Generic Fantasies; or there is nothing new under the blood-red moon.

How many times have you picked up a book, read the back cover, the blurb that lures you into opening the book to read a page or two…only to shrug and put the book back, unbought and unread? That is a problem that copycat writers have, the generic fantasy.

As you know, I relish the company of my science-fiction/fantasy group when we meet to hash out worlds that bloom into stories. However, I have noticed a number of dime a dozen, generic features that seem to worm their way into any discussion of fantasy or science fiction story development.

You know what I mean, the vampire girl, the were-wolf boy, the teenage witch/wizard that has undiscovered powers. The human who, with or without a genius level intellect, can decipher an alien language with ease. The young man or woman, who suddenly becomes a master swordsman, archer or just undisputed badass with only a minimal degree of training.

Granted there are always going to be these types of characters, because frankly, they sell, but as a writer and presumably a creative genius, you have to set yourself apart from the other 100,000 next great things in fantasy/science-fiction writing.

Look through the bookshelves and you will see a dozen stories lined up shoulder to shoulder, with very similar plots, characters and settings that read the same…generic.

You as the writer, as I told one young man, have to do something that makes you stand out from the dozens of similar stories that are competing with yours to be published.  The setting, the races, the creatures and the powers or technology is all window dressing. Of course, they can be richly detailed creating a wondrous place for your characters to traverse, but unless you can construct a strong plot that is different enough to make me want to turn the page, your story will not be going anywhere.

Even if your ideas, characters and elements are done to death or close to it, there has to be a twist, a uniqueness that you as the writer have to extract that separates you from the others. That is the trick, isn’t it? With so many more avenues to publishing, you have to work twice as hard to elevate yourself from the generic writing and make your work shine.

If you have an idea, examine it, flip it around, and with a critical eye ask yourself “What makes this unique?” I have always believed that if you ask questions about your own works, you become a better writer and push yourself to produce the best story you can.