How do you avoid 'farmboy becomes savior'

Farm boy is approached by 'elves' who declare he is 'the one' and give him a bunch of magical things....

That he then tosses down a well while cursing the 'elves' and telling them they need to get on with 'the plan'.

Farmboy grows up into a loyal and unquestioning supporter of the 'evil darkqueen demon dragon, and sends his sons off to join the 'evil army'.

Farm son, after entering dark army discovers they are totally evil, goes looking for elves and discovers that his father threw away the chance to save the world.

Or your farm boy could be the sidekick of a 'knight'.

Or your farm boy could become possessed by a higher being with an agenda of its own.....

Great thread. It's reminding me there are no new basic plots, but the twists and the telling can make it original. I say write it - or at least half of it - and decide then if you've come up with something good. It's like the Vampire thread under horror; done to death but still popular among those who like vampires. There are a lot of readers who like the farmboy plot; just make it good.

There are no original plots. Only original execution of plots.

Just once - Just. One. Time. I'd love to see a story where Farmboy is met with previously unknown destiny to save world. Farmboy goes on quest.

Farmboy fails because he's just a farmboy.

World ends.

I swear I've read that one, MidnightMuse... It was a short story... Hm. I'll look around a while and see if I can't remember it/find it.

MidnightMuse said:

Just once - Just. One. Time. I'd love to see a story where Farmboy is met with previously unknown destiny to save world. Farmboy goes on quest.

Farmboy fails because he's just a farmboy.

World ends.

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You are a bitter and twisted person. Welcome to the party, coats go on the bed.

It really should be told in first person, and end with something along the lines of "Oh my God!" right in the climax of a battle scene.

Just end. Right there. Humanity ends, game over, aliens (or whoever) win.

I avoided it by not making him a farmboy. Instead, he's a punk. From Earth. Who gets a nice kick in the pants. New angle on the character, and a mix of situations and supporting characters that's not the typical set. It's my own story, and stories are deeper than their one line summaries.

badducky said:

There are no original plots. Only original execution of plots.

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Rep point. See my above post.

How about farm boy is called upon by wise old sage-type to save the world, refuses, and stays on the farm, raising mutant vegetables that the evil-overlord ends up being allergic too? Thus, he fulfills the prophecy unwittingly and lands a lucrative salad dressing ad campaign.

TheKnightWhoSaidNi said:

I avoided it by not making him a farmboy.

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Well, that's the OBVIOUS way.

I think a better question would be why WOULD you make your main character a farm boy?

Michael Dracon said:

Sometimes it's hard to determin if some people here actually understand what I mean with the term 'farmboy'.

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The answer seems like an unequivocal "no". But maybe they're all just messing with you.

BarbJ said:

Great thread. It's reminding me there are no new basic plots, but the twists and the telling can make it original. I say write it - or at least half of it - and decide then if you've come up with something good. It's like the Vampire thread under horror; done to death but still popular among those who like vampires. There are a lot of readers who like the farmboy plot; just make it good.

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Couldn't agree more! There are so many archtypes (reluctant hero is one of my favs). Maybe someone could use a farm boy who's a vampire...

Michael Dracon said:

Sometimes it's hard to determin if some people here actually understand what I mean with the term 'farmboy'.

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I assume you mean one who is ignorant to the workings of the world - someone that can explore and learn things as the writers/readers do. There is usually someone that gives him a kick in the pants to get out of his house/village/whatever which starts him on this learning process where the fantastic workings of the world are revealed... he usually realizes he's destined to save the world, is generally emo for the first part of the book, has to come to terms with himself or whatever... he's adopted... one of his parents/relatives/close friend ends up being the ultimate evil he's supposed to defeat... he has to find a source of great power or learn to work with it to defeat this evil... his mentor dies... blah blah blah... stop me if I'm wrong.

How to avoid Farmboys? KILL THEM!

No, seriously, I once had an idea for a short story where a very prolific and adulterous king dies. He leaves a whole lot of "long lost heirs" amongst the populous, and by some horrible freak of capricious nature, they are about 10 or so that are the same age. They round up these ten "farmboys", tell each of them that they are heirs to the throne...then they throw the farmboys into a dungeon and say, "Last one alive wins!"

FARMBOY ROYAL!

Another good method is to have the farmboy go through the motions, save the damsel, then just as her lips are puckered up to kiss him on the lips, he starts making out with his male sidekick.

And lastly, have a normal fantasy story, then inexplicably drop a Nazi Tiger 2 tank into the mix for absolutely no reason. I don't know exactly how that would help the whole farmboy issue...but it would be funny.

Everything has been labelled as cliche or a rip-off now. I've even found sites saying using magic and even humans in a Fantasy story is cliche and should be stopped! All genres, (not just Fantasy), have cliche and non-original plots. People say only Fantasy does but it doesn't. How many Science-Fiction stories feature a space exploration with seemingly benevolent aliens who the humans agree can come to earth, and they turn out to be invaders? How many Horrors have the same plot? Or Romances? All things of all genres probably come from one source. Remember, Tolkien and Star Wars aren't in charge of Fantasy books, (and movies and games as well), and just because they did something doesn't mean you should be put-off. Chances are what you were writing is mainly intended for you and/or your family and friends anyway. If you enjoy it, go for it. Just don't copy, only use the basis and expand.

JPSpideyCJ said:

Chances are what you were writing is mainly intended for you and/or your family and friends anyway.

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I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't think my writing isn't intended mainly for me and my friends, since I hope to get it published one day. If it was intended just for a few relatively noncritical people who were predisposed to like what I wrote, I wouldn't put nearly as much work into improving it as I do now.

JPSpideyCJ said:

All things of all genres probably come from one source.

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Unless that source is "people", I think you'd struggle to be more wrong.

JPSpideyCJ said:

Everything has been labelled as cliche or a rip-off now. I've even found sites saying using magic and even humans in a Fantasy story is cliche and should be stopped!

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Unbelievable...

So what, exactly, are fantasy writers supposed to write about?

(btw, any chance of seeing a link for the site you mentioned? I gotta see that!)

Michael Dracon said:

It's probably the most stereotypical stories in fantasy and (less so) sci-fi. The most obvious examples being Frodo and Luke Skywalker. A simple person, often leading a simple and boring life until something comes along and changes it all.

So how do you avoid having this type of story in your novel?

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I can understand wanting to stand out from the pack as far as your story goes, but I think that the majority of readers/viewers still find the “farmboy” story the most satisfying.

It’s the quintessential plot of many novels, not just SFF but all genres, and for good reason. I’m not talking stories with a farmboy specifically, but stories that start out with your average Joe Q. Anybody as the protagonist.

Farmboy/Joe Q. Anybody = A person of no known estimable talents who suddenly experiences something new that affects their whole life. It boosts them from their everyday, humdrum, boring rut and forces them to change and adapt, through a series of ordeals, trials and tribulations – until, eventually, they become a greater person.

It’s the most satisfying because it allows the average reader –

whether it’s a student who’s swamped in schoolwork and feeling the angst and pressures of teenage social life,

or an adult worker who’s wallowing in bills and lost among the grey masses while commuting to their boring job that they’ve come to despise,

or a housewife/parent who has a thousand similar, dreary days of housework, cooking, cleaning, raisng the children etc –

to escape and enter a story that, in a way, offers hope for themselves and their own situation. It makes them feel good by showing a person in similar straits overcoming and accomplishing something of great stature. It is something they can relate to.

It also feeds that inner hope we all have that, yes, we are special, we are somebody and someday, we’ll be able to let others see that.

This storyline plays on basic, primal human emotions. It strums those chords we all have within us, and that’s why it’s still being done after so many millenia.

The problem for many, fantasy-wise, is that with most medieval-type fantasies, the most common, average person was usually a farmboy. So with those types of stories, especially if they're not done well, the character feels played to death.

As has been said, what’s more important is the execution. It’s all in how you do it. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong per se with this type of story.

It’s the story of the human race.

It’s the story of a person, kicked out of their cave, who must now walk that road. The road that leads from 'Who He Is' to 'Who He Wants To Be'…

Above post = eloquently explained, better than I could ever do.

The problem for many, fantasy-wise, is that with most medieval-type fantasies, the most common, average person was usually a farmboy. So with those types of stories, especially if they're not done well, the character feels played to death.

As has been said, what’s more important is the execution. It’s all in how you do it. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong per se with this type of story.

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This is great. Read it, accept it, become one with it.

I have no problem with farmboy stories, but I hate it when the main character is so doe-eyed that he spends 50% of the time flailing around and being an idiot. That's the problem with farmboy stories, not the farmboy.