How do I break out of those weird tropes but still write something with gnomes and shit? What does it look like when wizards control the means of production?
How do I break out of those weird tropes but still write something with gnomes and shit? What does it look like when wizards control the means of production?
Post Tolkien fantasy really concentrate on different races of people. Orcs and elves are all kind of races. And pre Tolkein fantasy are often thinly veiled antisemitism. Shit like shapeshifting elves stealing babies putting imposters there.
There are really potent ideas and motifs in fantasy, and you could concentrate on those, and be aware of where some of the tropes come from so you can avoid or subvert them.
Fantasy tends to be pre capitalist, so it is difficult to make a socialist story. But maybe a story of wizard magic as a type of industrial revolution. And tell the Luddite objection to earning less while producing more. I dunno.