Hey there, everyone. Let's see if anyone can mash their heads against mine and help with some thoughts? When you read a story, do you ever think it a little stagnant when there's only two species (i.e. angels and demons)? Or do you get a little overworked when you're keeping up with too many types (I'm talking somewhere around five or plus species, each with their own little hitches and differences). What about the pros of having multiple species, or the pros of having only a limited number of species?
I find it stagnant if nothing new is brought to the plate and I am thinking of other movies/books/etc instead of concentrating on what I'm reading, but mostly a Good vs. Evil type thing usually works. The only trouble with bringing in more species is sometimes the names are so completely off the wall, it makes it hard to keep up and I find myself having to keep going back and figuring out which is which. The pros of having multiple species definitely help force you to add more descriptions to the book and gives more possible outcomes then having only two combatants, I would think. As long as everything is introduced properly, should be a great read. I just read a bunch of books that were all "angels vs. demons" and though they were done by different authors, they all started to run together and sound alike, so if you're going for something completely different, multiple species might be your best bet.
I personally don't have a problem with multiple species, just make sure you introduce them at a pace of just one at a time or a couple at a time. It's going to be harder for some readers if they've got 10 different species to keep track of within the first three pages. This is also the case for having lots of main characters.
Right, that makes sense. I just always wondered if sometimes it would be a tad cliche to have all these species bundled into one. But I guess that's why it's called fantasy and not reality, eh? And Rhy, I completely hear you there. Reading the same section can be awesome, be it vampires, angels and demons, witches and wizards, or whatever works your eyes, but when they all start to sound the same, that's when it burns out and leaves you disappointed.
I have six races/species in my stories - plus five of the races are split into pre-mortals, mortals and ante-mortals (basically immortal before they have children, mortal once they have a child and ante-mortals are like angels). I have humans, fire (my sort of elves), earth (sort of ogres), wind (sort of priestly class/dwarves), sea (kind of redheaded martial arts type), fifth element (don't really have an equivelent) - then I have humans. I also have people that are half bird (one of my main characters is part sparrow, another is part white crow). I find it is useful for creating an otherworldly feel, giving each country a distinct memorable flavour, and helps direct the magic, decide what birds the kings and abbots will be etc
