Jaden's Lab

Fantasy is rife with predictably overused cliches: The inexperienced young white male protagonist, ages 11-16 years old. The Evil Dark Overlord in the Black Cape and Cool Dark Evil Castle bent on killing the Hero at all cost, and world domination. The beautiful-but-she-doesn't-know-it female love interest, who could kick anyone's butt in a fight. The funny, incapable sidekick whom the Hero would be lost without. The Old Mentor Dude who Knows A Lot that eventually dies. Big greedy dragons. Stupid ogres. Tiny super-magical fairies. And if it takes place in Our World, no one knows the magical world exists!

And so much more.

Please. I want something new. This is a work in progress, my Senior Capstone Project: an attempt to bring something fresh to the genera. To have fun writing a 50, 000 word novella in 6 months which twists/subvets all the cliches typical of young adult fiction. The story follows Ash and Jaden, two non-human characters of a new fantasy race: the Calens. They live in a modern world where magic and technology have equal share in every day life, and Humans are just one of many races which share the Earth. Let me know what you think, I'm writing this on the fly, I have next to no plan for it other than a few characters and a basic outline. Alert me if you find that I am pandering to cliches! The goal is to twist them up or nix them completely. Again, this is a rough draft. I won't go back to edit it until I've finished the word requirement.