(LOGO)
Hellooo, everybody! I am so sorry for missing last week. If you follow me on social
media then you already know I was at the doctor's office. I have a pinched nerve in my neck and it
hurts like a bitch. Anywho I've been doing my stretches, I'm hopped up on medication,
and I'm ready to dish out the goods. You all know that my favorite genre is fantasy. I love
me some mystical creatures and magical wonder. But just because I love a genre,
doesn't mean I think it's flawless. Let's be real, the fantasy genre is a mess. The bad news is we're
forced to stomach this crap. The good news is I get to bitch about it. I'm breaking down the top
ten fantasy tropes I absolutely despise. And yet writers keep pumping ‘em out again and again, and
again…and again. Before we get started, I want to give major props to my friends over at Skillshare
who have generously sponsored this video if you're new to this channel: hi, my name is Jenna Moreci,
and I'm a Skillshare fanatic. Skillshare is an online learning community featuring well over
17,000 classes in a ton of topics, including but not limited to business, creative writing,
design, marketing—all kinds of stuff. Premium membership gets you unlimited access to classes
taught by New York Times bestsellers, major corporations, even cyborg queens. I myself have
a class on Skillshare, all about writers and how to build a successful author platform. You should
definitely check it out, okay. Skillshare has a special treat for you guys that I will dish out
at the end of this video. But first, we got some bitchin’ to do. Here are the ten fantasy tropes
that make me shrivel up like a flacid dick in the ocean. Number One (1): The useless teenage chosen
one. I don't really have an issue with a chosen one, or characters who are born into a position
of power. I have a problem with whiny children who are arbitrarily thrust into positions of
power. There's this trend in fantasy where the main character is written to be kind of
passive and pathetic, especially if she's a woman. Everyone around her is tasked with protecting her,
because clearly she can't do anything for herself. I wanna know who's in charge of
wiping her ass because this chick needs all the help she can get. The only thing that makes her
valuable or relevant in any way, is the fact that she's chosen. Whoever's doing the choosing
here needs to find a day job, because they suck at this. Number Two (2): The emotionally unavailable
hero. He’s either a soldier, a warrior, or a woodman of some kind. Someone died in his past,
most likely a brother or a wife. And because of this, he's hardened, he's grizzled, he can
never love or open himself up again. I don't have a problem with supporting characters who fit this
description. I’ve written one myself, Orion, I'm looking at you, take a shower. But I don't wanna
read a book about this guy. Because every fantasy book is about this guy. And the stories always go
the same way. He saves a bunch of lives, he contemplates the futility of his existence,
he bangs a bunch of hot chicks who inevitably fall in love with him, but he can never truly give them
what they want. Because remember, he's emotionally damaged. This guy doesn't need another book, he
needs a therapist. Number Three (3): Non-existent people of color. “But Jennaaa, this book is based
on Medieval Europe. That's why my massive cast of sixty-five characters are exclusively blonde,
blue eyed, white people.” Oh, you know what? That makes sense! Because everyone knows that people of
color only recently came into existence, that's actually what the 80s are known for. Hair metal,
spandex, and the invention of Black people. And it's the same deal with LGBTQ plus folks, they are
a brand new phenomenon. Sexuality, wasn't never fluid before now, certainly not in ancient Greece,
or China, or pretty much any civilization before monotheistic religion became the norm. Number four
(4): Realistic sexism. Literally every woman in your book gets assaulted. That's just because
you're being realistic, all women were treated like trash in this era of history. I'm gonna call
bullshit. One, because there is no history, it's a fantasy novel, you invented this world. Two, your
book has dragons and wizards, don't try to convince me that you give a single fuck about
realism. Your male characters have perfect teeth, despite having no access to dental hygiene. Your
female characters have hairless legs, armpits, and cooters. The realism ship sailed a long time ago.
I'm not saying that I demand male characters with rotted gums, or female characters who can
braid their pubes. And I'm certainly not saying that you can't write in sexism. I’m just saying
that you could stand to cut the lady some slack every once in a while, okay? On a related note,
Number Five (5): Sexy douche monsters. There are plenty of amazing fantasy creatures to write
about, like elves or sirens. And even better, the stories surrounding these creatures have evolved
over time, giving writers plenty of options to choose from. But it seems like everyone just wants
to make them super hot mega dicks. Let's look at vampires. Throughout history they've been depicted
as malevolent spirits. Sometimes they're dark and hideous creatures of the night. But fuck that,
we're gonna make them super sexy and emotionally abusive. I realized that vampires aren't fantasy
creatures, but this trend is prevalent in both paranormal and fantasy. Every fantasy creature
you can think of has now gotten a sexy, but supremely dysfunctional twist. Wonderful. Which
brings me to Number Six (6): Fairies. I know I'm gonna get a lot of hate for this, but hear me out.
I don't have an issue with fairies, fairies are fine. Fairy the crap out of your book. But we can
all probably agree that fairies are the vampires of this decade. The pointed ears are everywhere.
And it's cool if you're into this. I myself love fantasy creatures. But I question how many writers
are taking on this topic because they appreciate the fae lore, and how many are just hopping on the
trend for a quick buck. And nearly every fae book I see is about some sexy fairy dude who treats all
the women around him like shit, because apparently that story never gets old. You have so many origin
stories to choose from. Some people used to think fairies were demonic spirits or demoted angels.
I would love to read about that! A fairy who is a subject of Satan is way more interesting than
another dude who harasses women. Number Seven (7): The magical bandaid. This isn't so much a common
fantasy trope as it is a common fantasy plot hole. Magic suddenly fixes everything at the last
minute, but it's a fix that could have easily been employed at the start of the novel. The characters
had access to it, there was no stopping them, no limitations. Which begs the question: what's the
point of this book? Don't get me wrong, I think magic is a great tool for solving problems. But
that's the thing, it's a tool, It's one piece of the puzzle. If you can wave a wand and make
the entire problem disappear, that's an issue. And it's even worse when the character had the
wand the entire time, and then someone randomly tells them “hey, why don't you use your magical
stick?” Wow, that's a great idea. That would have been helpful forty chapters ago. Number
Eight (8): It was inside of you all along. The MC has a problem. Maybe their mom died at the hand
of a wizard. Maybe their dad died at the hand of a wizard. I don't know, but someone died at the hand
of a wizard. Now our hero was on a quest to find the magical key that will end this parent killing
wizard once and for all. Join our hero as a battle grave dangers, as their friends and family die
at their side, all in the pursuit of a key. Then finally they meet the one person who can show them
the way, and this person says to them: “It wasn't a physical key. It was a metaphorical key. And
that key is inside of you, it has been all along. Don't you understand? You are the key!” “I'm the
key? But why?” “Reasons” Imagine reading an entire book only to find out that all that suffering and
death could have been avoided because the main character is a stupid giant key. Number Nine (9):
It's all about the world. Not all fantasy readers are gonna agree with this, and that's fine,
make your own video about it. But when I read a book, it's because I wanna get lost in the story.
I want to relate to the characters and join them on their journey. I don't want pages and pages
of the intricate details of this fantasy world you created. A lot of the world can be easily
discerned through the events of the plot. If the characters are regularly trudging through snow,
then I can assume that this is probably a cold climate. I don't need every leaf on every tree
described to me. I don't care about every custom of this society. Just tell me what I need to know
to understand this particular story and these particular characters. Once you go past that
it doesn't make things clearer, it just bogs down the content with useless details I won't be able
to retain, and it slows the pacing of the stuff I actually care about. I'm here for the characters,
not the irrigation system or the building materials, thank you. nd Number Ten (10):
No brown eyes. This is a thing in all genres, but I found it most prevalent in romance and fantasy.
The character's eyes are as blue as a cloudless sky. Or maybe they're as green and mysterious as
a forest. Eyes are hazel, purple or gray, but they're never fucking brown. What the hell do
you guys have against brown eyes? First of all, brown is the most popular eye color,
so realistically brown eyes should be prevalent. Second, brown eyes are pretty. All eye colors have
the potential to be pretty. It's the shade that makes the difference. There are green eyes that
look like emeralds, there are green eyes that look like baby poop. Stop acting like brown eyes are
the turd in the punchbowl, because they’re not. They are beautiful and glorious, and they deserve
to be romanticized, and gazed into longingly, like every other color. So there you have it.
Those are the ten fantasy tropes that turned me into a fiery ball of rage. Let me know what other
genres you'd like me to cover. I probably have opinions about them, strong ones. Once again,
thank you to Skillshare for supporting my platform and for always dishing out the quality content. Be
sure to check out their classes. I can't even begin to tell you how much this platform has
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