(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 helped me through my writing journey. And you
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