Making a Race

One of the fun things about writing a fantasy or science fiction story is that you have the opportunity to create different races and their cultures. However, nowadays in most fantasy, there is sadly not much imagination in this realm, as the typical races tend to be human, elf, and dwarf, all of which are stereotyped into the powerful, magical elves, gruff dwarfs, and the weaker humans. And some attempts to get away from those stereotypes just end up horribly convoluted *glares at the "Inheritance Cycle"*.

Here are some suggestions for getting out of the bog of unimaginative races.

1) Do a bit of research. When looking for ideas for creatures not used commonly in fantasy, I like looking up folklore (particularly Irish) as well as creatures of legend. All you need is a quick wikipedia search, nothing real fancy or in-depth, but rather something to give you some ideas. Then contemplate this for as long as necessary then begin writing down about your races.

2) If you want to or already are using elves and dwarfs, don't be afraid to let them evolve or even give them new names. A race called Loreleis (taken from a poem called "The Lorelei" that I read in high school) in my current fantasy novel has undergone years of evolution from a powerful race to one where normally they would be called human (or mortal, whichever you prefer). Try new twists on things, like have the elves as the dominant race and humans as dying out or humans as the magical race and the elves as not. You get the idea.

3) Be careful with how many races you have. I've had several different kinds with mermaids, vampires, humans, and another race all in one story., but it only got confusing and bogged me down, so I only left it to two races, where it currently is now. I don't have a good number for what to shoot for, but I would recommend to do only as many races as you can handle and only what are needed.

4) In relation to #3, you don't have to have one or two races that are all the same, because that's boring and not realistic. In my current novel, I've discovered that having one blanket term for a race and then letting them branch out is better than creating so many races. For example, my vampires are all descended from three people, but they are divided into many various groups, each with a different culture, language, physical attributes, etc... Besides the fact that it's fun to think up histories for the different branches and thus interaction between them, it's realistic. Think about it. All humans have the same ancestors, and yet we're all so different, being divided into various cultures and peoples from tribes of Central Africa to Native Americans to those of Polynesia to those of European descent; each is different and unique in its own way, yet they all are of the same race.

The only fantasy writer I have seen yet to use this concept is Tolkien. He doesn't go into detail about all his races, but ultimately there are four humanoid races: human, elf, dwarf, and hobbit. Each of these are divided into various kinds, like Silvan Elves and Noldor Elves or the Rohirrim and the Men of Dale. This allows for a lot of diversity in his races and makes the story more realistic and interesting.

I'm sure I could think of other tips, but right now my computer time is limited.