5 Clichés in Fantasy Worlds and Our Top Tips for Refreshing Them

An ancient prophecy. An all-powerful magical artifact. Looking out to the road ahead of a long, perilous journey. Look, there’s a castle! And another. And another! 
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Sound familiar? 

The fantasy genre is home to some wonderful ideas, but unfortunately, they often get re-used and recycled over and over again. A little familiarity is great! It provides readers with foundational knowledge of the story and allows them settle into an immersive world with tropes they already enjoy. However, it can become tiresome to read similar stories, with re-used plotlines and worldbuilding techniques that resemble many stories before them.  
If you want to create worlds with unique elements to make your story stand out, then this blog is for you! We have compiled a list of some of the most common clichés often seen in fantasy worlds, and our top tips for combating them!  

• The Ancient Prophecy  

From describing the rise or return of the chosen hero, to deadly alliances or  the destruction of kingdoms, prophecies have cemented themselves into the fantasy genre. They are often vague, poetic and motivate the hero into action. Writers use them in their stories to add a sense of destiny, or to foreshadow future events in their stories. 
The most famous examples of prophecies are the defeat of Lord Voldemort by either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter Series, or the return of Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.  
The good news is you do not always have to totally remove clichés from your work. Sometimes, all you need to do is put a fresh spin on a trope. In this case, why not write a fantasy tale where the Ancient Prophecy is wrong? What happens to your characters, the people of your world who believed it for generations? How does the protagonist respond?  
Twisting a cliché like this can make it come alive in a fresh and unique way.  
If you would like to read more fantasy books from our very own authors, check out our bookstore here. 

• The All-Powerful Magical Object 

The One Ring. The Elder Wand. Excalibur. The Master Sword. These are classic examples of the all-powerful magical object, an item the hero acquires that plays a significant role in defeating evil. While this cliché does provide the hero with a clear objective, it provides very little in the way of a challenge for defeating the villain or building up a strong hero--it is almost too easy a solution, and makes the problem of your book seem like less of a threat than it has the potential to be.   
To twist: What would happen if you re-wrote your story where the magical artifact falls into the hands of the villain? What could the hero rely on instead to win their battles? 

• The Quest  

There are so many fantasy books out there that involve the hero embarking on some sort of quest--whether it is to retrieve or destroy a magical artefact, to rescue another character or save the world. An interesting way to refresh this cliché is to consider writing it in line with Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey concept, but with a twist! 
The Hero’s Journey is a story structure of many stages, where the hero ventures out into the world, faces and overcomes trials and returns successful and very much changed by their experiences. Of course, this too is a very formulaic approach to telling a story, but what if you swapped stages around in your work or left some out altogether? What would happen if your hero failed a stage at a crucial moment? How would a timid and meek protagonist’s hero’s journey look different to one who is confident and skilled?  
If you want to read more on The Hero’s Journey, check out this libguides description here! 

• Medieval Iconography  

It seems as though the fantasy genre and European medieval iconography go hand in hand. When you think of fantasy, you think of castles, towers, dragons, a monarchy and the feudal system. As a result, the exploration of other landscapes, myths, systems of rules and cultures is often neglected.  
Got a fantasy book that doesn’t fit this criterion? We can help bring your unique world to life with custom illustrations and cover designs. Check out our book illustration and custom cover design services here. 
To refresh this cliché, try writing a fantasy set in the modern day—or why not the Victorian era? How about Ancient Greece? What might that look like? We think you’ll love the results! 
 

• Lore Galore!  

Perhaps the most dreaded fantasy cliché of all: info-dumping. It takes a lot of work to build a fantasy world. Boundless research, months of planning, constantly stretching your imagination.  
It is only natural that you would want to include as much as possible into your work. A story can become hard to enjoy when there are an overwhelming number of paragraphs to digest. It can be difficult for readers to take everything in, which makes it difficult to want to continue reading. 
Exposition is a great and necessary technique for writing, but it should be balanced with other writing techniques to make your story shine. Try incorporating your world-building into the dialogue, or only give further information when it is relevant for the scene. By sprinkling the information over the work, it piques the reader’s curiosity and allows them to become immersed in your fantasy world, seeking out the information as they read on.  

If you like this writing tip and are interested in learning more, you might want to check out our Writing Advisor Service, which can be found here.  
The rest of our services can be found on our website, where you can also find more of our blogs!  
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