Have you ever written a story about dragons?
Well, you’re in luck, because today, we’re going to talk about five of the most overused cliches in fantasy, specifically about dragons.
According to many people on the internet, the fact that dragons exist in your story at all is a cliché in itself. These scaly, fire breathing creatures are one of the biggest cliches in the fantasy genre.
But the problem is, we still like dragons. We don’t want to get rid of them. We just have to figure out how to put our own unique spin on them.
Here are the top 5 cliches about dragons in fantasy, and how you can avoid them in your own stories.
1. There’s Only One Left
This is one of the most common cliches I’ve seen about dragons.
In every fantasy world, the dragon race is on the verge of extinction. They were all hunted down and killed, except for one lone survivor.
This may be an old dragon, who is wise and thoughtful like a grandpa.
Or it could be a single dragon’s egg, which is (somehow) still alive and hatches a perfectly healthy dragon, despite not having any warmth or protection for years.
I think one reason why this cliche is so popular is the way it feels relevant to our world. Nowadays, we know that it is way too easy to hunt entire species into extinction.
However, it would be nice to have a fantasy world where this isn’t a problem.
What about a world where dragons are rare, but not extinct, and the people actively try to keep them alive and well?
I would totally read a book about a dragon conservationist group. Just saying.
2. They Breathe Fire
One of the main characteristics of a dragon is that they breathe fire.
But what if they didn’t? How do we set them apart from all the other reptiles?
If your dragons are huge, they might not need to breathe fire in order to be terrifying.
Have you seen how large a reticulated python is? Even though it doesn’t have any powers apart from its normal snake abilities, the fact that it’s so gigantic is terrifying. Maybe the same can be said about your dragons.
If you really want your dragons to breathe fire, try to brainstorm some new twists on it.
Maybe they can’t breathe fire all the time, it only happens when they’re in their mating season, which is only for two months out of the year. Maybe only the baby dragons breathe fire, and as they grow older, the fire goes away.
3. Tiny = Good
I’ve noticed this one more over the last few years, when a lot of stories started including smaller, cuter dragons, as a way to avoid the “big bad dragon” cliche.
Now, don’t get me wrong– I love a story with some cute tiny dragons. Dragons the size of housecats are adorable.
However, I think this is something worth mentioning, because nowadays, dragons fall into two categories. Big and evil, or tiny and cute.
How about a gigantic dragon that’s just a big teddy bear, but they’re too big to live among humans without crushing their houses and killing crops? A giant dragon that just wants to hang out with the humans, and doesn’t realize that it trampled half the village?
Also, I’d love to see a tiny dragon that is totally evil and dangerous.
Picture a tiny dragon that could burn down a village and kill everyone, until the local animal control puts it in a five gallon bucket and releases it an hour outside of town. Or people having to hire dragon exterminators because they have a dragon nest in their barn.
There’s nothing wrong with tiny, cute dragons. But make sure that your story isn’t categorizing good and evil dragons based on size alone.
4. They Act Like Mammals
A dragon is probably as affectionate as a gecko. They probably wouldn’t act as affectionate as they do in the movies.
In stories, the domesticated dragons usually act like either dogs or horses. They tend to be affectionate towards their owners, and they can even enjoy cuddles, like a dog or a cat.
Dragons are not mammals. If you had a pet dragon, they probably wouldn’t act like the family dog.
Reptiles and snakes are closer to dragons, biologically speaking. So if you have domesticated dragons in your story, do some research on pet lizards and how they interact with humans. That will give you a better idea of how your dragons should act.
If you put a dragon in your story, so your main character can fly everywhere but also have a best friend, you don’t need a dragon. You need a Pegasus.
Or a dog and a helicopter, that could work too.
5. The Dragon Is Smarter Than You
And last but not least, we have something that might be more of a pet peeve than a real cliche.
In fantasy stories, it seems like the dragon is always smarter than everyone else.
Sure, sometimes there is a certain wisdom that comes with age. But that doesn’t always apply to animals.
What if all the dragons were really stupid? Like, chasing their own tails and trying to attack the moon stupid?
I would love to read a book where the dragons are so dumb, the humans are forced to take care of them, because otherwise the dragons will die out from their own stupidity.
Maybe that’s just me, but I figured I’d put it on the list anyway. Let me know in the comments if you agree.
Hope you enjoyed this post! It was fun to write.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time with a brand new post.
~Lauryn
Hi!
Your posts are always fun – and reading through this, I think that, apart from the fire-breathing one (which absolutely 100% is staying, because I have been in love with fire-breathing dragons who have some sort of connection to a volcano since I was four) I kind of … subvert many of these? Like in my “the dragons are almost extinct” story, most of the new hatchlings are … sickly.
Also, dragons are NOT (or at least do not have to be) reptiles. I don’t know why most people think dragons are reptiles, but to me dragons are NOT reptiles! And the largest dragon ever is good! 😀
Honestly, I love dragons of all sorts, sizes, and shapes – as long as they aren’t all evil! I don’t mind dragons who can be evil like humans can be, but I like dragons to be … well, not just evil!
DRAGONS FLY!
(oops, I wrote out a reply earlier but it looks like it didn’t post, so here’s my reply, a couple hours later haha)
Thanks for your comment!! Dragons really are the best. I like the idea of the only surviving hatchlings being very sick, seems like a great way to put a twist on the cliche.
Personally, I’ve always had my dragons as reptiles. I’m curious, do you prefer dragons who are closer to birds? Or mammals? That could be a really interesting way to put your own spin on the classic dragon prototype!
And yes, they do! At least, the cool dragons fly. 😀 I’ve seen a few stories where dragons can’t fly very well, or they can’t fly at all, and it’s a lot less cool. I prefer flying dragons by far.
I’ve always seen my dragons as sort of a classification of their own. They’re warm-blooded, they’re usually born clumsy and helpless and then mature and grow to full size at a more-or-less set rate, and age like a mammal or bird. My Areaer dragons are bits of pieces and pieces of everything: some of them have combs like a chicken or some bird species, some of them have extended ears like most mammals (though they do have scales (some of them), and never have fur or feathers, so I guess that might be reptilian-like?). They need to eat like a warm-blooded creature, too: they are primarily carnivorous and the long ones (like many of the large carnivores) naturally gorge themselves a bit, then go a short while between meals, but they eat all the time when they’re growing, and they need to eat pretty regularly as adults, too. So I don’t really know? Just that they are definitely not reptiles! (I don’t like reptiles. Snakes are Eww! and lizards are … tolerable.)
Oh, and they mate on the wing like eagles or hawks, and for life like many of the birds.
Ooooh ok! I totally see what you mean. And I don’t like reptiles either XD
I wanted to let you know I tagged you for a blog tag! Absolutely no pressure if you don’t like of course!
Thanks for the heads up!! 😀