I'm writing a story, and I can't figure out what species I want my character to be. I know it's a bit trivial, but I'm having a problem with it. As of now she's an elf, but I'm hesitant to stick with that because it seems like whenever there's a main female character in high fantasy she's an elf or a human. The other two MCs are a human and a dwarf, so I don't want her to be either of those, and I don't want her to be an orc, just because I'd feel like I was doing a knock off of a female orc character from a certain story I like. I'd like her to be humanoid, and that's basically all the cool humanoid fantasy races I know. So just a quick recap, I need a speaking humanoid fantasy race that is not humans, elves, dwarves, or orcs. Please help me.
Well, she could be half-something? Maybe even an elf/dwarf hybrid- don't see many of those. Alternatively, make up your own fantasy race. Or find one that isn't humanoid- I personally think that fantasy could use more very distinctly not human fantasy peoples.
You could do: Some kind of merfolk Faerie Dark elf Some kind of nature spirit Some kind of undead Some kind of shapeshifter A part-demon race like Tieflings (from D&D) A part-mammal race like Centaurs A part-bird race like Aven A part-reptilian race like Naga
Dive into mythology. There are a lot of mythological creatures that might be able to fit the bill and/or give you ideas.
Goblin with wings? Demon- Fairy? Piers Anthony had a way with making creatures attractive, out of their stereotypes. Fairy Goblin Mother?
Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive list of human-like mythological races to choose from. Take a meander through that list and see which ones you like.