Getting Caught Up with Others Descriptions

Like most people my age I was introduced to the world of Fantasy literature while I was in elementary school. I cut my teeth on what I regard as a classic and that is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien which was quickly followed up by the Lord of the Rings series. Of course I still have my original copies that I acquired in the 70's and they have been read many times in the years past. What I loved about fantasy literature was how the world of magic, Dragons, and Hero's all combined together to make a truly wonderful story that you could get lost in.  You could find qualities in the hero's that you saw in yourself. Or you could find characters that appealed to your darker side that were still lovable in their own way.

Then in 1977 20th Century Fox released a movie only because they had agreed to in a contract for another movie.  Most people know that movie was Star Wars, and it started a pop culture phenomenon.  I am going to make a statement here that is a personal belief not intended to be a fact. But I believe Star Wars ushered in the advance of Science Fiction. It took a genre that was struggling and helped it explode virtually overnight.

Like Tolkien, Lucas who wrote Star Wars created the cannon that has permeated science fiction or at least space based science fiction ever since. Now what I mean by that statement is that there are elements that cross over from Star Wars into almost every piece of Sci-Fi work out there. The most recognizable one is the Blaster. The Blaster is the most easily recognizable because it has become an iconic part of most Sci-Fi literature to date.

Now Tolkien has also had the same effect on Fantasy literature.  Now I will use trolls here and yes I know Trolls were used in Literature before Tolkien wrote the Hobbit.  But Tolkien's description of a Troll vastly differs from what was common place at that time. Trolls up to that point were Green skinned, ugly humanoid creatures that hid under bridges or in caves.  Tolkien described his trolls as being almost twice as tall as a human, fat, Live in caves, and eat anything.  They also had one characteristic that was different from Trolls up to that point. Tolkien's Trolls would turn to stone and die if they were caught in sunlight.

What I am really trying to say here is that writing a fantasy book or a Sci-Fi book is not reinventing the wheel. Every book I have read has always contained something that I have read somewhere else before, and that is perfectly OK.  It is all in how you deliver the story to the reader that makes the story good. The other thing to keep in mind is that just because one person has described a character type one way you do not have to conform to that type.  A perfect example would be Vampires. Now whether you love it or hate it in the Twilight Saga Stephenie Meyer to the concept that Vampires cannot survive in the sun and changed it so that here Vampires (and i hate this) Sparkle.  I'm sorry if I see you sparkle in the sunlight I'm gonna grab a stake and ram it through your heart.  Prior to Stephenie Meyer all vampires died in sunlight and either burned up or turned to ash.

Many authors run into road blocks when writing because they try to make their story fit their characters or the genre. They lock themselves into the belief that they need to conform to the previous description of the character or genre.  If you need to change something to make your story work change it. Now obviously this does not work if you are say writing something that builds off of the same characters such as Fan Fiction. That aside you are free to create what and how you want to tell it.  As a writer you should always feel free to tell your story your way.