Things you'd like to see brought back to fantasy

rwm4768

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Good luck with the sub. I too would like to see more "good" characters in fantasy again.

Same here. I think a lot of writers are taking a lazy shortcut with their characters. They think the only way to make a character complex and interesting is to make them a terrible person. While there are many complex and interesting characters of this type, there are also a lot of characters who are cardboard-cutout antiheroes. It's just as bad as a cardboard-cutout hero or villain.
 

Filigree

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This character is so good he annoys me. He's got the usual range of flaws to be expected from his job and upbringing. He's in love with two very 'grey' people as far as their ethics extend, and he's constantly dragging them over to the side of Good, Equality, and Honesty. He's not naive, but his most annoying superpower is to make people be ashamed of themselves and want to change. I've known about this guy for 20 years, but never realized that writing him would be like herding cats...if there is a dangerous 'right way' to do something, he's all over it.
 

AshleyEpidemic

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I'd love to see more ethereal creatures/beings among the more mundane and the conflicts and alliances that would occur. I'd love to see more good characters, as has been mentioned. I love dark grey characters, but I feel like good characters get poopooed on now. Actually, I want to see a good character that is incredibly flawed and still so damn good that it's a problem for everyone else. Let's go full paladin. Let's ee that paladin screw everyone over because they are trying to be good and help people. Kind of like Morgan.
 

rwm4768

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Good characters can end up in even more awkward moral quandaries than grey ones. At least the grey ones have some wiggle room in a catch-22.

That's part of my reason that I enjoy writing "good" characters. It makes those moral quandaries more exciting. The problem with good characters occurs when writers do a lazy job of writing them. They pretty much tell you that the character is the pure embodiment of everything good in the world. Therefore, everything they do is the right thing. Part of a great character is internal conflict, and it irritates me when our "heroes" mow down tons of "bad guys" and don't feel at all bad about it afterward. That's not realistic.

It's all about good storytelling in the end. Conflict makes for a better story, so make your characters feel conflicted about things.
 

Travis Kerr

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That's part of my reason that I enjoy writing "good" characters. It makes those moral quandaries more exciting. The problem with good characters occurs when writers do a lazy job of writing them. They pretty much tell you that the character is the pure embodiment of everything good in the world. Therefore, everything they do is the right thing. Part of a great character is internal conflict, and it irritates me when our "heroes" mow down tons of "bad guys" and don't feel at all bad about it afterward. That's not realistic.

I tend to agree, but I think it's largely a person's definition of "good". For instance, a person who believes that the actions of another are truly evil, and therefore the person who committed the action must be completely evil themselves, might see destroying such people as doing good. In a case like this, the character would still be "good" in their own mind, while the rest of us would see their actions as truly atrocious.

I have a character that is an assassin, and yet strives to only kill people he deems as evil. To him, his actions are still "good", but to others in the story he is deep into the grey. So in all cases, whether he is "good" or not depends entirely on the perceptions of each individual in the story, as they will all likely see things in different ways.
 

Kalsik

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A personal taste of mine, but I'd like a good old fashioned exploration or quest type story. If there is to be conflict, make it be either on the quest's obstacles, or come by any rivals who want whatever is at the end. You could easily have a two fold story where those seeking the treasure are plotting against each other, while the treasure has a few nasty things around it that have ensured the treasure stays un-pilfered.
 

Criccieth

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But it's revival raises the question - has anything that anyone mentioned started to appear in fantasy?
 

Chasing the Horizon

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But it's revival raises the question - has anything that anyone mentioned started to appear in fantasy?
I saw that I'd replied to this thread back in 2015 and my original reply is almost identical to the reply I was planning to make today, so I guess not a whole lot has changed. Today I'd add that I want fun adventure fantasy for *adults* with adult characters, though. I find more fantasy that isn't terribly dark today, but it's all YA and that is just not my thing at all.
 

LadyRedRover

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I'd like to see more characters that believe in things. Some of my favorite stories were the fantasy novels in the 70's and 80's like Bordertown, War of the Oaks, the Myth series, and The Enchantment Emporium. A lot of the plotlines weren't anything special, but it was amazing to see the characters fight and struggle for what they believed in and change the world (or their place in it) because of their actions. I'm sure there's still plenty of these around, but the amount of stories I've read lately that have that sense of pluck about them are few and far between.

I'd also love to see more stories where everyday stakes are highlighted instead of it always coming down to saving the world or the universe. And not in a Taken way either, where the protagonist is motivated by their family/friends being in danger. More like Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin, where the stakes are a desire to see someone happy and content instead of sad or alone. Something where the solutions don't involve Saiyan-level destruction and power, but can be as simple as planting a peach tree and caring for it.

Then again, maybe I'm just getting sentimental...:Shrug:
 

sandree

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I don't really enjoy (get nightmares from) fantasy/sci fi that is dark on dark on dark with no contrasting good to give it definition and someone or something to root for. I love classic dark vs light with light eventually getting the upper hand. I love a story with a strong female main character and a lot of diversity. I love a story that has a lot of character development and a struggle within the character/s. A little romance. I have trouble finding this so I'm trying to write it. But I am a raw newbie at fiction writing so we'll see where this goes...
 

LadyEllie

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Whenever I look for a new read, it feels like the market is saturated with YA. It is actually getting annoying. And I don’t mind dark fantasy, but making a villain as awful as possible just for the sake of it—without good motivation—is tired.

The world itself feels really dark right now, and fiction needs to be evocative and satisfy our escapism.
 

sohalt

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So many people have mentionned missing the sort of story that inspires a childlike sense of wonder - let me take that occasion to stump for T. Kingfisher's "Summer in Orcus" (you can read it for free on her homepage). Okay, it's for kids, but still - it's got so many of things people have been listing here! Good old fashioned portal fantasy, quests, adventures, heroic characters, triumph (spoiler I guess) of compassion, charismatic animal companions, and so many wondrous stuff! Frogs that grow on trees! Werehouses! Regency birds in waistcoats who throw the best parties! Antelope women, who can't be trusted, and dragons in disguise.

But yes, she had to self-publish, and it's for kids, so not really a counterpoint to all complaints about a lack of this sort of thing in the traditonal fantasy for older people market.

That said, I'm not really surprised that you're somewhat more likely to find those things in books written for kids. And I feel, much as I'm a fan, that something is bound to be lost when you read it as a grown up. Maybe it's not so much the books that have changed, but I as a reader. Of course it's harder to surprise me now that I have a assembled a larger store of references. Once you've developed an eye for the tropes, it becomes impossible to not spot them from miles away.
 

BethS

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I'd like to see more stories with characters you can admire, root for, and overall care deeply what happens to them. Characters that you fall in love with (not in the romantic sense, or at least not limited to that). The Goblin Emperor has such a character, but I haven't seen many like that.
 

Justobuddies

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I like big fat fantasy books. I don't like reading a big fat magical technical manual. I love that the author took time to really develop the magic system, and knows the rules, but please publish that as an addendum piece for people who care to know all about how the magic works. Show me through the story that your magic has rules, limits, and a cost of use. Like a duck swimming on cloudy water, I want to see the smoothness and beauty of the magic and not the furiously pumping feet propelling it forward.

I want fewer coming of age books, I get that it makes it easier to world build if a MC is an apprentice that is learning about his/her world. I'd rather see a MC learn about the world by nearly getting eaten by a grue in the darkness, than some wise old master telling the MC "Don't go out in the darkness, you're likely to be eaten by a grue." I know there are stories out there like this, just want to see a few more of them.

I like stories with intrigue and behind the scenes manipulations, where the world keeps going outside of the POV. One of the things that bothered me about some of the older fantasy archetypes was that the hero goes on the quest, defeats the villain, and becomes a benevolent king/queen. But, would they? I mean, some farmer comes out of nowhere, finds an epic magical sword, defeats the enemy and no courtiers have been manipulating the situation so they can control this kid? Maybe that flirts a bit with the grim ways fantasy has been heading, but I like layers and layers of plot. Hence the need to have them in big fat books.

ETA I'm now calling layers and layers of plot, a plot lasagna, or plotsagna.
 
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Yandiel

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Well, I'm certainly beyond done with the whole grim-dark, everything is awful, lets rape everyone because it's "historically accurate" trend. I do wish they would bring back the mysterious and powerful magic that was so often a part of the books I read as a kid. Everything seems to need a *system* these days, and I hate it. Also quests. What's wrong with quests? Oh, right, they're *fun*, and these days fantasy is supposed to be dark and serious, apparently.


Fantasy has always started out dark and grim.. I would say it wasn't until the early 1900s that is started getting "happily ever after". Now the rape, gore, 3-some stuff is all unnecessary in any story, there shouldn't be an exception, I don't care for it.

Something I would have to say I miss is the good old unique tales like Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz, where the author experimented with newer elements. These stories were big because they were different, back in the day. I don't think we've had another fantasy novel recently that can compare except maybe Harry Potter, which I wasn't that huge of a fan of to being with. Possibly Lord of the Rings, though I would group that into the time period of early 1900s-ish.
 
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deafblindmute

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Honestly, one thing I would like to see more of are fantasy stories that are utterly fantastical and magical in nature. We get a lot of grounded, realistic stories. How about something fantastic and absurd? Honestly, one thing I'd absolutely love to see more of are stories that just go with some crazy ideas.

Also, something colorful. Something bright and cheery to counterbalance all the grimdark. I love grimdark, but without a strong counter weight, it gets stale.
 

KMTolan

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My opinion is that going to the dark extremes is simply an indication that folks are trying to squeeze life from a tired set of old tropes. Forget the damn elves, knights, wizards, and such. Break out of the box, fellow authors. There is fantasy all around us if you look hard enough. Anywhere there's tall tales to be told, or a sub culture with their own set of customs and rules. Smoke guiding you to a new kind of fire. Perhaps in your own backyard. Okies, sliding off ye olde soap box now.
 

Crowned in Fireflies

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My opinion is that going to the dark extremes is simply an indication that folks are trying to squeeze life from a tired set of old tropes. Forget the damn elves, knights, wizards, and such. Break out of the box, fellow authors. There is fantasy all around us if you look hard enough. Anywhere there's tall tales to be told, or a sub culture with their own set of customs and rules. Smoke guiding you to a new kind of fire. Perhaps in your own backyard. Okies, sliding off ye olde soap box now.

I agree. With fantasy, there are practically no limits to the kinds of worlds and creatures one can imagine, and yet it's often just the same tropes, over and over again.
 

Justobuddies

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How much of these same old tropes is due to the publishing industry going with what sells the most versus authors not putting in the effort to make things fantastical enough?


My WIP has turned a few of these common tropes on their ear. I have elves, but none of them are marksmen archers, in fact they're so dedicated to the life in the forest they don't kill anything, even the foods in their diet are carefully harvested so as to not kill the plant. I have Dwarves that live under the mountains and are excellent stone workers because of their connection to the mountains. But they're mostly beardless and more based on Maori rather than the more common Norse culture. My humans are still basically human, but most of the names and descriptions I've tried to pull from the Indian subcontinent. I'm hoping there's enough tropes that people want to read, flavored enough that it stands out. While I'm telling what amounts to a hero's journey story in this setting, I'm really trying hard to disguise it as an adventure.
 

Sam Artisan

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A trope that I miss in fantasy is true, heart-wrenching friendship. Too often the main focus is the love interest or the arguing of the team, I'd really like to have a bit more heartfelt warmth between friends that isn't romantic.
 

Azdaphel

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I want someone to make a one-legged gnome dance around the twelve statuettes of Gladeulfeurha wrapped in ham under the full moon to open the door of Zaral Bak and make the god of humour and parody descend upon the world.
 
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