 Fantasy: July 20, 2022 Issue [#11411] |
This week: That Kind of Story. Again. Edited by: NaNoNette  
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“I have too many fantasies to be a housewife.... I guess I am a fantasy.”
― Marilyn Monroe
“Fantasy, if it's really convincing, can't become dated, for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time.”
― Walt Disney |
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That Kind of Story. Again.
Tropes are a recurring theme, imagery, plot line, or character type that appear in stories. Every genre has those. Tropes are good and bad. They are good because they help out with world building. If the story describes a medieval castle, the reader quickly gets comfortable in a pseudo-European setting with knights and ladies.
Tropes are bad because they have become such a standard that it is hard to break out of them. Not just for the writer. Readers have come to accept tropes as the "reality" in fantasy fiction.
Common character tropes include the Chosen One, the Secret Heir, the Evil Overlord, the Lucky Novice, the Reluctant Hero (okay, he's all over the place - not just in fantasy), and the Mentor. Each time you read the description of these typical fantasy characters, you had a pretty good idea of what each feels like to you.
Common settings include:
The World that Never Changes. A realm that does not advance politically or technologically.
The European Medieval setting. Kings, queens, knights, sword fights. Jamie Lannister.
The Powerful Artifact. The ring that set off the longest walk for the shortest hobbits.
One type of race/species that is homogenous. Trolls. Orcs. Elves. Each one perfectly defined.
Common plot tropes include the Quest, the Battle of Good versus Evil, the Waiting Evil, and the Hand of God or Deus Ex Machina twist that saves the day.
For short story writing, these tropes can be a great crutch. They save the author word count that is built in through the familiarity of these tropes. Novel writers have to come up with ways to incorporate the tropes that breaks the cookie cutter a little bit.
Here are some ideas how to do it.
Deconstruct the trope. Choose a fantasy trope and treat it as if it was something found in the real world. For example, is it realistic to believe that different races such as trolls and elves have to hate each other? Can't an orc be smart like Einstein?
Defy the expectations that readers have of tropes. Which parts of your trope are required and which other parts are expected, but can be changed up? Let's say all the trolls in your story are big brutes, but your Chosen One troll is a poet.
Subvert the trope. Begin telling the story along the expected story beats and then change it up in unexpected ways.
Shine a light on the trope. Be blunt about it. Put your hero into a precarious situation and then have a dragon show up who introduces himself with the words, "I am the cavalry." (or Hand of God, or Deus Ex Machina).
Have fun with tropes. Use them to your best advantage while creating memorable stories.
Would you rather be the Chosen One or be the one who finds The Artifact? |
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I received these replies to my last Fantasy newsletter "Halloween" . "Is Halloween a night full of fantasy and wonder or just a nuisance to you?"
Elfin Dragon-finally published  wrote: For me, Halloween is a HUGE nuisance. I am a Christian and believe that even the smallest connection to evil should not be celebrated. I know people often say that Halloween is just kids having fun. But I believe the ignorance of its origins is no excuse.
Respectfully. I don't think you know the origin of Halloween. But I can understand how the hoopla is annoying to you.
Quick-Quill  wrote: I am using St Patrick’s day parade as the day my mc went missing. She is Latino but a party is a party and I’m sure there is Gree Cerveza
I had to answer in green to that. Who is your mc? Did you find it since?
Warped Sanity wrote: I love Halloween! Though, I typically call it Samhain. We tend to spoil our trick or treaters, but sadly due to Covid, we only had one trick or treater last year. Hopefully we'll get more this year.
Yay! You're that fun house at the corner. I'll be over. |
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