Quote:
Originally Posted by VydorScope
This. Some deviation is normal, if it is drastically different, call it a different name. Obviously its your book, you do want you want, but in general anything you call "elf" should mostly fit the "elf" stereotype for best results when attempting to communicate to your reader. The goal is to tell a story so well your reader is lost in it. Anything you put as a barrier to that (as in non-elf,elves) just makes your job that much harder.
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You're quite right of course, but I'm still of the opinion that not every Elf or Dwarf has to be an exact copy of the Tolkien Elf or Dwarf
I'm in complete agreement that you shouldn't be describing a short, stocky fellow, about 4 to 5 feet high with a beard woven into braids, wielding a hammer and an axe, and then calling him an Elf. That's too big a difference
Still I'm of the opinion that there can be considerable variation between Elves, in such a way that they're not all carbon copies of the Tolkien ones. They can still be easily recognizable as Elves.