Everything that I know about elves is perfection. They are given to the reader as a species with amazing magical abilities that can stop an army with just a word. They are described as the most beautiful things that have ever existed. In one book they are even made one with nature in a way that seems like paradise to me. I have done a bit of research into the folk lore of elves and even then they are quite powerful and lovely. That being said, would you read a book about a world in which elves have somehow become looked at as less than humans? Would you be intrigued enough to read about their loss of life and power and see it to the end as a story of woe upon the world? or would you simply think that this writer has no idea what an elf is supposed to be and set it aside? My other worry when writing this book is that I may have stretched a little too thin. The main plots deal with elves and humans but there are Fairies and Dwarves and all manner of creatures that rule in this land, barely touched but spoken of. Though, that may change the further I progress into the story.
Well, prior to Tolkien, elves were just sort of little imp-like creatures from old folklore. It was Tolkien that reinvented them into the classic (sometimes downright generic) beautiful magical immortal humans with pointy ears. So it's pretty interesting when people are able to take elves in a more unique direction from that.
When he was a captain in the US Army, Harry S Truman said "[The Marines] have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to Stalin's." Take a look at the traditional view of elves and assume it's all lies. Maybe not all lies, but the important bits. Maybe they're tall and beautiful but utterly malevolent. Maybe they're rabid racists, the Tolkien elves in the film versions certainly were. Maybe they're beautiful and benevolent and dumb as june-bugs, constantly getting fascinated by the reflection of the moon in the water and drowning themselves. I did a flash piece where they were mortal, but tough, malevolent pack hunters who would kill you just as soon as look at you, and it got a couple nice comments. I guess what I'm saying is that although not everyone will like it, there's always room for a new take on a familiar character. As for your other magical species, that's what sequels are for.
Sure. It's just a matter of convincing worldbuilding. Honestly, I think using elves as shorthand for "beautiful ancient people connected to nature" is the cheap route and lets you skip a lot of worldbuilding - actually putting in the thought of "What if elves weren't that, for once?" is already on the right track for something a bit more interesting. I think a lot of our cultural concept of elves comes from the Tuatha Dé Danann or Aos Sí, but there's also a ton of fiction that doesn't really draw off of those at all, and only goes for the somewhat shallow "haughty ancient tree people" blah blah blah. So, as someone who's a big nerd for mythology, not paying attention to the 'source' wouldn't make me think you don't know what you're talking about. They're fictional! You can't be wrong about them But if you've put in more thought than "Tolkien elves, except ..." then you're doing well as far as I'm concerned. In Elder Scrolls games, one type of elf is the falmer. They're grody eyeless things that live underground - but they are elves. Their whole deal is that they used to be the pretty nature-connected semi-generic elves, but after being trapped underground for years and years, they eventually evolved into these dudes. I thought that was a cool take. Dwarves in the Elder Scrolls setting are actually also a type of elf, which if I'm remembering correctly is the case in Norse mythology, as well.
“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. No one ever said elves are nice." Lord and Ladies, Terry Pratchett The idea that elves are not the good guys has been done quite a few times before. The original basis for them, that of the fae from European mythology mostly just existed to torment and kill people. And here's the TV tropes page for the concept http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheFairFolk
Dwarfs. elves and spirits are generally interchangeable in Norse Mythology, but I think you actually hit a good point in reference to the elder scrolls, in that there so many types of elves in that. Dwemer, Falmer, Bosmer, Orsimer, Chimer, Altmer. The truth is that elf at this point just means "long-lived and pointy ears" for most fantasy fans, with their being a long list of prefixes such as "Wood", "Dark, "high" and so on that really give information on them.
Everyone is so helpful. Thank you. I'm thinking something along the lines of a fall from grace has had a major impact on the society and abilities. they've basically just devolved into humans with pointy ears and a more intense nature. I have spent many years working on this story and it has changed so much. The world has filled out over the yers but I'm working on building it up to the reader. I have this amazing thing going on inside my head and I'm sure that I will not do it justice. Do you have any tips for world building and what mistakes to look for?
Sure. It would make a great analogy for Edwardian England, as the ruling class suddenly found itself without its original purpose, thus the deference shown to them no longer had any clout, no reason for it. As a reader - me personally - I have no concern with what "an elf is supposed to be". That frame of mind is too literal and rigid of an engagement in the reading of a story, for me. Your elves should have a purpose in the telling of your story, not some predetermined definition.
If the books are well down I’d read them. I think in the Witcher books elves are a persecuted minority. That’s been done a few other times as well. No reason it can’t work in the hands of a skilled writer.
It sounds like you've got a decent grasp on what might make for a good story about elves, without resorting to standard Basic D&D representations as pointy-eared nature archers. As long as you give a compelling reason for them to be interesting as a group, they will be interesting. Worry less about them being elves and just write up the culture you want to explore! As for your question about world-building, that's a big area. What concerns do you have about world-building mistakes? I mean, avoid replicating what we've all already seen a hundred times, as best you can, of course. Do you have a specific worry or question?
In a fantasy canon I'm building with a friend (we make vidya games), this is basically a little bit how we started and it ended up working very good. We had two races that started off, in their very earliest concepts, as being your generic elves and orcs. We knew we wanted to do a lot more with them, though, and over time they both eventually evolved into races that are very far removed from their sources and yet you could still probably surmise that they were based off of them. A creative brainstorm thing you can do is take a Tolkien elf and then just add/remove/do shit to it. Change its appearance, change its society, change how it acts. Apply random concepts to it like "What if the elves could merge with trees". See where random brainstorming takes you and don't be afraid to have 'dumb ideas' at first that you use as stepping stones to a greater concept.
In Skyrim, the snow elves became the Falmer after being forced to live for generations underground. This is an extreme example of what I think you're trying to explore. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you want them to become either on par with humans, or slightly below, right? Well, the Falmer are outright vile creatures. Bottom of the barrel. I guess I'm saying the concept has been well received before, and it was done much more extremely. So go for it, and write it well. I have a soft spot for Tolkien's elves but it'd be interesting to read a "fall from grace" story about elves.
Is there such thing as too broad of a focus? I would have to start at the level of what the main character knows and work my way out from there. However, the story itself is quite large and long, much intrigue and struggle. I guess my questions boil down to: how do I write a solid story from one man's perspective and build a world out of it? this is just the first book and needs to lay the ground work for everything to come (which is quite a lot). I'm struggling with what to add and what not to. How much is believable and how much is the reader going to take away? Is there such a thing as too much happening to your main character? Or do I have to stick to the mundane: this is the character. This is the bad thing that has happened to said character. This is how he handles it. The End. Though I think I answered a few of these questions in my head. Write the story in its basic form and add. Rewrite and add. Repeat until it hits its mark. And then do it one more time for good measure haha.
Sounds like an Oxymoron to me!! I think in terms of focusing on one thing and then expand upon is generally what one does especially when writing fantasy. In terms of being to0 broad. The danger is expanding to an extent where you lose your focus, and it becomes a mish mash of many things. Although Elves feature heavily in many high fantasy books, I don't think that the market is saturated or has become cliché (not that I think there is anything wrong with cliché). Terry Brooks on numerous occasions has been accused of copying Tolkien, whilst I'd agree that Sword of Shannara has some similarities to LOTR, Brooks has managed to write a huge series of books talking about Elves and in a You tube video I have seen of Brooks he says he will carry on writing about elves! It all stems down to write what you want, make sure that the imagery is sellable and I don't think you can fall short in this regard.
