Well, considering it’s an all or nothing thing, I’d fail. I only answered one question yes; number 35. I have one novel that this applies to except it’s not really transported but more like walked into. No time warp involved.

Would help if you knew what I was talking about, huh? The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam was designed to weed out the fakers in the fantasy writing genre, or the desperate cling-ons that wouldn’t know originality if it beat them with their own book. Of course, it takes the cliches to a bit of an extreme since, really, it’s not all bad to have a portal to another world or an artifact that could either annihilate or save all mankind (or both) in your novel. It’s all in the execution of the work, as you all know. The better writers will make us forget that what we’re really reading is the same old, same old.

So if you’re writing a fantasy book, go take a gander at that exam. But like a Mary Sue Litmus Test, don’t take it as sacrosanct. This one’s a bit more funny and snarky than the litmus test and strikes at the very heart of cliches but it’s worth the look. While it is sardonic, hopefully it’ll help you recognize played out themes in fantasy, or at lead you by a finger-hooked nose in a different, non-standard direction.

more…