Words I Avoid: Fantasy
Cut these out of your stories
I love to write fantasy stories. However, there are words, terms, I avoid using. Concepts, really.
What I cut out of my fantasy stories include, but are not restricted to, the following.
alchemist
barbarian
bard
basilisk
cockatrice
dragon
dungeon
dwarf
elf
goblin
griffin
gryphon
inn
king
kingdom
noble
orc
mayor
minstrel
paladin
pegasus
potion
royal
tavern
troll
unicorn
wizard
wyvern
Anything, basically, that paints the setting as some sort of rustic Middle Ages pastiche, all filled with towns where there are horses but no beast or human shits on the floor.
The word wench is problematic - it’s an older term for whore. Also used for servant. Fucking yikes.
I’m trying to steer clear of filling your imagination with imagery drawn from Elder Scrolls or Lord of The Rings. I want you to imagine worlds of your own, without dungeon crawls, hexcrawls, video game terminology, or that suppurating shitpile of a fantasy game that Hasbro keeps insisting is the only roleplaying game in town.
Can’t we have settings like this?
My intention, when I write fantasy, is to create settings which feel like places you will wish to explore in my books, and in your dreams.