Fantasy can be anything that has even only vague supernatural or speculative elements. You can write Fantasy without Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, Trolls, Orcs, Ringwraiths, Hobbits, Balrogs, Ents, talking Eagles, Wargs, Dark Lords, magic objects, vast cosmologies, catastrophic wars, Quests, or anything else that takes a forefront in Tolkien’s books. (That isn’t to say that anything which does have one or more of those elements is automatically Tolkienesque, but I mean that those things are not the heart and soul of fantasy). I agree with Imladris, fantasy doesn’t begin and end with Tolkien’s words, and his is certainly not the only method. Or even the best for some people’s tastes. I have come across (to my initial surprise) many aspiring fantasy authors who have Tolkien low on their list of favorites or don’t even like him that much. A year or so ago I would have just thought that they had no taste or were denying their Lord of the Fantasy, but now I have just come to realize that people are varied enough that some can like fantasy but prefer methods other than Tolkien’s. And more importantly, aspire to something other than Tolkien.
I can honestly say there’s nothing in my writing repertoire that is Tolkienesque, and here I even like him. I just don’t buy into the idea that there’s only one way to write fantasy and that it’s Tolkien. I have seen too much proof otherwise. There will always be copycats of great stories, or stories told in a similar format, but that doesn’t mean that there is not and never will be anything else which is still yet worthy of the title “great fantasy”.
Oh, and by the way….
D E T R O I T
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D E L A W A R E
Hmmm… Ellonee, Tlantvl, Ribtaaa, Onarrdw, Iomeiaa, Tiaao.
S A C R E M E N T O
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H A C K E N S A C K
Alara, Cblkc, Raeak, Enine, Myhas, Esa. I think the second try had better results. That is kinda interesting.
