna or the Jiang-shi or literally any facet of fascinating Eastern mythology- let's have dragons.
Well what's most self explanatory to the average English reader? The Dragons of the mythologies they've grown up with and all the legends of the west with names they can phonetically pronounce, or some weird looking Yokai from japan who don't really make sense to a westerner or have the legendary legacies of vampires, dragons, undead and orc hordes? If you have to explain the monsters of your story to the reader then it's wasted space in the book on explanations and descriptions.
Sexy and supremely dysfunctional male characters are the WORST. It’s basically the quickest way to ensure I won’t be finishing the book 😅
Skillset ideas for various male characters:
1. Can cook.
2. Can dress wounds and apply bandages. Is actually the medic of the group, scolding his hot-headed friends, both male and female, for trying to kill themselves, again.
3. Is the jackass loudmouth fuckboy at first sight. Turns out he's a big brother of three. Can hunt, chop wood, build a cottage, make a kickass mushroom stew, and sing beautifully. But he has to be drunk for that. Leads the building of the adventure party's secret winter hideout.
4. Simply, speaks three languages and understands diplomacy and the cultural customs of a dozen kingdoms, principalities, commonwealths, city-states, dominions.
5. Can sew, can mend armor, is handy, he's the cleaning freak and usually cleans up the mud and dirty snow that the other adventurers carelessly dragged into said secret winter hideout on their boots
6. Is good with maths, manages the finances of the group, sorts through the adventurer group's checks and bills for armor maintenance, fines for drunk public urination, medical and healing magic bills, Adventurer Guild membership fee late fines, bar tabs.
7. Natural at empathy. Good with kids, traumatized victims, can charm a confession out of a seasoned swindler.
*YU ARE THE KEE!*
If there is a 'dangerous/unhealthy sexy stranger' mentioned in the blurb im putting it back on the shelf
Zoltán Szászi
Holy shit, I have a character in my story who has almost all of the things listed here, haha!
liz dean ...like, by all means, have an emotionally damaged stranger. But please don’t make them “sexy” and for the love of God do NOT make them into yet another asshole. Let them be kind, or have a hard time expressing their emotions or desires (like they just simply freeze up. It happens. It sucks). Instead of romanticizing their trauma and/or mental illness, let their character arc be about finding solace and purpose with learning to love their friends (and accepting that their friends love them back).
...then MAYBE give them a romance arc later. But not until they get their shit together. They deserve some healing before jumping into “yet another failed romance”/“romance is the cure” crap...and so does whoever their so-called love interest(s)
Now I definitely feel better about myself, thanks, I was scared that I'd done everything wrong but:
1. My main characters are not chosen per se, they more or less stumble into the story because of a demon who was bored. (Aaand I kinda question the logic of prophecies throughout)
2. My "heroes" (even though there are no real heroes there) are more likely emotionally unstable and fluctuating or simply naive (or even happy with their lives sometimes) than unavailable.
3. I guess diversity is okay, too. Have some LGBT+ and people of color in there (I mean, it's hell, there are people from all around the world in there)
4. My characters like never get assaulted, only that one time, but that is the creepy demon's fault
5. I consider myself a little guilty about that, but if you have an entire race of demons, not everyone can be nice or ugly. So yeah, the devil can control his appearance, of course he looks good, and he lived for thousands of years, he can be a douche once in a while (he can be nice sometimes, tho)
6. no fairies at all in there
7. is there even everything fixed? seems more like complete devastation to me, and nothing my protagonists can do could have prevented the situation from going south, at least the things that they could do at that moment
8. no "all inside you" trope. not at all
9. that's something I'm gonna fix in editing. I admit that I sometimes get a little carried away with descriptions, but it's still fixable I think, not on that large a scale
10. Characters with brown eyes: Daïna (one of my protagonists), Ava, Arren, Dibaro, Kamiro, Emilija, Irena, Olivier, Elena. I think that's it. But still. They exist.
Well, for whoever read that till the end: have a cookie.
@The Only True Witch-King actually, it's not, it's just my perception of my story, that even the "heroes" cannot be seen as real heroes. No reference whatsoever
@The Only True Witch-King nope, sorry, never even watched tomb raider
Where's my cookie and where is this story, I think I need this in my life
Omega Wolf 🍪
It really doesnt matter what ingridiences you put in your story. All what matter is that it is well written.
The most bullshit plot with some plotholes here and there some generic protagonists and a bunch of klisches can and will be more entertaining to read if the author is good at writing. On the other side, the greatest ideas for a plot, the most creative and fancy world, the most interesting characters and villains all together in one story ccan be boring as hell if you cant write. Dont look to harsh on your ingrediances. Look at your sentences, the words your choosing, the structure of your text, the art of dialogue and keep your readers interested with every word and sentence you write.
As a woc, can confirm. my bloodline came into existence as a result of Watergate.
Aye same 😂
Including most of these, I'd say a trope I hate in fantasy is the pure evil and pure good forces. Characters should have their own motivations that make them seem evil or seem good from certain perspectives- no matter how normal or morbid they may be.
Jakob Gifford I like the way JRR Tolkien handled evil in his book those you haven't read Lord of the rings In middle Earth there's no such thing as pure evil
Might I suggest a series known as Beserk or Beserker (I don't know what the difference is). It actually has no serious bad guy until the end of the golden arc. Now there are antagonist in the sense of opponents and some evil bastards but overall everyone is just fighting for their country or job. You have the Manga, the original hand drawn anime (really good but doesn't complete as the manga is on going) the CGI movies (most available on Netflix also don't fully complete as the manga is ongoing) and then there's the video game which uses cutscenes from the CGI movies. Now while it is a Japanese creation it really carries a more European setting to it. The main character Guts or Gutsu if in Japanese is at first rather bland but as time goes on him and all other characters gain depth over and over again leading to one of the saddest and shocking twists/tragedy that I've seen in a storytelling medium. I fully suggest checking them out as it plays on tropes effectively and grips you from start to finish (also there is beautiful artwork in the manga...though be warned that if you're sensitive to nudity, dark stories, and gory kills you won't enjoy it as much.
Bryan McClure Well, not exactly. Tolkien wove layers into his stories. There are indeed true Good and Evil (the grander, overarching scale). But Tolkien also focused on a more lesser scale, when shades of grey exist (the more personal, insular scale).
Bryan McClure Indeed. Even the few Orcs that became outside of Sauron's influence (after the second fall of Barad-Dûr of course) banded together and decided to keep mostly to themselves as roving bands.
At least give the evil dark lord a nice mom who loves him and waits him home and he's not telling her half the stuff he does because he started out trying to make a living for her and one thing came after another and he just loves that she's happy and won't tell her how gruesome and evil the way was that helped him put a roof over her head and food on her table. But she still thinks of him as her little son, and thinks the world of him and would be devastated if he didn't come home.
Okay that's cheesy but hey... Something. Give the story something.
Plus the underworld of the port city that directly or indirectly has jobs and income through his activity would be devastated if he was gone. See, the kingdom of good and justice the heroes defend has a very powerful merchant guild plus war refuges who could not enter the kingdom otherwise found a place in the criminal underworld who didn't ask about their nationality or religion, just put them to work and payed them. Now through the evil dark lord's endeavors, there's food on the table of the poorest too and long-persecuted nonhumans have shelter over their heads and can sleep through the night.
That doesn't mean the evil dark lord didn't really blow up that palace, killed all those priests, murdered that princess in the temple and painted the inner city with the blood of the innocent. For which the heroes are hunting him. Yeah, he did that too.
Fantasy (particularly epic fantasy) is such a formulaic genre. Here's a few that annoy me.
-The standard 'hero's journey' hero. You know what I'm talking about. The teenage boy who lives a boring life as a famer's son or blacksmith's apprentice and dreams of adventure, but sits on his ass and does nothing until a bunch of orcs or whatever murder his village.
-The dark lord who doth not have a personality.
-Medieval European (usually english) inspired setting. The world is vast with thousands of years of history to pull from. Pick something a little bit more unique to inspire your fantasy world.
-Bad guys being ugly. How did facial scarring, pale skin, and black hair become associated with bad guys?
-Magic being too easy and without cost. If magic is so easy, why aren't they living in a magitech utopia rather than being stuck in the middle-ages.
-(related to the first one) The boring teenage hero is able to pick up a sword for the first time ever and kill trained soldiers. It took years of training to become proficient in swordsmanship.
-The plucky tomboy who will be the love interest, but the dense hero mistakes her for a boy when he first meets her. I always see through this joke/twist as soon as she steps onto the page. I don't necessarily hate the archetype, just that particular way to introduce her.
-Authors with lack of understanding how armour/weapons/fighting/tactics work. Do some research if you want to use these things.
YES to all of this, especially the third point. It's why I set a short fantasy story in an Arabia-inspired area; I was so sick of boring-ass Europe. Let's have more variety, people!
Laura Maue That's a cool setting. There's a fantasy book called The Desert Spear (I think the author is Peter Brett) that is set in a middle-eastern area and it was such a breath of fresh air to read something different.
I'm working on a book that has settings/peoples that are inspired by Roman to Imperial Chinese to 18th century German to Jerusalem. Very fun to read and also work in a world with such a diverse cast/cultures.
What about a fantasy story where...
The teenage boy has grand ambitions when setting off on his journey to defeat the charming dark lord and his narcissistic kingdom of hot people.
I know Disney helped popularise the whole 'He's evil! therefore look at all of his scars and shock all the sun is gone whenever he's (or she) is on screen!" trope
Yeah, honestly the moment I see the word "king" I put it down because it'll probably just be one of THOSE books. I prefer fantasy books that try to devolp their own unique world or try to bring magic into the real world somehow (which can be great when done well).
My main character “Charlious Grimsson” is autistic (because I’m autistic and it’s easier to write from experience) has brown eyes and brown hair. He isn’t really chosen more that his mother fucked up and his twin “Luwther” was damned for all eternity, so it wasn’t really “meant to be”.
The co-main character “Dimitri Y.A.” is the one who’s broody and careful, completely opposite to Charlious.
I take my main inspiration from Norse mythology since it’s one of the things I’m obsessed with so I have the knowledge to wave it into history. I have a perfectionist brain and a higher level in physics so I need it too be as realistic as possible and not have any weird plot holes, even though it’s a fantasy series.
...I’ve been at it since I was 15, I’m 16 now and I’m not planning on publishing it any time soon. At the moment it’s my universe, no one else’s.
Your book does sound great tbh. I hope I'll be able to read it once you publish it. GOOD LUCK💖
Sounds pretty cool! Best of luck to you!
question- why didn't you just say 'i've been at it for a year'
@@fkdjdjcmckdjdjf3728 Because he has autism. Telling you his age is specific. And it may not have been a _full_ year.
Good luck to you! Everybody needs a Sam. :)
"imagine reading an entire book, only to find out that all that suffering and death could have been avoided"
To heck with fantasy,
Thats every world history book ever.
Just because it could be avoided, doesn’t mean the story was worse for having it.
Characters not making the best decisions have been a part of our greatest stories.
They are the cows from which we milk our drama.
The teenage chosen one is definitely my top rage- inducing element but for a different reason, because then you need to justify manipulating a child to fight a war. When I read these kinds of books it makes me resent every adult presence around the kid. Severus Snape said it best, "You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter?" This pretty much sums up that trope in a nutshell and I can't stand that the only excuse authors have for this is because they need their story to connect to a younger audience.
to be fair....the world ending unless they fight is a pretty good reason.
I'd rather that they not be children in the first place, but if they are children, and the world needs them to fight or else everyone dies, then they'd better fight.
The best answer to this question is Hashirama Senju's backstory in the Naruto franchise. It explains clearly how children and adolescents have fought in wars and the reasoning behind it. People mature at a different rate when born into a society actively strife with war or great adversity. There's a reason so many people died young in the past. Sometimes you cannot avoid children fighting in wars, because your side lacks numbers, or weaponry or supplies.
Severus Snape is the most hypocritical person to use that line (example), as he was complaining about all his efforts being wasted, not because he cared about Harry Potter's own well being (which he demonstrates literally the next second)
Dumbledore on the other hand, realized that he will be forced into that fight regardless of what he or anyone else wants, and thus prepared him best he could for the fight he knew was coming. Don't forget that Severus still didn't know the full contents of the Prophecy, only Dumbledore and the golden trio knew it's exact authenticity.
Oooooh! I’m now going to write a book about child soldiers! Thanks for the idea!
Reading this just makes me think of Evangelion....
I’m in the middle of editing an urban fantasy manuscript rn thank god for this video 😂🙏🏻
happy to help!
*God.
Pheenixorphan X yesss
Oh some good ones in there. And medicated Jenna is A+.
LOL thank you!
How about this concept as a twist on the whole "You were the key all along!" thing: Someone tells the protagonist or one of their closest comrades this fact, and while it seems set up to be that generic symbolism again, it turns out that, no, they literally ARE the key, or the key was literally inside of them as a part of their body they'll die without.
Thoughts?
Also, thank you for throwing brown eyes some love. I have them, and they never get the nice references other colors do.
Edit: Flipped through some other comments and realized at least one other person had a similar idea. Oops.
Lol I was thinking about doing something similar in my work in progress as a funny way to make fun of the trope. So my main cast spends a good half of the book trying to find an orb that can defeat the main antagonist and one of my co main protagonists gets it but it gets mixed up during a fight and then they get separated. Later, that character ends up with one of the side villains and she's wondering where the orb is and I want the conversation to go something like this:
"The Orb? Hehehe... don't you see?
It was inside you the whole time."
"WHAT?!"
"Two hours! It was inside you the whole time."
"You mean to tell me almost everyone I've ever known died for nothing?! This is so stupid!!"
"No! It was literally inside you. I took an x ray and found it in your stomach. You swallowed it. Now I have to perform surgery to get it out, you fatass!"
@@jeremiahbooth423
Can't I get out the way less painful
Well I'm not waiting another week for this damn thing when it's damn war that also looks like crap so you better suck it up
Here's a better twist. The main protagonist ends up cutting themselves open and grabs the key out of wherever it is located, and the main antagonist wins.
I just want a fantasy where it’s 1% humans and 99% Fantasy creatures (How the hell did we ever beat these superior beings?!)
Magic has a Patton and organized through Halfing bureaucracy.
The world (While old looking) should be advance with introduction of Magic and Technological fusion.
Something that includes only the good parts.
DnD? I think there's at least 11 nonhuman races (not including sub race)
Irish Mythology was actually a bit more like this. The entire point of the Books of the taking of Ireland was how humans did the impossible and actually took over after centuries of war with them.
Why don't you just write it yourself then?
Touhou.
...Technically.
@Yᴀᴏʀᴏᴄʜɪ. Wow, I did not expect another Touhou comment on this. Lmao
"because the main character is a stupid giant key!" XD
The invention of Black People LMAO 😂 😂😂 I couldn’t stop laughing, I almost choked on my water.
Well, on one hand, it's true that in medieval Europe black people were very rare (no, Maghrebi people don't count), on the other hand, this guy needs to be better known. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas-Alexandre_Dumas Note that Alexandre Dumas of The Three Musketeers fame is his son.
In NORTHERN medieval Europe, black people were rare, but in southern Europe they knew very well they existed. The Vikings knew them, too. And there were black Roman soldiers in England during the Roman Empire.
As a black person it doesn't really matter to me if a person of color is included in some fantasy stories or historical romances. When I was in the Army I met white people that lived in small towns with like only one or two black families.
MrAstrojensen, there's a huge difference between knowing of their existence and them actually being not-super-rare. I live in Chile and I have known about the existence of black people since I can remember, yet the first time I met someone black in real life I was 14, and it was only because I went to Europe. Romans had very little contact with black people because, again, northern Africans aren't black. There's plenty of awesome stories about real black people to tell (and that I really want to read about) without the need to bend history to make an uncommon scenario seem common. Of course this video is about Fantasy, so you can do whatever you want in fantasy, but when people talk about history, which was tangentially to alluded here, it's different.
Jaleen, I'm sorry if I dropped a bomb of unfunniness on your thread. I just really wanted to share that link about Alexandre Dumas Sr. >.>
It’s funny because she’s like : Fairies
Me: she’s about to destroy my whole career
Her: i love demonic fairies
Me: oh so the fact my fairies are worshipers of the goddess of night and eternal suffering is Jenna Moreci approved, cool
Love that for you dude.
Fantasy novels where the author doesn't show normal, healthy, sexual relationships, but has no problem giving you a second-by-second walkthrough a woman being violently raped. Seriously, why is normal sexual activity such a mystery in so many ways (fade to black after kiss, oooh naughty scene), and yet violent sexual assault is front and center. God this annoys me. In fantasy novels, I find most depictions of rape to be utterly useless. Fading to black or alluding to this would be just as effective, as the main through-line and story rarely hinge on this thing happening.
Brett Windnagle One of the most powerful ways to gain immediate sympathy is to show abuse of a female in some way shape and form.
Feminist Myths And it's the laziest and most annoying.
I know this isn't really a fantasy show (then again season 2 introduced ghosts so maybe it is) but that is 13 reasons why in a nutshell.
The little red haired girl from across the street I agree... doesn't stop people from abusing it.
I'm sorry is this rape in detail from Game of Thrones? I read 3 of the Witcher novels so far and they tend to give some detail to the sex bits....There hasn't been a rape yet....at least not upfront....though there was a funny bit where Dandelion (thinking these were his last moments before death) got to see the sexy parts of Yennefer due to her torn cloths. She says stop but he replies with (basically) "You got us into this mess and now I'm going to die but before I do I'm getting an eyeful of you" I should point out both of them along with Geralt of Rivia were tied up. #AlwaysRememberTheBathHouse
Jenna, why do you do this to me?? I have to go to bed (it's 1 am here in Germany) and study for TWO exams next week!! And now I have to watch one of your videos, because I can't resist it .__.
lol, sorry!
AAAAHHH, a heart AND a reply!! Now *I'm* going to shrivel up like a d*ck in the ocean, because that's waaaay to much attention from a famous person... ^^"
BUT! My book has unbelievably none of these tropes... yet... I'm only halfway through so far, so there's still plenty of time to screw things up
I think sometimes there isn't always a need for diversity in every fantasy story. If I were to write a saga based on the Samoan Islands in the ancient times, I would probably create a 99% homogenous cast, if not 100%
There are settings in which one ethnic group will either dominate or be the only one -- such as your Samoan idea -- but it's absurd to have a trading port or imperial capital with less diversity than the average Southern town.
Juliet Fischer not really if you wrote a fiction Anglo Saxon story some guy calculated that there would only be 2300 blacks in the whole of Britain
@@sunsetvlogs5500 - And I bet most were in the port cities and larger city centers where traders did business. That includes the merchants, their staff, servants, and guards.
So, yes, there will be some diversity -- especially if you also count any non-Anglo-Saxons in Britain (such as the descendants of retired legionaries and their slaves; merchants from Phoenicia, Greece, Italy; assorted mercenaries, slaves, and paid labor).
I don't know, I think you could make an imperial city homogeneous if the setting is akin to a fantasy North Korea, for example, or something inspired from the Forbidden City in ancient China. There are settings where complete homogeneity can make sense, I think. It's more a matter of how it is explained/justified.
@Benja Freeman It's an entire world. The dwarves and elves may be Nordic, but the rest of the civilized world is very much western European, when parts of the civilized world could easily have been at least partially belonging to another race.
No, I wouldn't have a problem with it if it were all East Asian (yellow is still derogatory, you should watch yourself on that) good guys and all white bad guys, because we don't live in a diverse but oppressive culture where East Asians are at the top and are the only race represented in high fantasy media. That's how it is with white people right now. The civilized people are all white, and the enemies of those civilized people are of other races.
Now if in, say, Japan, they had a population that was made up of more than 50% minorities but still only made high fantasy movies with Japanese culture being civilized and, say, European or African cultures being evil barbarians with no cultural value, then yeah, I'd have a problem.
Every fantasy writer in the world - “write your own damn book.”
Yeah you should.
"Put Tolkien's work down, you should know better."
The brown eyes thing is SO true!!! My book has, like, five characters with brown eyes because, as a brown-eyed person, I felt excluded in fantasy XD
my sister calls my eyes "dirty lake-water" colored and i'm gonna one-up her now with "baby-poop green"
"Dirty lake-water" actually made me lol.
Thank you.
If I read about another lost freaking princess or queen I will claw my eyes out
Lol,ToG. :D
Weeeell, this should be fun.
"Avyette!" shouted the old man on the tower. His daughter was running, purple cloak flying in the wind as she cradled her new born baby. Her footprints tracked all the way to the castle, but snow had covered most of them by now. The golden crown nestled atop her brown hair flew off into the blizzard as she struggled toward her next step. Then, as if the gale had aided him, the elderly man was at her side. "I never told you, but..." He lay a hand on her shoulder as she wimpered and held her child close. "You're the lost princess."
Sorry this is so badly written but enjoy clawing your eyes out!
"Right," said King Waldemar, giving his wife a stern look. "Where did you see her last?"
Pax Vobiscum The queen faltered. "You don't remember Avy?" The king's face remained blank. "Avyette? She's been missing for twenty years?" The king shook his head. "No? Well, anyway, a lord in the south says his daughter fits the description perfectly. Apparently they found her near his wife's corpse, but he thinks she died trying to save her, not giving birth. Point is, we should check it out."
I know! Why do they even get coronated when they're found anyway? Shouldn't there be a replacement by now? Let them stay lost!
The whole "key inside you" thing really is very frustrating and like a slap in the face to the reader. Sadly, some games are guilty of this too. So you experience the whole tale just for the climax to tell you that you, basically, went through all of that for nothing.
Real nice...
I've got some for ya...
All dragons being portrayed as evil
All main character magic is in a sword
Wizards are evil
Evil dragons are fine, but exclusively evil dragons are boring.
I’m writing a fantasy x sci-fi set like 150 years into the future, and the main character has a pet dragon which she rides on and shoots villains with her guns from a high distance. I actually love her so much.
And then there's just me, with my dragon character that is basically a god (and he actually exists), and the characters have their power within them, not because of some decoration. And guess what, not just the mains have powers! In their world, every wolf has their own power! :)
I love the idea of a guild of bored, huffy wizards who spend their time enchanting swords for idiot heroes and grumbling the whole time about how adventurers are too stupid to cast a damn spell unless it casts itself.
"Runes? You want runes, they cast smooth as butter, barely any chanting! Come on, not even a word of power or two? Or special offer, just for you- I have a great death spell, all you need to do is invoke the god of paladins and cut your hand, instant death for all who would slay you! No?
"You want- You want a goddamned sword, don't you? Flames? Sure thing. And you want it to talk too, original. No, no, I get it; snarky but ultimately helpful. Of course; the most generic great sword I can find.
"That'll be every scrap of gold and silver I can wring out of you for getting my hopes up that someone actually wanted to learn a *real* spell. I mean; special offer just for you, ya big, brave warrior! Oh, and you're *THE* chosen one! Why, I can hardly bring myself to take your money! I feel so guilty taking gold from such a brave, rugged hero, I insist on half price! That'll be 30,000 gold!"
Bitter wizard marches down to the guild basement and hauls out a box labelled "Chatty fire swords" and grabs one without looking, muttering the whole while about useless, boring sword users. "He doesn't even want one measly rune!"
Sorry, one more trope I've learned to hate in Urban Fantasy: The Gated Community. This is where whatever magical community has barriers to keep the normies out. This feels like cheating of the highest order. You want a fantasy in modern times but then kick out all the stuff about modern life? You shouldn't have it both ways. You want it in today's world then pay a mortgage, get a job, deal with traffic the whole nine yards. If that is too cumbersome Naria/Middle Earth/Krynn is three streets down.
Or you can have a gated world, and still deal with real life issues. Check out "The Magicians" books by Lev Grossman
that's why certain genres like sci-fi, and drama exist, because they're grounded on realism already.
"Female characters who could braid their pubes" got me dead 😂😂😂
It was actually a fashion at court around Marie Antoinette's time. Gives "French braid" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
Oh I hate this!
“I am a guy who looks SO NORMAL and I’m a normal dude who does normal things but Uh Oh, my village is in danger and I need to save the world which automatically makes a ton of women of all different species and races want to get into my pants!”
HECK EVEN I’M GUILTY OF THAT BUT AT LEAST I MADE SURE TO MAKE MY MAIN CHARACTER BE CALLED BEAUTIFUL BY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST THE WOMEN
Actually, my MC is kinda like that but I decided to exclude any romance from my story to make a point that not every story needs a romantic subplot
One novel trope that I'm getting really tied of is when every female (and male) character has the exact same body type. One might be an athlete, another might be a model, yet another might not even be human, and another might do nothing but sit on their butt and eat comfort food all day for a month because they're dealing with a bad breakup. But they ALL have the same body type! I see this sometimes with the male characters as well (all 7-foot-tall muscle studs), but I feel like I see it with the women more often. Maybe it's because their bodies get described more often or in more detail? Maybe I'm biased and I just notice it more with female characters? Either way, lack of body diversity might be a video topic that you could do.
Very true! At the same time, I think if there is a logical reason behind it. it is fine. In my WIP my cast all have fit body types. There's a reason behind it. Can't say why spoilers. The why can't be something lame. It needs to be reasonable and fit the story. Most books don't do that, in my opinion.
T Greene, I agree. If it's a story about the Olympics, then all of your characters are going to be fit (albeit in different ways because different sports require different parts of your body to be toned in different ways). If your story is about a group of people struggling to survive in the wild, then all of your characters are going to be frail and dirty. But if you're writing a story about the every-person, they aren't going to look like a supermodel because the whole point of the every-person is that the majority of people will be able to identify with them. And the people around them are going to look different from each other because real life people all look different. But I understand your point and I hope your WIP story goes well!
Which is why I made the princess in my urban fantasy kinda chunky with frizzy hair bc of depression-induced emotional eating Lol.
Sinclaire Thomas I see it too. Irs usually 3 kinds of smoking hotness- huge boobed, more modest boobs, but still curvy, & cute and petite.
I want to see more characters that are as short as me
Cyborg queen Jenna has posted 💞👑
yassss!
"There are green eyes that look like emeralds... There are green eyes that look like baby poop."
OMG, I died 😂😂
I was just dealing with eye coloring in my current story, and was realizing just such a thing about eye color. Even in romance novels, brown eyes are rarely used, the closest thing is black. Even though there are no such things as actually black eyes, they are dark brown, for some reason, brown eyes are considered unromantic. Personally, I love a set of dark, dreamy brown eyes as much as glittering sapphire blue orbs. I've come to the conclusion that the only color eyes my female protagonist could have is brown, no other eye color is working for her- I don't want her to have the stylish coloring of the time period (the typical blue eyed blond), she's a brown eyed brunette. As for him, I don't know- it keeps coming back to blue- great, says I to myself, I'm writing yet another guy with black hair and blue eyes, just like my last big crush who I'm still getting over. Maybe hazel would be a better choice for him, now that you mention it.
Your pissed off princess thumbnail is so adorable.
I hate the brown-eye discrimination, like come one people, all eyes are beautiful....
Unless they're blood red, cause that's demonic
Edit: Omg, I was not expecting so many likes😂😂
What if they are ruby red? Still demonic?
I love brown eyes. I have blue eyes but I wish I had brown eyes. They looks warm and welcoming.
But what about Albinos!? They often have red eyes. Also, the brown eye discrimination is also true in movies.
Or yellow, cuz that's jaundice
T Greene Yes
About #3
From the start, LGBT people of course make sense and have existed anywhere at any. To caveat that, if you choose to build a world around medieval europe and try to emulate some of that times views on certain people, you can't have flamboyant gay characters running around (or even just normal ground to earth gay people), at least not openly, or they risk discrimination far worse than today. But in a different fanasy world or a different country in that world, yeah, of course.
Second, people of colour. The way you argument, those characters would become token characters, which is not the best idea. Great job, including brown people just so you can say, yeah, there are brown people in this story. Not because is makes sense story- or lore-wise, nooo. If the story takes place on a continent where everyone is white (like Europe or let's say Westeros), having that one black guy or girl join your hero party or something is utterly unlikely. It bends the reality of the world you built to fit modern views on inclusivity and diversity and that is not a good thing. On the other hand, it would of course be possible to set the story or parts of the story in a more culturally diverse area, where this is not a problem. Contrast Westeros and Essos. In Westeros, pretty much everyone is white (which makes sense) while Essos is diverse and more colourful, with Ghiscari, Summer Islanders, Dothraki, Qartheen, Lysene etc.
About your second point.. I think you missed the point. It's not about creating a token black character. It's about making up a world that does not consist only of white people. And this can be done by just having different ethnicities in your world. A LOT of fantasy stories are about a journey and it seems like more of a token to leave out non white people then have them come across POC somewhere.
@@MissNymwhen It's still tokenism. I'll admit that diversity in an adventuring party is really easy to explain, but it still just doesn't make sense for every little village to have a metropolitan mix of peoples for the sake of it.
Irl, people couldn't do that without modernization, and all we've had are simple wild animals and bandits as dangers on the roads along with simple geography. In fantasy they have those, plus all those things you and Jenna use as defense for the inclusion. Seriously, how many common folk would risk leaving familiar lands when you could get nabbed by a Lich in a European-like country, or pounced by a werelion in "Africa", or possessed by a Youkai in Asia?
Only adventures could and should be prepared to handle those challenges, not the common folk who would be less diverse as a consequence.
I don't get why the argument is always "why do I have to include non-white people?" and not "why shouldn't I include people of different races/ethnicities?". People in the comments keep bringing up really specific historical scenaries to say that it would be weird to include someone of a different race, but we're talking about FANTASY. You're building an entire world. You chose the rules. One would think that the author who thinks of including different religions, political systems, different technologies and etc, would want to take the time to include different ethnicities as well, if only for the sake of worldbuilding.
Maybe this is just the way I personally see it, because I'm from a very diverse country, and maybe a lot of people who resist this are just people who live in majority white cities or countries or something, but skin colour is just it: skin colour. It it attatched to racial tensions in the real world but it doesn't have to be in whatever world you create. I don't know. I think reading about a 100% white fantasy world would creep me out a little - like some Aryan-race nazi's wet dream kind of place. (just to be clear, not saying anyone who writes this is a nazi, just that that white-only universe is probably what they considered ideal and it is creepy af)
@@@brubs2556
Well, many fantasy stories do not deal with the entirety of a world - just because people are generally getting around on horseback or by sailboat as their fastest means of transportation. Tolkien for example included POC with the Haradrim and the people of Rhûn (who, just btw, are not all evil despite them being labelled 'evil men'. I mean: Aragorn's people came into Middle Earth and subjugated and conquered. How are the Haradrim evil for siding with the enemy of Gondor? That's not evil, it's just common sense). Is that inclusivity in the way demanded by OP or you for example? I'd guess not. These people come from kingdoms far away and do not communicate with the heroes (they probably couldn't if they wanted to) and they all are on the opposite side of the conflict.
Yet the thing is you'd have to write in something extremely contrived to have them on the side of the heroes and speaking their language. If people live close to another, they intermarry. If they intermarry, racial differences disappear. You can see that in Europe were (even though some general traits might still be somewhat noticable) the intermingling of races will make it hard even for some Europeans to decide who from a group of five men is German, Italian, French, Polish or Irish. This was not the case a few hundret or even thousand years ago.
So to have, let's say, black people around being fully integrated into society, that would mean that there was a great migration that saw either those people or the white people moving probably thousands of kilometers (yes, skin colours are linked to different geographical areas for multiple reasons). That would be a huge thing. And then these peoples would have to make friends with each other instead of fighting over ressources - well that is nice. And then they would have to for some reason unite into one people with one language and culture - this takes a lot of time and a bunch of good reasons. And then you have a few generations of probably very contrived racial diversity before intermarriage leads to a homogeneous gene-pool again (That is: If your fantasy society isn't much more racist than people in the real world).
I'm not saying you shouldn't include any kind of racial diversity - but it should make sense in the context of the world you are describing. If Matt and Patt are from a archaic village were there are like six family clans that marry into each other basicly on a monthly basis for generations, I'd stumble over Matt being a white dude with blonde hair and blue eyes and Patt being a black dude with black hair and brown eyes - and Stacy probably having red hair and her mother was a brunette. That's not arguing against inclusivity, that's just being aware of biology.
If it makes logical sense in a world, it should be in. If it doesn't make logical sense, it shouldn't be included just to appease people that value political correctness over realistic worldbuilding.
For lgbt people to be specifically present you surely have to deal with sexual themes or how else would one know or why would they care. Therefore if you don't deal in or with said themes any characters sexuality is irrelevant
5:20 Dream Work definitely made Shrek WAY too hot, I call fan service!
Whoohoo! I always love these kinds of videos (they're very informative for a fantasy writer like me)! Keep up the good work~
aw thank you!
I feel slightly proud that I made a point to give one of the primary characters in my book (still wip...) brown eyes. I mean... Just kinda fit her. Okay, not "just" brown. Described them as "Dark". So very dark brown.
As for the whole World thing, I think there is merit to exploring the world in which a story takes place. I agree you shouldn't pull a Tolkien and use 10 pages to describe a meadow, but giving some information when appropriate, and exploring it through the characters, is of great benefit if you ask me.
I remember making thinking of funny conversation where the main character meets with some wise sage after seeing a mythical sword get destroyed. The sage talks about the true power to defeat the evil was inside them all along. Then the MC proceeds to get angry and threaten the sage if it turned this was going to be something about the power being inside the person the whole time. And he looks at the MC confused and explains how to repair the weapon and says something along the lines of:
"I have seen my friends and many innocents die from the terrible evil. And you thought I sent you on some hogwash journey to learn some dollar store symbolic nonsense?!"
Haha, I really like that, I'd have to steal it for something someday!
“Hair, metal, spandex and the invention of black people” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love this video 😁😄😄.
I've been trying my best to subvert tropes! Planning a book (working title Not Your Average Fairytale) all about subverting tropes.
We have a prince who wants love who is betrothed to a princess from another kingdom. He's upset because he wants to marry for true love, and the princess is upset because she doesn't care about love at all. So, they run away together to go on an adventure and find some quest to fulfill. This does not end in them falling in love in any way. They also find this farm boy, the son of a witch trained in making potions. He joins them, also wanting adventure. The king announces his son and his betrothed have gone missing and asks his close friend, the king of another kingdom, to help him search. This other king is evil, so he sends his dragons out to find them so he can hold them for ransom. One of the dragons doesn't want to assist him, so he finds them himself and befriends them. They decide they gotta face the king themselves because they're a bunch of impulsive teenagers. However, the prince and the farm boy get into an argument. The farm boy is upset that the prince seems more interested in finding love than making sure they aren't caught, and the prince is upset that the farm boy doesn't want him to have fun. The princess tries to get them to stop fighting, and the farm boy storms off to go home. The prince, princess, and dragon continue on towards the evil king's palace, and they challenge him. However, he has his dragons arrest them. The dragon escapes and goes to find the farm boy, while the prince and princess are chained up and forced to work for the king. The dragon returns with the farm boy, who challenges the king to a sword-fight. They battle, and the king reveals he's the farm boy's true father, and that he gave him to the witch to "keep him safe", so he should join him. The farm boy basically says "stfu why do you think I care I love my witch mom" and the king falls off his tower to his death. The farm boy saves the prince and princess and they all go back home. The prince and the farm boy talk on the way back, bond, and they eventually get married. The princess becomes an adventurer with her dragon friend and visits often. And they all lived happily ever after.
Also, the princess is a fairy
This video was a huge help! I’m planning a “High Fantasy” novel, and I hadn’t realized that six chapters in, and almost all my female characters are blonde and blue eyed... WOOPS!!!!
I will be fixing that. So THANKS @JennaMoreci!
I’d be interested on your thoughts in the realm of historical fiction as well.
Thanks and be well!!!
I do have an issue with #3. If the fantasy world sticks to medieval technology where travel was long and hard then it doesn’t make sense if the land-locked farming town is filled with different races (unless there’s reasoning like an attempt to unify nations with a settlement or something.) Now, if it’s a major city, especially if it’s near a large body of water like the ocean, then it’s more likely that you’d find more variation. Diplomats and merchants come to mind. This doesn’t just apply to Europe. If the world is based off of medieval Africa or Asia then you’re not going to find a lot of white people because, as mentioned, travel was hard then.
There’s also a good point my dad points out when we play DnD. I always want to play crazy races like Dragonborn or what have you, and he brings up this: Either the race is constantly noticed including issues like racism regarding me being a dragon person in a farming town with the thought of dragons being town-destroying monsters, which can cause conflict the other players might not want to take part of; or, the race aspect is ignored in which case why bother being some weird fantastical race if it’s barely mentioned. Some writers might not want to explore themes of racism or sexuality in their book because it either makes them uncomfortable, it doesn’t fit in the story, they have no experience in the matter, they don’t want to get it wrong and get whatever negative label thrown on them, etc. But, if you have a black person in a white town and everyone treats them like another whitey then why bother? This doesn’t just apply to race or sexuality. If my character has something like a stutter that never does anything to help or hinder said character, what is the point of it being there? Nothing would change if they didn’t have the stutter, and it doesn’t help when people with stutters want to relate because none of their daily experiences with their stutter is portrayed. Then it’s a cheap tool for characterization that could come off as offensive.
Also, the ‘Its fantasy!’ argument only goes so far. Fantasy should be based in some form of reality. Our brains can’t comprehend something truly alien. Hence why dragons are (mostly) lizards and aliens are based on some kind of creature found on earth. You can have a world where the trees are giant mushrooms; but, they’re still mushrooms and we know what those are.
Klutzy Ninja Kitty a good point
Throws a collection of witcher, and song of ice and fire across the room
+Jim-Bob
I haven't played any of the Witcher games nor have I gotten around to reading ASoIaF, so I unfortunately don't get what you're saying :p
In witcher was a problem with racism against elf etc. It was a really important part of the word building.
Klutzy Ninja Kitty - Well, a character being blond, ginger, tall or chubby doesn't change anything either so with that reasoning why having physical descriptions at all?
You say, "why bother". But why not?
To me having characters with different ethnicities, backgrounds and body types is a main appeal of fantasy. (Btw, I think that people who don't want to "bother" should probably not be writing a book in the first place...)
It's fine to have people of color in your story without talking about racism (same goes for sexuality, etc...). Being black doesn't make you a minority and being white doesn't make you privileged, it's all a matter of background.
About the ‘Its fantasy!’ argument only going so far... Well sure, but... what in diversity is alien and outside human comprehension? First, obviously it doesn't have to be a person of color, it can be any kind of diversity: race, species, sexuality, personality, health, morals, beliefs... And for "representation", if people relate to skin color they'll relate to skin color, if they relate to being discriminated against, they'll relate to that, it's two different things. But even if you want a black character being a minority, then you can make up a background story about a people of sailors whose descendants had spread through the lands over time; make them the child of a mysterious traveler from a far away land (might be the secret heir of some fallen kingdom's royal family); or have them being a quarter dark fairy... Heck, I even know a story with a guy having some kind of magical reversed vitiligo and it's one of the most amazing character I ever encountered.
*It's fantasy~!* The possibilities are endless (and without reaching the limits of the human brain's capabilities). =)
I mean, I'm completely fine with a story without diversity whatsoever, but _that's_ unrealistic and it has to have a reason for it.
At the end of the day, it's all good. Diversity or not, PoC or not, it all boils down to being a good writer or a bad one. If someone has to be told "your black character can't just have 'black' being their only feature" they're probably not the former...
Have a nice day! =)
Says the word 'fairies';
Only thing in my head: "Hey, Listen, hey, Listen Hey LiStEn!"
I kinda have the second one, but I like to think I'm doing it well, he tries not to love because he's terrified to lose anyone he cares about, he does feel and love but he tries to suppress it because he's a coward (In his own opinion) who can't take loss. His whole character progression is to stop being so scared to lose people that he (unsuccessfully) tries to close his heart to the world.
Interesting
Well my character has no attachments because he’s a demonic force brought to life because a wasted group of teens summoned him
@@cheshiregamez303 I totally remember doing Satanic rituals back in secondary school.
Steampunk Sentry ikr fun right? I brought the coke, my friends brought the knives and bandages
"Literally every woman in your book gets assaulted." Looking at you Outlander series -_-
WickedWildOne
And the men. And the children.
@@Pumpkinshaker ANAKIN STOP
Oh yeah, that’s true for pretty much all the characters, males included. I love the series so much, but that is definitely a flaw. The only defense I will give is the fact that Diana Gabaldon did try to be as historically accurate as possible, with time travel being the only real “fantasy” element. Women were definitely in far more dangerous situations back then. At least she gave a rare perspective of men dealing with ptsd after sexual abuse. Those scenes were highlights in my opinion.
Berserk *cough* Miura
Love Berserk tho
I'm afraid to ask what you think about dead parents tropes...☹
God: You're the chosen one.
Isn't there some soldier or ancient war hero that is more qualified than me?
God: Nope!
Ok, why not create something to stop the big mean threat? You are god, aren't you?
God: I did create something! You! The chosen one!
Ok, fine. What makes me a better choice than every warrior, wizard, king or warrior princess out there?
God: Look, if I choose someone who can actually fight, the villain is just gonna go straight to them. If I choose you, you can fly under the radar.
Really?
God: Yup.
Is that why the inciting incident is my village burning down and my family dying?
God: What?
*smoke rises from the background*
God: Ok, that could be any village.
Nope.
God: And how would you know?
There are no other villages within a 100 mile radius.
God: WHO THE HELL DESIGNED THAT!?
The author.
God: Ok, new plan. I go pick new chosen one. Have fun with the villain's horde of lackeys!
Wait, you can't just-
God: *vanishes*
;-;
Lol
😂😂😂👌
I'm writing a story with an MC whose chosen by a goddess, MC decided to take up the quest because she wanted to see the world, not because the bad guy came after her
moral of the story: don't ask too many questions
Instant click. Ready to be dragged.
(God I missed you last week)
awww thank you!
"There are green eyes that look like emeralds; there are green eyes that look like baby poop" HAHAHAHA
I seriously can't watch these videos without laughing like an idiot
Arianna My baby poop eyes take exception to that
Someone once told me my eye color look like a booger green :( lol eh
Thank you so much for the last one! I always felt super self conscious because I had brown eyes and all the other "pretty girls" had blue eyes. The lack of brown eyes in fantasy -the genre I read the most - just made me more self conscious and I was REALLY happy that somebody FINALLY went over this kind of stupid trend. Your one of my favorite content creators and I really like your humor and I strongly agree with pretty much all of your opinions. Keep making content!
lol loser
Brown eyes are my favorite!^^ I like the brown almost black and the m&m's brown
Brown eyes which almost look black are my favourite. Personally I like characters with neon eyes in fantasy as I like them to look different from reality but when we can’t have that, I like protags with either grey or brown eyes, even as a blue eyed person
I like brown eyes, and like Jenna said, it all depends on the shade. My eyes are blue/grey, and look kinda weird, so caramel brown or chocolate brown would be really cute in my opinion.
Where do you live? I'm surrounded by so much eye diversity
I’m really sick of the misunderstood teen/young adult tropes. Great video!
And the ‘It was inside you the whole time’ crap as well.
The metaphorical key trope is literally the stupidest thing in existence...
It's amazing, they risk death and there is an annoying elder telling them that they are a key.
In my book, eye color can sometimes determine race. Example: Lyras commonly has brown eyes, but the Avi family has a slightly more hazel color to it. This is a really useful trope to me.
I do this with hair. The Astra family in my story are known for mainly having blue or purple hair. Yeah, the people in my story are part of an alien race who naturally have crazy hair and eye colours.
Can you do a video on the mystery genre?
I was gonna say that the LOTR books don’t have these tropes until you got to the world building bit because....yeah
JRR Tolkien likes to describe things
Also about the diversity thing
@@TheLoozerDonkey he had diversity. The Southrons were black. Corsairs may have been based off the north African pirates. The Rohirrim were based off Nordic people. Hobbits were midgets. Elves were immortal and Numenorean men were some strange mix between elves and men.....
I reject the idea that just because there weren't a lot of different colors involved it means there wasn't diversity.
@@allotherlightsgoout I was talking about the human diversity(Hobbits and Elves are not really human and the people of Numenor are like half elf half human species), but yes I didn't really thought about the Corsairs, Haradrim and the Eastelings since I only thought about the Free Peoples which they were all white.
@@TheLoozerDonkey true. That's a fair point.
@@TheLoozerDonkey clearly good people are all white
2:16 "the chosen one" thing can be good, if the character grows into a strong, confident chosen one. Eventually.....
Yup. I'm writing a series about a line of chosen ones, each entry is about the successor of the previous entry's protagonist , and they all start out as normal kids but the gods choose them and temper them into powerful warriors through several trials
My most annoying fantasy trope: the never-ending story. Let me tell you about these cool characters, who I'll wrap up in a couple dozen other characters, each with their own side plot. Then, I'll divide the main characters from each other, and ignore some of them for hundreds of pages. The story will take twelve books, each 250,000 words. Each volume will add even more characters to follow, that way I can take the spotlight away from the original main characters for even longer. Then, I'll make each tome only advance the overall story by about a week. The plot will get more and more convoluted until no one remembers what the heck is going on, because fantasy.
Please have a story question for each book with character arcs for each POV character that has at least SOME resolution by the end.
discoverybg31 I think GRR Martin might die of sodium poisoning after that comment!
@Manic Pixie Fangirl (awesome name, BTW), Robert Jordan and to some extent JRR Tolkein are guilty of doing this as well.
discoverybg31
How is Tolkien part of that? Most of his stories are rather self-contained and the longest series is three books long. They take place in the same world, sure, but they explore different aspects of it. I wouldn't say that Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion are the same. You can read one without needing the other.
JRR created a very rich and detailed world, but the actual four books based on the world are pretty straight forward. Same thing couldn't be said for The Wheel of Time which started with three friends and a love interest and then exploded into an unwieldy epoch. You can even feel it reading those books too. Jordan seemed to have more fun writing about Matt and Perin than he did most of the other characters in that series.
_"I realize that vampires aren't fantasy creatures..."_
I had a surreal, brief moment where I forgot you were talking about genre -- and assumed you actually believe in vampires. :P
There’s some serious shade thrown at Game of Thrones. And I’m here for it .