# Assumptions about Northern European fantasy that really irritate me **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 1, 2014, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273 "2014-02-01T10:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/21 "2014-02-03T02:04:44Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > . . . You may have a rollicking adventure in mind, full of great scenes and interesting characters, and still have trouble getting those characters off their asses to go on the adventure. Inspiration can come from stranger places than asking on a message board. (Like, say, PMVs or _TF2_ “Meet the Team” binges. :D) > > Besides, some of us enjoy coming up with stuff like that. Also, I learned about sunstones and Iceland spar, neither of which I’d heard of before. I thought it was a fun thread. Ditto. I’ve asked a few questions here about fantasy writing, and gotten some very good answers. There are times we just don’t quite know what direction to follow, which nuance to emphasize, etc. And sometimes, we get stuck, and don’t know what happens next in our stories. No harm in asking for advice. Raymond Chandler’s advice was: “When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.” A few times, when I wasn’t sure which way a story should go, I threw in a monster, or a forest fire, or an evil wizard. Action scenes go a fair way to covering for lack of real dramatic plot. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/22 "2014-02-03T02:30:41Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I don’t entirely agree–which should come as no surprise, given the role I usually take on in the NaNo threads. You may have a rollicking adventure in mind, full of great scenes and interesting characters, and still have trouble getting those characters off their asses to go on the adventure. Inspiration can come from stranger places than asking on a message board. (Like, say, PMVs or _TF2_ “Meet the Team” binges. :D) I might agree, but when all of the poster’s threads are on the topic of the book, it seems less like a little help is needed and more like a whole fuckload of help is needed, and perhaps this book should not be in the cards right now. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/23 "2014-02-03T02:38:23Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I might agree, but when all of the poster’s threads are on the topic of the book, it seems less like a little help is needed and more like a whole fuckload of help is needed, and perhaps this book should not be in the cards right now. Eh, we all have to start somewhere. I’ll grant that it would probably do **Morwen** good to branch out a bit. Give her some time. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/24 "2014-02-03T03:04:58Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I might agree, but when all of the poster’s threads are on the topic of the book, it seems less like a little help is needed and more like a whole fuckload of help is needed, and perhaps this book should not be in the cards right now. Some agreement. Just slam out a first draft. Don’t worry about it! It’s a lot easier to re-write than to write! First drafts are just that: drafts. Sketches. Get it on paper (well, .doc files) and fix it up later. Make the wizard a woman, the dragon a giant, the castle a ship, the black people blue, and the dwarves healers. It’s as easy at cut and paste! ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/25 "2014-02-03T03:26:43Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Some agreement. > > Just slam out a first draft. Don’t worry about it! It’s a lot easier to re-write than to write! First drafts are just that: drafts. Sketches. Get it on paper (well, .doc files) and fix it up later. Make the wizard a woman, the dragon a giant, the castle a ship, the black people blue, and the dwarves healers. It’s as easy at cut and paste! First draft is on Google Docs (first seven pages at least). Could PM you if you want a look even though it’s a bit rough. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/26 "2014-02-03T04:57:06Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Since we’re in the Pit, I’d like to suggest that maybe you should try to limit the number of threads you start on what is basically the same topic. It’s nice that you’re writing a book and all, but there are a number of other Dopers who are published authors and they don’t start a dozen or more threads about each of their books. Seconded. You’re getting really boring. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/27 "2014-02-03T07:47:47Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Seconded. You’re getting really boring. I actually agree (I’m starting to get very bored of myself) and have a question related to this: Right now I have a thread on William Morris’ novel _The House Of The Wolfings_ in Cafe Society that (so far) has no replies except for me posting a link to the text of the book. I also want recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy. If that thread doesn’t get any replies, am I allowed to start a thread called say, “Recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy?” or would that count as starting a thread on the same topic? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/28 "2014-02-03T09:20:26Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > I actually agree (I’m starting to get very bored of myself) and have a question related to this: Right now I have a thread on William Morris’ novel _The House Of The Wolfings_ in Cafe Society that (so far) has no replies except for me posting a link to the text of the book. I also want recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy. If that thread doesn’t get any replies, am I allowed to start a thread called say, “Recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy?” or would that count as starting a thread on the same topic? Why don’t you leave the fantasy thing alone for a while, and participate in other threads for a while, find out what other people like to talk about? ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/29 "2014-02-03T09:23:33Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Why don’t you leave the fantasy thing alone for a while, and participate in other threads for a while, find out what other people like to talk about? That’s actually a pretty good idea. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/30 "2014-02-03T23:07:52Z")
Wow – I don’t know if I’ve EVER seen a One-Note Poster here ever _actually listen_ when people told them to give up and participate in other topics. Usually people (myself included) can’t “just let it go”. And end up staying on one topic. And beating it into the ground. I’m doffing my cap to you, wise Morwen! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273/31 "2014-02-03T23:46:09Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > I actually agree (I’m starting to get very bored of myself) and have a question related to this: Right now I have a thread on William Morris’ novel _The House Of The Wolfings_ in Cafe Society that (so far) has no replies except for me posting a link to the text of the book. I also want recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy. If that thread doesn’t get any replies, am I allowed to start a thread called say, “Recommendations for good pre-Tolkien fantasy?” or would that count as starting a thread on the same topic? I didn’t see that thread earlier, maybe because its title didn’t mean anything to me. If you’re afraid other people might have similarly missed it, you might consider asking a mod to change the title. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assumptions-about-northern-european-fantasy-that-really-irritate-me/680273.md?page=1)