Fantasy Cliches
Fixing a Royal Bastard of an Early Novel
This past weekend, I spent some time working on a fantasy novel that I initially wrote, oh… about 25 years ago. It is chock full of cliches, but the thing has promise, so I’m reworking it. One of them that gets to stay is the ‘royal bastard’ trope. One of my main characters is the son of the dead queen, hated by his stepfather, the king, and used for the kingdom mercilessly.
Yes, this has been done many times before. It’s probably why my much younger self thought it was a good idea. I’m not super happy that I have such a prominent cliché, but it absolutely works for the (new version of) the story. He’s also partly an assassin, which is another issue.
What’s the point of me calling out my own novel like this? Well, I still really love the story as a whole. I think it has some unique elements and is generally entertaining. Also, it’s on its fourth or fifth draft and probably pretty close to being done.
I have a problem finishing things.
Maybe I should ask when it’s okay to use cliches? Maybe I should be stricter with what I include in a novel I intend to publish. I don’t know. Sometimes you just have to let things go instead of trying to wedge them into a place called perfection. (Perfection doesn’t exist!)
Instead, I’m going to explore the idea of royal bloodlines in general. They’re important. That’s usually how the crown and control get passed down. If there’s a stepchild (bastard and illegitimate aren’t very nice words, are they?), especially if it’s the mother’s biological child and proven not to be the king’s, they’re often not in line for the throne.
In my book, there’s another son who is both the heir and much less suited to continue his father’s style of rule. I think that makes things a bit more interesting. Is that cliché? Maybe.
Why am I not scared of cliches?
It’s not that I want to put a book out that is one after another. That’s why I’m editing quite extensively and changing some fundamental things about the plot, the world, and the circumstances of the book. Some are comfortable, though, and some just happen. Every time a royal bastard shows up, there’s no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.