This is a rant. About writing. If you hate rants, please click that red 'x' and never return.

I've been meaning to make a blog post about this for a really long time. I am a fantasy lover. I read lots of fantasy fiction but I detest fantasy fanfiction. Wanna know why? Here's the truth. I don't mean to flame anyone and this is just a general observation and my opinion so if you're not fine with that, please refer to the note in red above.

Fantasy writers are ignorant. 

Mind you, I'm not targeting their writing but rather the crafting of their plots and their fantasy world, be it on Earth or a whole new universe.. When I read fanfiction that has an immortal character that just happens to live in the same place for thousands of years, I scoff to myself because that's impossible. Normal people age and how would you react if you find out there's somebody who doesn't? How would society react? Immortality is something that people crave and if a person has that secret, I assure you the world will go crazy and your character will never live in peace. And how did that inability to age come about? A vampire's bite? Even if that's the case, vampires don't mingle with humans easily. If my memory doesn't fail me, the Cullens moved from place to place to hide the fact that they are vampires. Even those bloodthirsty ones go to great lengths to protect their secret because there would be repercussions. Love stories between a vampire and a human don't just occur like 'poof'. There needs to be an explanation. A logical backstory. "Love happens" doesn't cut it. 

Be it supernatural, magic, fey folk or whatever it is that falls under the 'fantasy' tag, lots of research has to be done regarding what you are writing. I am in the midst of writing a fantasy novel and trust me, I search up the net everyday to clarify things that I may not know. Magic comes at a cost to most. One doesn't brandish his wand in bright daylight on a street full of normal beings. Most writers commit the mistake of creating a perfect character, meaning he/she has the best magic and is 'the Chosen One', like Harry Potter or Clary Fray. That person holds the key to survival but wait a minute. Why is that fanfiction character flawless? She has the most lethal magic and wins every fight. Boom, she defeats the bad guys and the world is saved. The follies are committed by her cronies who aren't as brilliant as her because she is the 'Chosen One'. That's why she's perfect. I mean, of course, right? 

NO. No no no no no. Magic doesn't come at a snap of her fingers. Everything has a price and so does magic. Does she lose her energy? Is her lifespan shortened by whatever magic she is wielding? Nobody is perfect. Mary Sues are hated in general but Mary Sues in fantasy fiction? That brings annoying to a whole different level. 

Then there is that issue revolving around names. Most people try to come up with exotic sounding names, myself included. However, what we don't realise is that every name has a history. Take Illya for example. That sounds exotic enough amongst all the Marys, Susans and Tinas, right? Despite that, Illya is a Russian name and all the rest are American names. Similarly, pick a name that fits the era that your story is set in. This mostly applies to people writing original stories because fanfiction are based on characters that already exist. If the period you chose is in the Elizabethan era, don't name your character Chelsie or Jared. They sound pretty nice but too modern  unless your story is on time-travel or something. Look up histories of the names you chose. That's the best way to ensure your choice of names makes sense.

I don't really know the point of this blog and it's mostly just to express my thoughts and views. As you can see, fantasy wriitng ain't easy. A lot of studying has to be done and when you are trying to come up with a different language like me, whew. I'm not hating on anybody. Like all rants are, this is just something I wanna get off my chest. My thoughts certainly aren't perfect and I am not a wonderful writer but these are some things to take note of when writing a fantasy novel. Perhaps I'm too critical and my expectations are set too high. Although I acknowledge the effort that has gone into writing a particular story, I am sorry to say that I will still be staying away from fantasy fanfiction. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure this won't be my final rant about writing because it is such a broad genre. I guess that is why I created my Writer's Corner because I wanna help them improve. Writers have the potential; they just have to build on them and expand their horizons.