Top 10 Worst Fantasy Cliches

Why do they want to destroy the world? Do they have any reason or motivation for their evil plots? Complex, believable villains are very important for fantasies. If you're going to write a good villain, then make him real. Hitler and Stalin both thought they were doing the right thing. Try having your villain think he's doing the right thing too. Give him real motives and good traits.

When I see a two-dimensional villain on the page, I throw the book down. Villains should be interesting too!

This includes instant love and love triangles. Most young adult fantasies involve at least one element of romance. If a love story plays no real part in your actual story and is only included for the sake of having romance, it will appear contrived and unrealistic.

Not all books need romance. Sometimes, romance can really ruin a story, and it has for me many times before.

It's either too modern, too weird, or too wordy. If you're going to use modern dialogue, use it with caution. If you're going to use weird dialogue, make sure it makes sense. And if you're going to use wordy dialogue, don't let it be too long or filled with purple prose.

When I say stereotypical characters, I mean predictable and recurrent character types and traits. A few examples would be the chosen one, the wise old mentor, the feisty weapon-wielding woman, and the orphan whose long-lost parents were actually royalty, making him or her heir to the throne.

Now, I'm not saying you have to avoid these types of characters entirely. If you find yourself swaying into stereotypical territory, you don't necessarily need to scrap or change the characters completely. Instead, think about what makes them truly unique, original, interesting, and vital to the story. What makes them a character only you can write?

Because so much traditional fantasy deals with the conflict between good and evil, both readers and writers often fall into the trap of seeing heroes as purely good and villains as purely evil. The fact that you're writing fantasy, not realistic fiction, does not mean your characters don't have to be realistic. They absolutely do - and to be truly realistic, they shouldn't be oversimplified.

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us." - J.K. Rowling

The races in most fantasies I've encountered are elves, dwarves, dragons, fairies, and many other creatures derived from different mythologies. It's okay to include them sometimes, but why not come up with your own race? We hardly ever see any tall insect-like creatures or one-eyed mollusk-like humanoids. Why not add something more imaginative and original instead of ripping off Tolkien's races?

It's all the same. Dwarves are short humans, elves are tall white people with pointy ears, and orcs are green fodder - it's boring. I get that making a whole new race is hard, but you don't even have to do that! Where's the story about the chupacabra? I want to watch a fantasy story where the dwarves and the nuckalevees are fighting, where the trolls are scholars or something. We need originality!

Many fantasies use this type of setting, and it's so overused that I don't even bother attending medieval fantasy conventions anymore. At least come up with something more creative instead of reusing the same setting for every fantasy story you write.

We do not need any more books like this. We already have thousands!

Powerful magic objects have a rich history in fantasy fiction. While these kinds of objects provide a great magical plot point and help drive the story along, the truth is that by now they're nothing new.

If you want to avoid this cliché, then have your characters' journeys, quests, and actions be the main focus of the story. That way, even if a magical object is included as an important element in your story, it will be secondary to what really engages the readers: the characters.

The all-powerful prophecy that forces unsuspecting characters to stop a war or save the entire world is lazy and often ridiculous. In real life, it would be foolish to place your faith in random people based on a vague prophecy.

I hate reading about a character stuck somewhere, either doing nothing or whining and complaining. I've read a few books where this happened, and I wanted to put the book down.

It makes me feel like all of the emotions I experienced throughout the story were all for nothing. It feels like a waste of time when it turns out that nothing that happened actually mattered.

Why should the reader invest time in a completely made-up story? Why should they care?

Why should I invest my time in a simulation? Give me a reason to care.

Unless the race is made of hatred, death, anger, and all things bad in the world, one race being solely evil is just really annoying. The same goes for one being only good. Everyone everywhere is both good and bad. It takes me out of the story when I read about how the orcs are monsters who murder people and elves are delicate, pretty princesses who save people. Why not have it the other way around?

I have seen this way too many times in fantasy novels, and it is incredibly unrealistic. It's like Elves = Good, Dragons = Bad, and there are no exceptions for either side. Not even modern societies can pull this off. Every single elf or fairy is always kind and helpful, and every single dragon or goblin is mean and greedy. Please, add more diversity!

I have seen this at least 3 trillion times. It's so unoriginal, but I'll admit, it's actually really hard not to include this. Almost every fantasy has one (most fantasies, anyway), but why not change it up? Why not make the chosen one a secondary character and the protagonist their best friend or worst enemy?

This one's not too bad, but it's a little lazy. If you're going to create your own world, you should also think about creating your own distinct language instead of deriving one from the real world.

If someone dies, leave them dead unless it has strong plot relevance. Otherwise, it infuriates me to see characters come back, especially if it's a main or central character.

I hate it when the good guys kill the bad guys and celebrate, only to find out that the bad guy isn't dead, forcing them to fight him or her again.