1. knoxvicious

    knoxvicious New Member

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    Is anyone here NOT writing a fantasy novel/series?

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by knoxvicious, Jan 6, 2008.

    No one seems as original anymore...and in order for fantasy authors to BE original it seems they have to make it as freaking complicating as hell. Weird ass names, weird ass places, weird ass situations, etc.
    I've visited other writing forums and these are ideas for fantasy or sci-fi like novel's I've found from random people:

    I'm writing up a (very vague) outline for a coming-of-age-type story. It's about Uriel, the Crown Prince of Taivas, who accidentally acquires a hatchling combat-wyvern. In Taivas, wyvern-rider and royalty are mutually exclusive, so he gets the choice of either having the wyvern killed or joining the Wyvern Corps. Considering what the initials of that are, I'm trying to think up a better name for their air force.

    I have allot of stories I keep switching between but the one I like the most is set in a post apocalyptic future, in a city surrounded by near impassible walls (the people do farm though but food is still a problem.)
    Some of the people in the city have super powers (still working the kinks out of that one, but its not mutations and stuff) most these people have formed gangs witch act as enforcers for the dictator who rules the city. One of the gang leaders makes a bid for power and he walks on a few people along the way. So another gang rises up (well the leader is trying to be a hero so the word gang might not work) but theses guys are all in it for different reasons and believe that the group should be headed for different things (and not all of them are nice).


    My story is based in the kingdom of Arkaen, a cultural combination of Komnenian Byzantium, Julio-Claudian Rome and Hundred Years War England. In this kingdom, the land is bound to the High King. The High King knots the land together through Oaths, sworn to him by the lords and nobles of the land. If the High King dies without a righteous successor, disasters will be unleashed upon the kingdon, demon-spawn will wash over the land like a flood, your darkest nightmares will become your fondest dreams. It is set in a uncertain period for Arkaen. A decade of bad harvests, ceaseless warfare and peasant revolts have weaked the King's rule, and many of his lords are plotting to overthrow him and divide Arkaen into their own little kingdoms. Against this background, the tale of Alexius Conmenus will unfold. He is a young knight whose father remained loyal to the king and so was murdered for it. Alexius escaped the swords of the murderers and became a knight-errant, soon becoming entwined with the civil wars of the kingdom.

    My current story is a sci-fi story that involves werewolves and vampires. It takes place on earth and relatively modern times. Genetic research revealed that the mental disorder known as lycanthropy was actually caused by a recessive version of a gene. The dominant version of this gene caused a person to become an actual werewolf, or a Class 1 Werewolf. A Class 1 werewolf retains their humanity and behaves as they would when they were humans. This means that a psychotic person will be a psychotic werewolf, and a balanced person will be a balanced werewolf. When a Class 1 werewolf bites a human (generally these werewolves are the people that are inside psychotic/sociopathic, that lose control with the power they receive), they transfer a virus composed of both RNA and DNA. The DNA in the virus attaches itself to the chromosomes in the victims body, mutating as it becomes part of the person. These werewolves are Class 2 werewolves. Unlike Class 1, they do not retain their humanity. They are completely feral and uncontrollable.

    omg....these seem like HORRIBLE ideas and just reading the SUM of it is giving me a headache! What is it with writers and fantasy novels?
    I mean, I get it but it's just crazy how everyone is doing that gerne now-a-days and no ones doing anything else.
    I guess it depends what you're into, but you can easily tie these in with a lot of other novels also. It's crazy....
     
  2. Bluemouth

    Bluemouth Contributor Contributor

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    There's a mass market for sci-fi and fantasy. Simple as that. But I agree with you that some of those ideas are pretty uninteresting as well as slightly unoriginal but the fantasy genres give people a chance to create something of their own.

    I still see plenty of writers attempting horror, drama, even comedy. I've always been a horror writer and right now I'm working on a sci-fi/horror novel which has a good premise and hasn't been done before.
     
  3. Odinschild

    Odinschild New Member

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    Well, mine is Fantasy, but its not too complicated (at least, I don't think so). Hopefully it's also fairly original.

    My current (as yet untitled) project takes place in the present day. It follows a character, Marc, as he goes on a journey of self discovery of who he used to be, and who he will become. No fancy names, no weird places (all the places the story goes are real places) a little magic, and a man who may or may not be the King of Seattle.

    In the companion story, entitled "The Key of Eternity" you'll meet "Those Who Dwell Elsewhere" the seclusive Gods (or God-like creatures) who created the world, and still live in it. You'll find out about the eight Objects of Power, such as the Key of Eternity, which "Those Who Dwell Elsewhere" used to create everything.

    You'll explore Raven's Onyx Tower in the Central Desert, the glimmering silver cities of Man built amongst the great forests of the West, and the Jade and Gold strongholds within which Tiger and Dragon dwell in the East. It's part hero story, part creation myth. And I've personally not seen anything quite like it.


    Ok, so they might be a little complicated, especially the second one. However I think they're original enough to satisfy anyone looking for something different.

    So don't lose hope! Originality is out there... somewhere...
     
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  4. knoxvicious

    knoxvicious New Member

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    I love reading horror. Is it kind of like Stepgen King's Dreamcatcher or I Am Legend? Not the stories, but the gene?

    Yeah, you know, at least that. There aren't too many new worlds for people to easily dig into it seems. Though I'll admit, I've written one too when I was younger.

    >>>So don't lose hope! Originality is out there... somewhere...

    :) I definatly believe that.
    Too many fantasy novels hit close to home and there are a lot of things that haven't been done before that don't have to involve fantasy that can involve heros, same conflicts, same suspence, things like that.

    Everyone is free to write what they won't, but every fourm I visit it's always with the fantasy!
     
  5. Bluemouth

    Bluemouth Contributor Contributor

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    It's more like a 'Lost World' (as in Jurassic Park) meets 'Dreamcatcher' without the alien antagonist mixed with adventures through the wilderness and cities of another world.
     
  6. B-Gas

    B-Gas New Member

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    Everyone loves fantasy because it's easy writing. You only need just enough research and just enough of a magic system and just enough logic and just enough character development and people will lap it up. Plus, it's easy to jack up the scale- just make the dragon BIGGER.

    Of course, there is some good fantasy out there... Like mine...
     
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  7. Torana

    Torana Contributor Contributor

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    I used to like fantasy but there is just too much of it and it interests me very little these days. I prefer horror and psycological thrillers. I only write in those genres as well.....I don't go out of them....
     
  8. RomanticRose

    RomanticRose Active Member

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    I'm not writing a fantasy series, but my fiance is.
     
  9. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    I normaly prefure writing Pychological mysterys and horrors (Mostly Cosmic Horror).

    I wouldn't say anything I write is in the Fantasy genre.
    But it's all fiction.
     
  10. Axis

    Axis New Member

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    Fantasy is like any other genre really, there's a lot of it out there and not much of it is very good. But there are a few gems, and I think like any other writer, when I was writing fantasy it was because I thought I was writing one of the gems.

    But at the moment I'm not writing fantasy, although if I were to break down the storyline of my current novel the way you have here I'm not sure how it would sound.
     
  11. Crazy Ivan

    Crazy Ivan New Member

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    Things I can't stand in fantasy:

    1. Lots and lots of dragons
    2. Magic jewelry
    3. Chosen Ones
    4. Beautiful elves
    5. Omniscient evil kings
    6. Angst-ridden supporting characters
    7. Beautiful-princess-y supporting characters
    8. People secretly related to other people.

    I despise them all....usually. But there is a way to do them right. Originality isn't always in the contents of the story. It's in how you spin it, how you present it, and then how you tell it.

    (NOTE: I'm pretty sure Eragon has all of these, and does them all wrong. Eragon is the number one, epitomic example of a cliche-ridden, unoriginal, poorly-written fantasy series. Aargh.)
     
  12. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    Ah, you guys would love Limyaael's rants. Gives things for fantasy writers to shy away from, why they're so horrible, and some solutions. I put the link on this site, just go to 'Writing Issues > General Writing > Writing Resource Links'. There are a lot of other helpful things in there as well.
     
  13. Crazy Ivan

    Crazy Ivan New Member

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    Now that's a plug I saw coming. =P
     
  14. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    Then go there already! Haha... I've told you that before.

    Did you ever?
     
  15. Crazy Ivan

    Crazy Ivan New Member

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    Only a thousand times.

    The only site better than that is TV Tropes.

    Like the rants, but with less of the rage and more of the funny.
     
  16. Domoviye

    Domoviye New Member

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    I'm trying to write a general fiction story.
    But I am planning a series of loosely connected novels about the life of an immortal cat that used to be human. I think that's original enough without throwing in weird names and things.
     
  17. MarcG

    MarcG New Member

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    Haha. It looks like the writer of the 3rd one just took a basic biology class and thinks they know what they're talking about. The whole DNA/RNA bit has absolutely no logic behind it.

    Fantasy is easy to come up with ideas for because there are no real laws one must follow. It's not like it's being written to match anything - there are no real places, humanity may or may not exist, etc. It gives the freedom to do what you'd like while getting rid of any pesky 'reality'. Yet, despite that, many fantasy writers will make an entirely new world, create abstract concepts as the staple of the society, and fall back on basic HUMAN concepts as the core of it all. Ugh. You can't assume that any and every civization adopts the very same set of morals as us all, or better yet, have no morals whatsoever and somehow have a massively advanced civilization founded on the sole principle of killing each other. It just doesn't work. ;)

    Still, it doesn't take a whole lot of thought to come up with most fantasy plotlines. You could be watching TV, watching Animal Planet, see something... and oh hey! I wonder if they could talk? And talk to elves?! That'd be sweet!
     
  18. Kid At <3

    Kid At <3 New Member

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    I don't think those ideas are necessarily 'bad'... have you ever read the story that was being summarized?

    As for your question, I don't write fantasy- I write realistic fiction. :D
     
  19. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I favor science fiction, but with some semblance of credible science, not just fantasy set in a future time. But I believe that no matter what genre you write, what you aqre writing reflects your view of humanity. You may write about what you feel mankind's highest potential is, or its darkest inner nature. You may talk about daily themes of trust and fear and love, and it matters not if your characters are drifting clouds of energy, or ordinary humans facing challenges far outside their experiences. The story remains about humanity, life, spirituality, all the same themes as more ordinary dramas.
     
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  20. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    I agree with that... in fact, I usually have the desire to put things, even if they happen to include androids, in 'General Fiction' as it's basically just a story with a different flavor in setting and some devices.
     
  21. knoxvicious

    knoxvicious New Member

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    I actually think fantasy novels are really hard to write...just look at LOTR's and those people like that seem to want to make it THAT complicating. It's true that there's a way to do it right but I'm also getting tired of all these novels I see out here published.

    i went to the library once and in the adult teen section almost ALL the new bestseller one were about vampiers or witches. I don't see what people see in them anymore, they're far from oringial or even good. Twilight for example....:confused:(And, sorry if anyone likes that book)

    As for the comment about Eragon....all of those story ideas were from Anti-Shurtugal....anti-Eragon site XD Even the freaking people who know that story is unoriginal they're throwing out even worse ideas....

    And to those who AREN'T writing those fantasy novels, lets hope it'll be a bestseller, readers have to expand their freaking horizon...
     
  22. knoxvicious

    knoxvicious New Member

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    Good, At least SOMEONE'S doing something to prevent another Eragon!
     
  23. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    :eek: :p ME!!! [and never would]
     
  24. Mordecai

    Mordecai New Member

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    Not me, I don't think I've ever written a story with any type of fantasy in it. My works contain mostly horror and/or drama. I never really got into anything sci-fi/fantasy in my life, I'm not interested in something that's not real, it just doesn't thrill me. I'd rather read or write a book about real life problems/places/characters with an amazing twist that leaves the reader's head spinning. I like being confused or should I say, amazed, by any type of plot with a twist. Fantasy just doesn't cut it for me.
     
  25. Leaka

    Leaka Creative Mettle

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    I've tried fantasy myself.
    But my natural roots are horror. I love that genre.
    It allows me a dark enough atmosphere to spook the reader.

    Fantasy is boring now. There is to much and to much non originality.
     

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