24 June 2011

Fantasy Exam

Fellow Word Nerd Bethany and I are big fantasy readers. Hopefully you are too and will find the following a fun diversion to end the week on: The Fantasy Exam. The idea is that every fantasy novel is a rip-off of some earlier, better version. And new writers should immediately trash can any novel that has these tried and true plot devises.

Follow the link to get to the whole thing, then c'mon back to post your favorite in the comments.

Here's the first seven:

  1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?
  2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?
  3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it?
  4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?
  5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?
  6. How about one that will destroy it?
  7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
Hmm...time to clean out the WIP.

1 comment:

Bethany K. Warner said...

1. Wrong. My protag gets put on trial in the first 50.
2. Farmhand no; dubious parentage, yes.
3. Heir. Sort of, but not to the throne.
4. Nope. Already of age, has power she doesn't want.
5. No artifacts to save the world
6. Or destroy it. No artifacts period. There is an heirloom though....
7. Nope.

Phew, maybe I'm OK. Or maybe I need to go read the rest of the quiz.