Before I get to the heart of this question let me start off by saying that I think dragons are cool, I like them and I think that in many cases they provide atmosphere to a story. They also represent an object of primal predatory fear for the reader, or ultimate wisdom combined with the unknown, I am sure there are many reasons for having them.

However, I have been reading fantasy stories for going on 30 years now (which gives a hint to how old I am) and even though I have by no means read everything there is to read in the genre (some may say I have barely scratched the surface). But I think I am fairly well read in the subject so therefore I have a question.

Why does nearly every fantasy story have to have a dragon?

It seems a little odd to me that of the thousands of fantasy writers that write stories that the majority of them feel the need to have a dragon in the story.

Is it due to a lack of originality? There are many mythilogical fantasy creatures that could equally fill the void. Griffons, Ki-rin, Centaurs, Rakshasha's to name a few.

Is it a conspiracy? Do publication houses and agents demand them? Is it an expected industry standard?

Is it a fear that the reader wont accept a story if there isnt dragon in it?

Or is it something that compels us that I havent considered?

And I do realize that not everyone uses them, our beloved JV has yet to use a dragon that I can remember and some other, but almost every other writer does. I am not agaisnt the use of them, I am just getting a tad tired of the same formula used over and over again.

The same could be said of the so called "Tolkein formula" where elves and dwarves and humans band together to kill the dark lord, or go on a quest to destry the artifact that will kill the dark lord, or some other similar variation.

As a beginning writer I want to try something different, and my main story does not have any dragons, or elves (or similar variation) or your standard "dark lord".

My concern is if I continue on this path, will anyone want to read it, will I be diminishing my chances to get it published if I do this?

In closing, I mean no offense to anyone, I am just asking a question that has been bothering me for some time and I am hoping for a professional, truthful answer, and perhaps someone with JV's now extensive experience could shed some light.

Brandon

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sumigo is just an online handle, my real name is Brandon.

... I've read lots and lots of fantasy stories without dragons. I don't think it's a requirement, and I prefer stories without them, usually, unless they're done in a really unheard of style or something.

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"The Alliance ain't the good guys. They're the opposing faction." ---Sam Shepherd or Stephen Howie

I have often wondered why writers of fantasy feel the need to incorporate dragons into their stories. Granted, they can be cool if they are used in a new or interesting way such as in G.R.R. Martin's ASoIaF books or in Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy. Others, however, are just damn cheesy and arbitrarily thrown in to the mix. While I am no longer an avid Wheel of Time fan (may James Oliver Rigney Jr. RIP), I always thought Jordan used the dragon in a new way. When I first encountered a dragon in Steven Erikson's Malazan books, I thought they seemed way out of place. The story did not really need it or use it in any interesting way. Oh, well. I suppose there will always be dragons on most fantasy book covers and between them.

I think dragons fascinate people. Something about a big, winged scaled beast with firey breath. I personally don't care for the portrayal of a dragon as mindless critter. Take a random wildlife for that.
Seeing dragons as intrigant, string pulling masterminds, being endlessly amused by those tiny twoleggers that roam their world and as such using them for their own needs (without them realizing it) is more up my alley.

All in all, I really don't mind dragons at all..just have to know how to use them and where to place them. They're not some every-day cannonfodder.

I think the answer is really simple. Some of the best fantasy-stories in the world have dragons in them, and this may lead people to believe that a story cannot be good fantasy if it does not have a dragon in it.

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"I am Reave the Just. I come as I have always come, for blood - the blood of kinship and retribution. Blood is the coin in which I pay my debts, and it is the coin in which I exact restitution."

I really liked the dragon in The Hobbit. I also liked how they were used in the Xanth books. I would be against J. V. Jones using a dragon in her current series. it just wouldn't fit unless it was an unmade dragon.

If I were to write a book i would use them like they are in the Xanth books. They would become in many shapes and sizes and they would be stupid like lizards are. But they would not shoot fire from their mouths. The largest dragons would be sea monsters that attack ships.

I have noticed lots of fantasy with humans, elves, and dwarfs too. The humans are always the largest group by far. It think it would be nice if a diffent set of races were used and if humans could my a small minority group amoung other races who dominated over them. This is an idea have had for a while.

I like dragons if they're done well. Of course, the same could be said for ANY element of a fantasy story. As long as the writer does what they do well, I am fine with it. I can't dislike a story JUST because it has dragons anymore than I can like it JUST because it has dragons.

Dragons have been part of mythology for 4,000 years--that we are aware of--so there's something about them that resonates with humans. Fire was a great and important mystery to our ancestors. It was the difference between life and death. It scared predators, brought warmth and light, cooked food, yet it was also destructive. And at times uncontrollable.

Dragons represent fire, and the good and bad it brings, and I think that's part of the reason we like reading about them.

I caught a quote on TV the other morning. Some chap (God bless him whoever he is) said "If there were never any dragons in this world, then there really should have been."

I like the way he thinks.

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-reach out and torch someone-

www.dragonheadchronicles.co.nr/

Its been a while since I checked this post, thanks for the thoughtful answers you guys. ALthough it breaks the heart to see Polijin's post on here

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sumigo is just an online handle, my real name is Brandon.

One of the things I hate about some authors is their clichés. As a writer you should write what you want but if you just rehash something its lame. Look at your characters like real life people. Fantasy doesn't need to be the epic quest to destroy total evil. What if your character is grey? Grey is so much more interesting than black and white.
Your the third son of a noble, you will never inherit. Your brothers bully you constantly. You accidentally kill one in a fight unintentionally. Your other brother lies to have you killed and taken out of your inheritance. At fourteen you run off afraid of what your father will do. You stay off the road and wander into the woods. You meet up with a group of unsavory characters; you don’t like them but your hungry and have no choice about it. They are holding a female hostage for ransom and you get caught up in their plot. They kill a knight and his men that have come searching. Feeling even guiltier you escape with the prisoner and free her you still have the knights sword. You wander the road and meet with a mercenary troop en-route to war. You join them. You fight a few campaigns and gain the attention of a nobleman of a foreign land. You become one of his select men. Someone at court notices the knight’s sword and recognizes it. You meet new men and make allies and enemies in the foreign court. You gain fame by killing a vicious murderer who is terrorizing the countryside. A noblewoman of status becomes your lover, although she has a bastard son of her own through a rape years ago, you bond with the child. Her father takes a liking to you because no one wants to marry a woman with a rape bastard. An entourage arrives from your father’s lands and demands to know where you got your sword. Your brother is in the group of knights come to arrest you. The knight was a famous hero. You explain. Your brother demands you come home to face charges. Your new lord refuses. And asks for a duel instead. You fight your brother and you disarm and wound him but do not kill him. You give him the knight’s sword to return it to his family. He goes home with his tale between his legs. The noblewoman you rescued from the neighboring lands testifies what you did and absolves you of charges. Your father still wants you to stand trial for your brother’s death. You continue courting the noblewoman and you marry. Your father dies and your brother absolves you and asks for forgiveness. Your wife gives you three children all boys. She dies after the third is born. You become a marshal in service to your lord. You retake a castle from a bandit lord who murdered its occupants years ago but failed to retake it due to the violent natives in the area. Your family settles there and you are promoted to Baron for your efforts. You take a lover a woes woman and witch. She teaches you the ways of her people; she bears you another son and a daughter. Your sons grow and become knights in their own rights. The locals worship old gods and they are of an older race. You have many problems suppressing their rebellious ways. The son of the knight you killed and his men come and challenge you after finding you in the forest hunting. He kills your son and wounds you. You kill him. The wound festers and you die. Your other sons become great knights with their own stories. But that is a tale for another time. Someday I'll write my own book.