: Re: Where's the middle ground between genre conventions and originality? I've long been interested in writing a fantasy novel. Over the countless iterations I've gone through, one thing has remained

@Kevin153

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Being original is more than just avoiding what everyone else is doing. In a sense, doing exactly what everyone else is doing, and doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing are equally derivative --both are just reactions to what you've read before. What readers are actually looking for is a unique sense of you as an author. That's something which could be invested in almost any part of your book, from voice, to sensibility, to perspective.

What makes the cookie-cutter elf tiresome is that he's just been copied and pasted from someone else's book. No creative work has been put into making him live for himself. On the other hand, however, even a super-strong super-fast super-agile magic-wielding likely-vegetarian nature-lover with pointed ears could be a new and different elf we've never met before --for the same reason as every real person is unique.

In summary, worry less about whether or not you're being original or derivative, and more on whether you're making this book and its characters and setting live for itself. If you can do that, your book will stand out from the crowd, even if it touches on every trope ever identified. Sometimes it's the familiar elements of a work that really make the unique elements stand out and pop.

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