I just finished a short fantasy story

[Deleted]

Well, actually I completed it two days ago. It's almost 4,200 words long. I have the intention of publishing it on Fantasy Magazine or some similar online magazine, so I won't post it here just yet, but if they reject it then I will upload it onto Scribd and give this community the link.

The story's protagonist is Chollo, a human warrior who is hired by elves to fight rebellious orcs. The elves promise him that they'll give his starving people food, but eventually he suffers a conflict of consciences...

I'm especially happy about this story because my take on each of the story's races (humans, elves, and orcs) is different from how these races are normally portrayed in fantasy. My elves are imperialistic and racist bastards, my orcs have a sympathetic reason for rebelling, and my humans are all black people rather than the usual pseduo-medieval Europeans.

I really enjoyed subverting the old fantasy cliches because I've never really liked them; it has always bugged me how "pretty" races like elves are usually the good guys while "ugly" races like orcs are the villains. As for the humans, while I have nothing against the European Middle Ages, I've always been more drawn towards more "exotic" cultures like the Egyptians, Nubians, and Mayans, so most of the human characters in my fantasy stories have been non-European and often are African. Besides, I reason that if orcs and elves are occupying a world's temperate zones, humans would be limited to the tropics and would therefore retain black skin.

Anyway, I hope I succeed in getting this published!

[serenadeofhatred]

Haha, nice to see your confident.

...

And made Elves racist... which kind of annoys me, as I thought I came up with that first. Well, I suppose that's what happens when you don't write down your ideas, so... congrats.

Anyway, I'm not sure that simply changing the roles around is going to get you published in a magazine. It has to be like, really, really, good. Or at least, something the guys there like.

Anyway, good luck.

[JW%]

Elves have always been racist. I think he's pointing out that his elves are different by being imperialistic bastards rather than holier than thou bastards.

Normally it's the humans who are imperialistic bastards honestly... wait... are your elves white? I just got a disturbing mental image that you just put pointed ears on those pseudo-medieval Europeans...

Likewise orcs being shown in a sympathetic light has been going on for a good while now. Ever since "Half Orc" became a playable race in D&D(initially intended to be the result of rapes, now it's because some breed-wit- anything human was fortunate enough to be accepted by a noble and spiritual race of benevolent and honorable beings). How exactly did you portray them anyway?

I'd promote you on using an alternate culture for humanity to be represented by. It's also been done of course, but the medieval thing is a very popular trope(or cliche, depending on your perspective).

All these mean nothing on the quality of your work however. You could have just written a wonderful, insightful, and highly original story that is certain to be published. I don't know, and here's hoping for you!

Now... what I'd like to see, is some more stories about dark skinned elves living in a Mayan or Egyptian, or some kind of highly advanced for the time period people, having to deal with Humans who have Roman or Greek influences. Make your orcs(or I guess trolls for scandinavian myths) those barbarian northerners who live in Europe... I've seen too much of the elves being... well... generically oriental themed... I'm getting off topic though...