by Robin Degner

Created on: December 26, 2008   Last Updated: June 19, 2010

Harry Potter. Edward Cullen. King Arthur. Zeus. Cinderella. Hercules. Each name brings a different image, a different story to mind. Philip Pullman. J.K. Rowling. Robin McKinley. J.R.R. Tolkien. Patricia McKillip. C.S. Lewis. Dave Duncan. All these authors of fantasy have managed to create something new and original. New worlds, new places, new creatures, new stories and old stories with a new twist await us behind the covers of fantasy books.

Though some of the ideas and styles within the fantasy genre may overlap, for the most part, it's still constantly evolving. Each fantasy story has an element of magic, of the fantastic, of new and unusual creatures, but they aren't all the same. Nor do they have to be. Some ideas or concepts may be overused, but that's true of any genre. How many times can you tell the same story befor it grows old? If it's done right, there is no limit. And if the story is new and the plot is fresh, as many fantasy plots still are, there's no way fantasy can ever grow stagnant.

I'm part of several different writers groups, and though many of the writers I interact with in those groups are unpublished, that doesn't mean they're not trying. Their stories are as different as the authors themselves. And all of those who write fantasy have a different story to tell.

For those who feel the fantasy genre has grown stagnant, maybe it's because you always look at the same thing. Try something unusual, something you've not read or seen before. Of course all the stories that incorporate sword play are similar. And if that's all you read, that's all you see. Every story about wizards incorporates wizards: who knew? But the wizards are all different. They might be good, like Harry Potter and his friends, or all-over bad, like in Patricia Wrede's "Enchanted Forest" series. Though both series dealt with wizards, neither is the same. They don't even conduct magic in the same way.

The bounds of fantasy are endless. Yes, endless. Two writers can take the same first line and the same characters and come up with two completely different stories. Fairies, elves, dragons, swords, magic, wizards, witches, warlocks and genies only get old if we let them. Science fiction has new and unexplored territories. Historical fiction has new and unexplored territories. Fantasy fiction is no different.

Every time I walk down the fantasy aisle in a book store, new titles and old pop out at me. Some are intriguing and others I let slide. Sometimes it's the cover that makes me buy. But one thing remains true: there's always something new. And if there isn't, it's because I'm not looking hard enough.

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