Before you read any further, I would like you to follow this link. If  you read or especially if you write fantasy, you will enjoy this.

It is a test, a list of questions for writers of fantasy literature, to determine how cliched your work is, and whether or not you should continue.

I made it to number 23: ‘Does everybody under four feet in height exist solely for comic relief?’ Well, most of my diminutive characters do provide a lot of comic relief. Goblins in my steampunk/fantasy are rather comical. But they are also the most tragic characters I have.

Now, we know the plot that we planning on using in this wonderful world we are creating is the most common one there is. In fact, our little project fails at most of those questions. But that does not matter, we will forge ahead anyway. After all, it’s not the story we tell, it’s how we tell it.

And in the spirit of this fun test, our current assignment will be to create a character that deliberately fails one question in particular. ‘Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?’

I have one of those too. Father Isaiah. Well, he does more than that, he shows up at just the right moment to save Ethan’s blue but. But that too, is in the spirit of the question.

So. This week, lets create a character, whose sole purpose is to show up at random times and dispense important information.

Is he a wizard or a monk? An old and wise farmer or apple-cart driver? Is he actually a she? Is she powerful? Or simply wise? Or a child, perhaps? And host the spirit of an ancient oracle?

You decide. Next week, we return to our regularly scheduled discussion and more holes in the map will be filled in.