Writing fantasy? Take this exam.

Discussion in 'Fantasy' started by Tenderiser, Jul 5, 2016.

  1. Greenwood

    Greenwood Active Member

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    Wow! Went into this with weak knees, actually fearing being guilty of some of these tropes, but as it turns out, only 36 and 37 can be found in my story. Then again, the aposthroph is a denoter of a title and not actually part of the guys name (only his title; X'rad X) so nothing to worry about I guess.

    Quite relieved:) And the list is good for a laugh!
     
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  2. IHaveNoName

    IHaveNoName Senior Member Community Volunteer

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    Yeah, but it is a good indicator of what to look out for, as far as obvious cliches.

    Thought of a few more:

    * Does your world feature a mountain range behind which lurks an evil and/or powerful being or race?
    * Does said mountain range have an unnatural shape (circular, square, etc.)?
    * Does your world have an evil and/or powerful being or object that was sealed away?
    * Does your story include a character who refers to him/herself in the third person for no discernable reason?
     
  3. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    I'm surprised the exam doesn't ask about living vicariously through one's main character
     
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  4. Auger

    Auger Member

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    23rd century humanity discovers a planet made out of every fantasy and mythology trope ever.
    Although I'm intentionally invoking Poe's law by providing an anti-parody context to ridiculous/cliche ideas, It's unbelievable how many of these cliches I almost fall into.

    Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?
    Accelerated aging, check. Gains corporate power through nepotism, check. Defeats the (possibly evil) communist baddie, check.

    Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
    ancient prophecy government propaganda to create child soldiers.

    Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?
    News reporter

    Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?
    Zeus, an ancient immortal with a literal god complex seeking his former power, now works in a convenience store to disguise himself while he reclaims his lost technology.

    How about "a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons"?
    I have an alcoholic janitor who hides a lot of his past. He's a sleeper agent.

    Is any character in your novel best described as "a dour dwarf"?
    I'm not going to leave comically short people out of my story.

    Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
    :dead:

    Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?
    Hell yeah.

    Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books?
    yes.

    Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm?
    From earth to another planet.

    Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
    Genetically engineered ninja-vampires and pirate-werewolves.

    Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it?
    A harpoon gun is one of my bounty hunters' signature weapons.

    Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more?
    In power armor, why not?

    Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion?
    In the prequel, the gods try to assert political dominance by erasing everyone else from their medias.

    Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute?
    Replace bard with memeologist bum friend.

    Is "common" the official language of your world?
    99% of the world speaks English a few decades after World War 3.

    Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?
    If astronauts landed on middle-earth to escape overpopulation.
     
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  5. I.A. By the Barn

    I.A. By the Barn A very lost time traveller Contributor

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    Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it?
    Yep. I can't do anything to ignore that.
    Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
    Sort of. They are more trying to do one thing and accidently sort of fulfil a prophecy but no saving of the whole world happens.
    Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
    Just elves. Everyone hates them, they are a bunch self-centred twats.
    Is "common" the official language of your world?
    Well, we only see Britain and though I'm writing it in English, everyone speaks in Welsh. Other languages are used occasionally.

    I did better than I thought I would, but that's probably because I didn't set my book in a medieval era and everyone uses rifles and pistols rather than swords.
     
  6. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    I once wrote the first few chapters of a fantasy novel and, I admit, fell prey to one of these. I wrote in an inn which only existed so the characters could get into a brawl. A few pages later, the story petered out and I haven't touched it in fifteen years. It was the only time I ever tried writing fantasy.
     
  7. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    One is made with hops, the other isn't. ;)
     
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  8. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    In space, do asteroids count as fish? :)
     
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    Ale is a type of beer. Lager is another common type. Both use hops. There was a beer-like drink made without hops, but I don't recall the name. Ales and lagers are made with different brewing techniques.
     
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  10. IlaridaArch

    IlaridaArch Active Member

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    I thought I would have gotten rekt by this exam.

    I answered "no" to all of it. What do I win, @Tenderiser ? A cap? A coffee mug? PLS ANSWER ME.
     
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  11. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    A million dollars! But they're fantasy dollars, so...
     
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  12. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    So they're probably doing better than the pound, at least.
     
  13. IlaridaArch

    IlaridaArch Active Member

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    I admit I laughed.
     
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  14. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    13: How about "a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior"?
    He’s powerful and kind-hearted, but by no means slow.

    16: Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?
    She’s good at getting into trouble (as one character points out), but that’s not her sole or main purpose.

    25: Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
    Not relevant to my story, so . . . no.

    26: Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"?
    My brother drew a map for me so I can keep my head on straight . . . I am not good with directions and distance! No silly names, though.

    29: How about a quintet or a decalogue?
    A what or a what? *looks up* ohhhh, nope! It’s planned as a stand alone.

    30: Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book?
    That depends on how thick a NYC phone book is . . . and how thick novel is when it’s finished.

    39: Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
    Nope! Just humans, dragons, griffins, and ogres (though these I might change the name of, since they’re basically just two-legged animals).

    40: How about "orken" or "dwerrows"?
    Am I the only one totally lost on what these are?

    46: Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls?
    Nope, but they do exist solely so my main characters can eat and sleep . . . and bump into the bad guy. Then again, my book’s not complete yet.

    47: Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don't?
    I know I don’t know how feudalism worked. Don’t care either. It’s a fantasy book based in a world I made up, so I can make it whatever I want:p

    48: Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?
    Depends on what one considers inordinate. They do have to travel a lot, but the story isn’t focused on the travel.

    54: Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs?
    I actually looked this up for my story, but no I don’t remember. It’s heavy, I know that much!

    65: Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an "on the road" meal?
    A good stew, yes. A bunch of food thrown into a pot of water, no. My characters don’t make stew “on the road,” though I may have to rethink the beans . . .

    72: Is "common" the official language of your world?
    My book takes place in one kingdom, so all the people in it speak the same language.

    I got lucky in that many of these questions are based on magic and elves and dwarves, all of which my story has none! Now to answer IHaveNoName’s additions:

    No to all but #4: Does your story include a character who refers to him/herself in the third person for no discernable reason?
    I have one character who refers to himself in the third person, but it’s sort of a speech impediment the readers don’t know about. I accidentally wrote it in a few times and found it a charming characteristic, so I decided to make it a speech impediment based on who and what he is. It’s really hard not to make him sound stupid, but it’s a challenge I find fun.


    This thread is fun! I like reading everyone's answers. You guys make me:superlaugh:.
     
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  15. doggiedude

    doggiedude Contributor Contributor

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    You're certainly welcome to make the political atmosphere whatever you like. However, I think the point of the question was that it should make sense. People allowed themselves to be ruled over and taxed because the rulers provided a certain level of protection. I've seen too many stories with evil leaders where I keep asking myself why they people tolerated it. Even if they couldn't fight back, most of them could just leave.
     
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  16. KhalieLa

    KhalieLa It's not a lie, it's fiction. Contributor

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    7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
    I have a prophesy about an orgy that includes a heterosexual (female) whore and the following male participants: an impotent king, a bisexual dwarf, and a gay dude. Does that count?
    25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
    I have no idea and I'm not sure why that's a relevant question.
    39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
    Does dwarf count? I never use the word dwarves because I'm writing about humans, not some Tolkienish race.
    48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?
    It just takes a really long time to walk from the Ural Mountains to the Black Forest, sue me.
     
  17. ChaosReigns

    ChaosReigns Ov The Left Hand Path Contributor

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    This is long but here's my "smartass" version
    1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages? Er, nope, stuff does happen
    2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage? Nope, he's a swordsman with semi mysterious parentage
    3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it? at a stretch - yes
    4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy? Nope, my dudes in his 90s ffs
    5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world? Nope
    6. How about one that will destroy it? Nope
    7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good? Not in the strictest sense
    8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information? Not really
    9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise? Yes, not that the character knows it until the 3rd book
    10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character? Nope, the MC thinks the bad guy is his father, but his fathers dead...
    11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician? Nope, the kings an asshole, why would i do that?
    12. Does "a forgetful wizard" describe any of the characters in your novel? Nope
    13. How about "a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior"? Hell no, the MC's powerful and kind hearted, but definatly not slow
    14. How about "a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons"? Nah
    15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around? Nope
    16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued? Nope
    17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals? f**k no
    18. Would "a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword" aptly describe any of your female characters? Nope
    19. Would "a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan" aptly describe any of your female characters? Kinda for one of them
    20. Is any character in your novel best described as "a dour dwarf"? My Dwarf mc, is kinda dour, (more stern than anything) but really a good laugh
    21. How about "a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage"? Nope, I play a more Dwarf heritage thing going on here
    22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different? They are friends, but its more of convenince until the 3rd book
    23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief? No, though my human MC finds my Dwarf MC kinda adorable (even with only a 2ft height difference
    24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy? Trader ships are the only ships used in this.
    25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented? The hay baler doesnt exist in my book, only stacks
    26. Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"? Nope
    27. Does your novel contain a prologue that is impossible to understand until you've read the entire book, if even then? Nope
    28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy? try like 7-8 books
    29. How about a quintet or a decalogue? see above
    30. Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book? I-Uh, yeah
    31. Did absolutely nothing happen in the previous book you wrote, yet you figure you're still many sequels away from finishing your "story"? No, and, No again
    32. Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books? No, i am writing a book on lore
    33. Is your name Robert Jordan and you lied like a dog to get this far? No
    34. Is your novel based on the adventures of your role-playing group? No
    35. Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm? No
    36. Do any of your main characters have apostrophes or dashes in their names? No
    37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables? No
    38. Do you see nothing wrong with having two characters from the same small isolated village being named "Tim Umber" and "Belthusalanthalus al'Grinsok"? Hell Yes
    39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings? Check all aside from halflings, and include Direwolves
    40. How about "orken" or "dwerrows"? Nope
    41. Do you have a race prefixed by "half-"? Nope
    42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines? Yes at the end of the first book
    43. Do you write your battle scenes by playing them out in your favorite RPG? Nope
    44. Have you done up game statistics for all of your main characters in your favorite RPG? Nope
    45. Are you writing a work-for-hire for Wizards of the Coast? Nope
    46. Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls? Inns? they exist not
    47. Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don't? Nope
    48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place? Nope, they get from point A to B as fast as possible
    49. Could one of your main characters tell the other characters something that would really help them in their quest but refuses to do so just so it won't break the plot? Nope, they like to state the obvious.
    50. Do any of the magic users in your novel cast spells easily identifiable as "fireball" or "lightning bolt"? Not without a translation of the language used, no
    51. Do you ever use the term "mana" in your novel? No
    52. Do you ever use the term "plate mail" in your novel? Nope, i use Hauberk, and Anime combo
    53. Heaven help you, do you ever use the term "hit points" in your novel? Nope
    54. Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs? They don't use gold,
    55. Do you think horses can gallop all day long without rest? Nope, they stop briefly a couple of times
    56. Does anybody in your novel fight for two hours straight in full plate armor, then ride a horse for four hours, then delicately make love to a willing barmaid all in the same day? Nope. and given my MC has a thing for men rather than women...
    57. Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it? Nope
    58. Does anybody in your novel ever stab anybody with a scimitar? Nope
    59. Does anybody in your novel stab anybody straight through plate armor?Nope
    60. Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more? [info] Nope, at most they are around 15lbs *most swords are on average 10-15lbs so this defeats the object really*
    61. Does your hero fall in love with an unattainable woman, whom he later attains? Nope
    62. Does a large portion of the humor in your novel consist of puns? More like innapropriate innuendos
    63. Is your hero able to withstand multiple blows from the fantasy equivalent of a ten-pound sledge but is still threatened by a small woman with a dagger? Nope, he takes all in his stride
    64. Do you really think it frequently takes more than one arrow in the chest to kill a man? I tend to go for the arrow through the throat trick and one tends to work
    65. Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an "on the road" meal? I tend to have the characters make a "fast" meal, one being experienced in cooking while traveling
    66. Do you have nomadic barbarians living on the tundra and consuming barrels and barrels of mead? Nope
    67. Do you think that "mead" is just a fancy name for "beer"? No its got a mild difference to Beer.
    68. Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion? Nope, different races, different countries, same religion
    69. Is the best organized and most numerous group of people in your world the thieves' guild? No thieves here buddy
    70. Does your main villain punish insignificant mistakes with death? there is no main villain as such
    71. Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute? Nope
    72. Is "common" the official language of your world? Yes,because with like 8 other languages, there has to be a common one for trade etc
    73. Is the countryside in your novel littered with tombs and gravesites filled with ancient magical loot that nobody thought to steal centuries before? Nope
    74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings? Nope, no dragons, and I mix a little Game of thrones in for good measure
    75. Read that question again and answer truthfully. I stand by what i say
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2016
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  18. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I think this one goes hand in hand with the question concerning the MC who's a farmhand, and also the secret Prince, chosen one, heir to the realm.

    When the MC starts off as a farmhand, anachronistic hay bales may well get mentioned, and since the baler wasn't invented until the mid 1930's......
     
  19. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    So many of those fantasy stories. I've seen the blame laid at Tolkien's feet, but Frodo really isn't anyone. He's not heir to anything, or even a chosen one. He's just the guy who, through a series of circumstances, ends up with the ring, and the best suited of the potential candidates to try to destroy it.
     
  20. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Or it might be short-form for any historical anachronisms?
     
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  21. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Yep. Agreed. I can see that too. :agreed:
     
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  22. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Hmm.... Didn't know Tolkien caught the rap for that one. I don't often stray into lands of Fantasy and the few times I've delved, it turned out to be Science Fiction wearing Fantasy costumes, e.g. Mccaffrey's Pern novels, MZB's Darkover novels, etc.
     
  23. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    I don't know how common it is, but I've seen people point to a "chosen one" sort of plot as one piece of evidence of a Tolkien ripoff, which as I said doesn't make sense to me. My fantasy stories are more SF wearing Fantasy costumes as well, which is an interesting balance to try to strike. You can do what Terry Brooks did, with his Shannara works, and just say the science part of it can be damned, and even though you're in a post-apocalyptic earth you're pretty much using straight fantasy magic. I'm trying to give mine more of a grounding, though admittedly I stray from it when I feel like it, with only the loosest of rationales to pin it to science.
     
  24. Gadock

    Gadock Active Member

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    I like these questions although I don't agree completely with all of them.

    A fearless warrior more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan, doesn't this count for any trained swords(wo)man? And obviously any cook would be more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword, wench or not. Or am I taking this completely wrong?
    Whats wrong with trilogy, quintet, or decalogue?
    If I think I know how feudalism works, but don't really. Why would anyone ever answer yes? They do think they know, they just don't know that they don't know :p
    When you write a book where they travel an inordinate amount, don't you think the write disagrees? When does it become inordinate amount?
    Do you not realise how much gold actually weights? So if you do know you fail the exam? D:

    I've got only 2 yeses, there is a god in disguise basically. But this can be easily seen, if we'd bring technology to the past they would see us as gods I presume.
    Second is where they go on a quest to get a magical artifact to save the world, but this is only at the beginning and nothing like anyone thinks (I hope).
     
  25. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    True, it does need to make sense, and I believe it does in my story. If it doesn't, hopefully some beta readers/critiques/editor will point it out.
     
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