I remembered reading The Dark Is Rising. That was a really good series in my personal opinion. :-)

I agree with you about world-shifting. I'm a sucker for "world traveling" stories and entering into alternate universes, but I would definitely like to see the type of story (memorable and complex) that you described in this essay.

Overall, these essays are well written and intriguing. Thank you for writing them. And I'm going to check out the Thomas Covenant series too! :D

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Correction:

{Because she's kindof like a writer.} kind of.

It's one thing to alter the characteristics of a supernatural/mythological being, but if an author is going to have it contradicting (take out everything that makes them a vampire, demon, etc.), then they should have them as a separate race. I don't like Twilight, and I don't mind if people do, but Meyer's reasons for her vampires befuddles me.

Some writers, especially beginning ones, don't do research and use what they know from TV, movies, etc.

You definitely hit the nail about how a lot of teenage girls like the bad guys. Call me weird, but I prefered the "geeky" ones (like Daniel Jackson from Stargate.) The only one maybe close to the rebel persona would be Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet. XD But one of my friends was obsessed with Modred from King Arthur when we were teens.

I believe - from what I learned from my research - that there are different versions of dragons in mythology. There are those from European, and those from Asia. Sometimes fantasy authors would use traits from either one or combine both of them. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm definitely checking out Dragon Wing when I get the chance. Thanks for the recommendation! :D

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Correction:

{and who have been characterized by the likes of Bram Stoker and Ann Rice as demure,} I apologize if this is nitpicking, but it's Anne Rice.

World building is hard, especially with making it appealing to interested readers. I do agree that a lot of people read fantasy to escape. And why some fanfic writers create badly executed Original Characters to "interact" with the canon ones. Who doesn't want to imagine themselves slaying dragons and fighting in epic battles? To me, fantasy is a window to the unknown; of exploring possibilities and analyzing human nature.

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Correction:

{They knew what sticks in people heads,} people's.

You're awesome! *_*

The part about heroes is so true. I feel guilty right now...I wrote a story back in High school about a girl raised by animals (her parents were killed when she was born), although those things can be typical in mythology. But still, it's so true. ;_;

It would be great to see characters that have a living family (like in "The Incredibles"), being heroes and spending time together, worrying about real life situations and such. Then again, some think that the hero having the family still alive would be a "distraction."

I totally agree with you about Fantasy/Sci-fi female characters. I don't mind if the main female is beautiful or average, emotionally or physically strong. All females in real life have different backgrounds, personalities, strengths, etc. But I definitely want more females in fiction who don't need to fight in order to help the heroes or have to wear revealing outfits for the sake of fanservice. I find it disappointing when I see a female character on TV, movies, etc. that I admire but has to wear a revealing outfit (this is a case in anime/manga.) Well, there are some cases in which it's necessary (for the weather), if the climate of the setting is too humid or if it takes place in a tropical rainforest or desert (it'll be too hot to cover your whole body with clothing.) But if a female character is wearing a bikini for no logical reason, then it comes off as pure fanservice. I agree that Fullmetal Alchemist succeeds in that. And I think Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle did too with Sakura. Even though some fans think she's a "weak" character just because she doesn't fight, she at least helps out when she can. But that's just my opinion.

And yes, romance is not everything, but that's what a lot of people are attracted to, unfortunately.

Well done! Excellent job, and great perception.

I saw "but I digress" a lot here, but they did not -feel- like digressions; they felt reasonably relevant to the immediate point. If this was intentional, good job. If it wasn't, stop worrying about it. It helps spice things up.

You also make a very valid "heroes are useless" point, and i will try to keep it in mind. I don't have the dreamer problem, but my characters do seem to be warrior types that solve problems with force and vengeance.

About your comment on most female heroes being scantily clad Attract The Fanboys types. You may be right, but I will offer you my main female protagonist: she is certainly not beautiful in the way you rail against (story title is Thasha the Huntress). Your term "kickass" is far more crude than my tendencies, but apt. She would definitely "kill monsters and then deny the Hollywood-attractive male lead his end-of-movie kiss" (actually in her case it would be end-of-book, but I digress) not simply because she because she cherishes her independence, but because she really never thinks of herself that way. Remember I said Thasha -the Huntress-? Killing big&scary monsters is all in a day's work for her. Enjoy (hopefully) and review (even better).

If you want the realistic hero’s that you can look up to, fantasy isn’t where to look, I’ve definitely learnt that. I’ve found it more suitable to look at hero’s from mor practical sources, and I’ve only found a few books.

This was a brilliant essay. It was well written and in some ways, very profound. I think that this essay could potentially help a great deal of fantasy or science fiction writers that are trying to break free from stereotypes in their own writing. That being said, I do have some problems with this essay.

It has been my experience (watching many fantasy or science fiction based anime, movies, animated series and reading many comics, manga, books, light novels, ect of the same genres) that fantasy and science fiction do not always appeal to the needs of the viewer. For example, in the twelve Kingdoms, (one of the most brilliant fantasy novel series I have ever read) the main character is a real "Grey Area" type of person. Most of the supporting cast is realistic and the world is horrific; at least at first.

As the main character evolves the reader becomes more engrossed in learning about the character which in turn makes them want to know more about the world they are in. There are many stories that fall out of the archetype that are lesser known but nevertheless brilliant pieces of fiction.

Aside from a few minor things, I felt that your essay had some very good points in it. Keep up the good work with your writing! You are a very persuasive writer!

I haven't even finished yet, but some of what you've said will be sticking in my mind for a while. And thanks for making me remember why I love rants so much.

I find this absolutely amazing.

When I wasn't laughing (about the female archetype in scifi/fantasy, and the rest of 'Heroes are Useless'), I was nodding in agreement. You're points are spot on!

On a side note, I enjoyed Eragon (read: will reread if there's nothing else), but Eldest was a travesty.

i don't know that spirituality has very much at all to do with my enjoyment of vampires... that being said, part b = truth

First off, thank you for putting some emotion into this essay. It made it a lot easier to read, as I am not one for long boring streams of information I am expected to accept as my new personal opinion.

Secondly, I appreciate your views on readers. I have noted the same thing and often thought seriously of attempting a story based solely around those observations and generalizations. My difficulties with following through with this has always started, and ended, with my cynicism. I knew I would just end up bashing, humiliating, torturing or down right killing all the “generic” characters, suddenly and with no warning, out of a mordant sense of irony and loathing. Both feelings caused by reading far too many stories of the type.

My feelings for your “heroes” are most prevalent in these most sinister desires of mine. That is why I was so ecstatic about certain treasures uncovered in my local Barnes and Noble. I really recommend you read Sir Apropos of Nothing. It’s by Peter David and you’ll love the suffering he puts his far-from-generic hero through. My second recommendation would be Terry Pratchett books, or Peter David; they tend to stray from the norm as well.

Excellent point. I hadn't really thought of these divisions in the past, but it's true.

"how often is the hero an orphan": I enjoy several books/movies with orphan heroes, but I get your point entirely. When I first started writing, I made my characters orphans (or at least people completely separated from family/friends for no reason)just to get rid of the parents and siblings. Then I realized how much I was cutting from stories by doing that! If you've ever read Dr. Jung's books on types, the hero child is explained to a T--but it's nothing that you didn't cover in this essay. Nice job. I like to think of Ray Bradbury when I'm tempted to make orphans of the lot. Bradbury has several fantasy short stories where the main focus is on the family dynamic. I love that about him!

"I hate three quarters of the female characters in F/SF."
I love writing for women over men, but I'll have to agree with this, especially considering stories I've read here on fictionpress. Most of the time the women are written to a specific type--instead of being written like real women! What's the deal with that? And as for the scantly clad--I, as a straight woman, don't want my male protagonist running around in a speedo during the fight scene. . . Perhaps the barely there look is so that they can distract their enemies...

You're conclusion on romance reminded me of why I enjoyed the movie Waitress so much (I know, not science fiction/fantasy, but it's something I watched recently). I thought the movie was so-so throughout, but what made it was the ending, where romance wasn't everything. It stood apart from the rest. I like a good romance as much as anyone but there is such a thing as too good to be true.

Passionate essay! I agree completely--I'm so attracted to the hero in pain. It's like we can't love a character without putting them through the world's horrors. Nicely done! And well written.

Personally, I believe that the increased use of the "noble demon" in fiction on sites like this one is due to two things.

Firstly, as you said, evil is very appealing. Most writers on this site, as far as I can tell, are adolescent girls. (I am also an adolescent girl, so I don't feel guilty about making this generalisation.) This age-group is not known for being romantically sensible; evil is appealing, and with that appeal comes the urge to neutralise the evil, either by altering it or removing it altogether. These domesticated demons you see are the result of authors creating a character whose sexual appeal lies in his unpredictability, his amorality, his "evil nature" - and then removing those features in order to make him less threatening and more sympathetic, keeping only the label of "demon" as a way of implying these attributes without actually showing them. I am not saying that this is a good thing. It is effectively neutering what, to Western readers, is an age-old symbol of evil; by now, the mention of the word "demon" in any story makes me laugh, because I know what will result of it. However, that's what I think the motivation is.

Secondly, the portrayal of demons - the parameters you mention - are not as clear-cut as they appear to be. What you are basing your concept of demons upon is the traditional Judeo-Christian demon. In Judeo-Christian canon, and in works which have come to be considered almost part of the official non-Biblical Christian canon - I am thinking of Milton here - the demons are universally malignant, and there is little variety in their characters. However, the demon is an international creature, and its manifestations vary wildly. With the advent of the anime culture, there has been a lot of interest (an excessive amount!) in the Japanese mythos, where the creatures called "demons" are spirits, not so much of evil, but more of mischief and caprice. They are unpredictable, sometimes malicious, supernatural, and "sexy", but they are not evil. To use the word "demon" in a Judeo-Christian sense and then portray the demon as not being evil may defeat the purpose, but the thing is that many writers are no longer using it in the Judeo-Christian sense - not entirely, anyway.

So that is my opinion on the abuse of demons in fiction.

As for staying within parameters, I have to disagree. Yes, your point that the creatures must be recognisable is definitely reasonable, and I'll accept it - but I do not think that being flexible with the parent mythos is necessarily a bad thing. The parameters have indeed been set down for centuries, but that does not make them automatically unbreakable. Trends in fantasy fiction that have arisen or been freshly recognised in the past fifty years - "I am your father," the villain secretly wanting to marry the heroine, the magical sword, the underground dwarven city and the elves singing in the forest - are considered cliches, and their presence makes a story dull and predictable. Age alone does not save a trend from becoming a cliche. It makes it a cliche with wrinkles. So, my opinion is that re-imagining and new interpretations of the old myths, even if the results are slightly unfaithful to the canon, are what keep those myths from becoming stale.

On that note, I disliked "Twilight" because of its uninteresting characters and a plot that forecasted every twist a mile off, among other things. (Sparkly vampires. Why.) I am also tired of the "hot" teenage vampire, the "hot" teenage demon and the "hot" teenage angel, all of which just act like humans with fangs, horns or wings. These characterisations are, bafflingly, still considered new and daring - they are not; they are tired and overdone - but I do not think that necessarily means that all deviations from the old rigid myths are wrong.

As you can tell, I thought these were excellent essays. I'm not usually this outspoken, especially not on the internet; you encouraged me to think long and hard about fantasy tropes, which was most enjoyable. My disagreements were primarily me being difficult, not criticism of your actual writing and arguments, which were uniformly wonderful.

Thankyou for writing these!

Heroes! Augh!

This is a very well-written essay, and I agree with most of the points you've made. All of them, actually, as far as I can tell. I suppose I should probably criticise it on the basis of its actual merit as an essay - in which case, the area that you fall down on is impartial evaluation - but I won't, because everybody likes a slightly biased semi-rant that agrees with them.

Personally, when it comes to protagonists, I love homebodies. Heroes with no personal ties are no fun. All that the authors give us to empathise and identify with are the heroes' personalities and the inevitable shallow beautiful love interest. If the heroes' personality is canned, narrow and overly focused on something, like hewing through great hordes of plasticine orc lookalikes of DARKNESS with minimum effort and maximum gore, that the reader is bored by, that is simply bad luck for the reader. The same goes for if the love interest is an alabaster-skinned flowing-haired bundle of informed attributes, a supposedly prodigious fighter whose only contribution to the story is to be removed by armies of DARKNESS, rescued by the hero, and then subjected to passionate sex. As the hero and the love interest are the only characters of note in the book - all the other associates having been killed by armies of DARKNESS - then that doesn't leave much meat for the readers to pick at.

Out of the three archetypes you've given here, the Dreamer has the most potential, in my opinion. I would like to see more stories where the actual dreams of the hero - where those dreams go beyond "kill things and topple the armies of DARKNESS, then go have sex" - are the focus of the story, and where their frustration with other elements of their life is portrayed as an actual character flaw that will cause them inconvenience, rather than a sign of their inner saintliness. Why can't more authors domesticate their heroes? A hero is nothing without somebody to fall back on. Unless the character has a rich inner life and is granted a companion who is genuinely fascinating - and there are lots of authors who, to be kind, shouldn't overestimate their own abilities when it comes to characterisation - the narrow focus of the author will be the story's undoing.

I'm all for ordinary people becoming heroes. Heroes without families anger me. Why is it such a triumph that this emotionally stunted young man, who thinks with his sword (ahem) and has either been traumatically stripped of his closest bonds or hasn't the empathy to form bonds in the first place, is now going to topple the armies of DARKNESS and gain power? I mean, really. Eragon, although he is a bad example because... well, he's Eragon, is a freaking sociopath. I don't want him ruling me; I'd rather have the Evil Overlord.

You know, I'm not the sort who rants, and you've just encouraged me to rant at length. Well done. It was an excellent essay, presented humorously and lightly, containing resounding truths, and a joy to read. (That actually sounded really sarcastic, but I was being serious, I swear.)