Dragons can be Bugs—Fantasy Archetypes and How You Should Use Them

Fantasy is defined by its tropes and archetypes. The genre works best when the writer recognises this. Those who love fantasy do so because they love magic, or knights and kingdoms, or dragons and wizards. And no matter how many times they read these tropes, they will still seek them out again and again, always hoping to find an even cooler interpretation than the last.

Young writers tend to want to avoid such stereotypes in their work—they want their work to be unique. But you do yourself a disservice if you completely strip your fantasy story of the actual fantasy, or push it so far from the beloved and recognisable, that your readers can’t connect. I say, keep these tropes and weaponise them—use them to subvert the reader’s expectations and wow them by bending the familiar into something new and exciting.

Take the Dragon—I’m of the personal belief that dragons are the coolest creatures ever conceptualised, and that the make any world and story cooler. I also believe that dragons are the most generic fantasy creatures and can be incredibly boring to read about. Any good fantasy should include a dragon—any good writer should make their dragons weird. Now, I’m definitely overexaggerating (and can think of some excellent fantasy novels with no dragons whatsoever), but by warping your dragon, by subverting the reader’s general concept of ‘dragon’, you create something much more interesting. Connect with the reader with something they love and know, then show them your version.

So, what is a dragon? Do you think they need four legs, and that Drogon is actually only a wyvern? Must dragons breathe fire, and so Robin’s Hobb’s beasts are just flying lizards? Do they need treasure hoards to sit on? Or do they only speak in riddles? Or do they not speak at all?

My point is, dragons (like wizards and witches and kings and enchanted rings) don’t really have, or need, a definition. I say a dragon is anything called a dragon. Think of these tropes as a role, or title, for your story—a way to convey to your reader the feeling of something. Dragons are powerful, magical, ancient and tricky (unless stated otherwise), so this is what your reader will initially think of when you first mention a dragon in your writing. Imagine, you’re reading a story where the characters continuously refer to the formidable and mystical dragon, only for the big reveal to show that is a bug. I suddenly want to know what warrants this bug to have the title ‘dragon’, and what are the implications for this fantasy world. I’m drawn in, even if I think a dragon bug is stupid (I actually think it’s very cool). I would need to keep reading. So, lure the audience in with the familiar trope, then punch them in the face with the unexpected.

I’m not actually saying that your dragons should be bugs, but your dragons should be more—more than the simple fire-breathing, winged lizard. A fun writing exercise I tend to use is asking a friend for a random word (or using a word generator), perhaps specifying an animal, occupation, or object. It is then your job to figure out how to world-build this word with a dragon. Let’s say the word is ‘accountant’—my dragons don’t keep hoards of money because they’re obsessive, but because they manage the international economy by distributing wealth across kingdoms to ensure balance and equality. Kings and queens come to the dragons not to slay them, but to ask for loans. Maybe, instead, the word is ‘umbrella’. Okay, this fantasy world has dangerous acid rain almost constantly, and so humans have ancient bonds with dragons to fly above travelling parties to shield them from rain. Dumb, maybe, but at least it’s different.

If you’re building a big fantasy world, I say try this subversion with a few selected tropes—too many will just make the world feel messy, or like it’s trying too hard. Below is a list of a different tropes that you may want to try twisting:

·       Dragons

·       Wizards

·       Kings/kingdoms

·       Castles

·       The Chosen One

·       Taverns

·       Horses (for transport)

·       Knights

·       Good vs. Evil

·       Flying Broomsticks

·       Staffs

·       Jesters

·       Enchanted Forest

·       Magical Swords

·       Fairies

·       Gods

·       Ancient Civilisation

·       Angels and Demons

·       Curses

·       Guilds

·       Resurrection

·       Dwarves

·       Elves

Just to name a few!

Choose something known and loved, and twist it in a weird and wonderful new shape. Turn everything into bugs!