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I just read the article “How to Resist Writing Sterotypical Fantasy Races”. In my book (which is set to be available for sale by Christmas), I have elves and an orcish race. Does this make it too stereotypical? The elves in my book are less of the high and noble Elves of Middle Earth, but more human like, with better athletic abilities and pointed ears. My orcish race is more intelligen than the orcs of Tolkien, but are somewhat similar in appearance. They have strong tribal ties (unlike the orcs of Tolkien), but I am afraid I am copying LOTR in this sense. I fear I am too far into my project to change this if there’s any problems. Of course, if there are problems, I will be forced to change it…
Jackson E. Graham
@warrioroftherealm First of all, the most important thing is that you have a good story. Good world building is fantabulous, but it’s primarily the story that makes a fantasy novel succeed.
I also think that replicating Tolkien’s creatures is common enough that nobody will blame you for it. It certainly won’t mark you out as a distinctive author, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
The real point I want to make is, if you plan to keep your races, then just deepen them as much as you can. Make their cultures as intricate and alive as you can.
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@warrioroftherealm Well, I don’t think that any of your readers will blame you for stereotypicalness. After all, ever since LotR, people have viewed Elves and Orcs through that lens. Personally, I find it distracting if the races are too out of range, so to speak. Definitely do what King @daeus said, and deepen the cultures, but otherwise, I don’t think you need to worry too much about it.
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Yeah. At this point, if you have elves who aren’t Tolkein-esque its kinda detrimental. If you want to add new creatures in, don’t worry about it, but those should be fine, so long as they have a culture and aren’t one dimensional.
Thankfully, only book 1 of my series has these orcs in it. And even then, they are more than just ugly creatures with no regard for the lives of their kin (although they are certainly violent). Have you ever written any other races in your stories besides humans? By the way, I downloaded Treachery of the House of Fairwin awhile back and I am planning to read it soon.
I agree. When I hear elf or orc, I think in LOTR terms. I’ve never been able to create strange races because I cannot get a grasp on how they look (and since I can’t draw anything besides dragons, I am forced to search the internet for something similar). And since the elves are the only ones of the two races listed that will be throughout the series (besides humans and others), I think I might be in the clear.
Jackson E. Graham
@warrioroftherealm No, unfortunately. I’ve created three, but I haven’t started writing the stories they are in yet. Hopefully I’ll start on them a month from now.
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