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Q&A How does one avoid bland, generic fantasy while they write?

I have been mulling over the plot and characters for an elaborate fantasy work for a number of years now. The longer I mull things over, the more possessed I am that this story is worth telling. Th...

3 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by Gabe Willard‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:13:15Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/5089
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Gabe Willard‭ · 2019-12-08T02:13:15Z (over 4 years ago)
I have been mulling over the plot and characters for an elaborate fantasy work for a number of years now. The longer I mull things over, the more possessed I am that this story is worth telling. The problem arises when I actually sit down to write it: as a lifelong fan of fantasy, when I write my story on paper, it seems generic. Contrived, almost. The plot and characters I am totally in love with, but when I write it, I think, "Oh, this is worse than Paolini." It just feels... fake. What can I do to avoid generic writing? I would appreciate concrete methods that work, not just opinions or abstract advice.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-02-23T04:59:42Z (about 12 years ago)
Original score: 16