Why do so many people use elves and dwarves?

[Reaver]

There is nothing inherently wrong with having elves or dwarves or any other fantasy race. It is all in the story and the execution of the story. Thinking one cannot use elves because they are used so much is like thinking one cannot write a story about humans because so many stories have human characters.

Thanks, Steerpike! You've given me some much needed inspiration!

 

[Amanita]

You don't have to use elves, dwarves etc. to be allowed to call your story fantasy either, however. All writers and readers are human, therefore it's obvious that the being we write about are human as well most of the time. With the other "races" this isn't true, obviously. (Or maybe it is, but we're just calling them something else.)
It is true that beings like elves or dwarves exist in mythology, but I haven't read mythological stories of fairytales that have what amounts to "group of immortal humans with pointed ears" and "group of mountain-dwelling small humans." I'm not claiming that these stories don't exist, but these things definitely aren't absolutely necessary. Some mythologies, such as the Greek ones don't use them at all.
Most of these stories I'm familar with feature one or a very small number of these beings who are serving a specific role within the story, roles such as guarding a treasure, seducing a man, setting tasks to the hero and so on. Despite of (maybe) looking human they're clearly very different. Tolkien elves and the ones in other works using elves I'm familiar with are not.

 

[Ziggy]

Making totally new races you have to describe in detail can be more work than it's worth. Sometimes just calling this race "elfs" and "dwarfs" gives an image in the reader's mind. You don't have to, of course.

I agree with this.

It really depends on what your aim is as a writer. Most will take some traditional fantasy elements and add or change a few things to make their world unique. Some will spend more time on describing their world and its creatures, some will spend more time on character development and plot. Usually we do a bit of both.

 

[Voldermort]

It's probably got something to do with archetypes. Short good = dwarf. Short bad = orc. Dunno.

 

[sashamerideth]

It's probably got something to do with archetypes. Short good = dwarf. Short bad = orc. Dunno.

That's the kind of stereotypical thinking we try to avoid, and I have never pictured orcs as short, or dwarves as particularly good.

 

[Ghost]

Amanita, I think that's an interesting point about an inherently superior race and a barely human barbarian race. Morality in is straightforward in a book with those populations, and the author can focus on the epic journey or whatever the plot is.

I wanted to add to the bit about elves, dwarves, and laziness. As fantasy writers right now, we have to work around the elf and dwarf stereotype when we include them. I don't see it the same way as drawing from folkloric traditions since many of the associations came up directly from Tolkien and D&D. Besides, the folk version of a race or animal depends on your source. It isn't a one-size-fits-all sort of situation. Having elves isn't so bad, but the more they inexplicably follow the fantasy tropes, the less I can think of them as the author's take on a tradition. At that point, they become a generic shortcut.

Even if you make up detailed elven societies, most people will think of them as stereotypical fantasy elves until you say otherwise, and then it becomes a matter of "my elves are different because x and y." They're different from what? And we're right back to the stereotypical mopey, judgy elves who discuss philosophy in the forest as leaves fall onto their golden hair, all while dwarves puke in the background after going on a collective bender. You have more wiggle room if they aren't called "elves" or "dwarves," but they need more than a name change to be different.

I wanted to clarify something from my previous post. I realized might come across as smug. "Well, I use mythical elves instead of Tolkien/D&D elves, so neener neener." That isn't how I meant for it to sound, lol. Even if you use folklore for guidance like I do, it's not as creative or risky as attempting something new. We're still relying on cultural associations.

If I put a troll in a story, I can draw on centuries of stories about trolls and on the responses a normal reader has to trolls. I don't see that as laziness. Single words have centuries-old associations, and we draw on those too.

The thing is, the elf and dwarf tropes were popularized recently. (Although, someone may be able to cite old sources for elves and dwarves hating each other. And elves with their own special language. And dwarves with axes and ale. Etc.) The recency isn't even the problem for me. The problem is they're so darn pervasive, and elves/dwarves fulfill similar functions from story to story. In a genre called "fantasy" I'd expect more variation.

 

[Kaellpae]

I'm not a big fan of elves, dwarves, or gnomes. If other people like to do their characters and races as such I'm not against reading about them. It's just not my interest to write about them. They've staled to me.

 

[Voldermort]

That's the kind of stereotypical thinking we try to avoid, and I have never pictured orcs as short, or dwarves as particularly good.

To associate archetypes with stereotypical thinking demonstrates that you're not as independendent minded as you like to think you are.

First, archetypes are fundamental.

Second, the answer probably does have something to do with archetypes. Just like the White Stag is used as a Supernatural Aid in a very particular way, I wouldn't be surprised if Orcs and Dwarves were used in similar fashion. The first place I would look for this sort of thing is James George Frazer's and Robert Graves' work.

Independent thinking sometimes means knowing that the answer lies within convention. It doesn't mean blindly going the opposite way of convention.