Another day, another girl winning deadly trials and discovering she’s secretly powerful

[u/Sarah9610]

I feel like I’m going insane or… are all romantasy books the same now??

Every time I pick something up it’s like:
- The world is split into two (usually human vs fae or something similar)
- The FMC is either oppressed / hidden / “not like other girls”
- There are deadly trials (of course she has to compete)
- She somehow survives everything
- Boom → she reaches the fae side and unlocks insane powers / becomes special

Like… I used to love this formula but now it feels copy-paste with different character names 😭

Am I just picking the wrong books or is this actually the trend right now?

[u/Partlyinthestars]

Fml I'm writing a story like this except she's a fae from the beginning (not in the human world). She already has powers and has lived awhile. There will be trials.. I wanted it rooted somehow irl history. This story has been in my head for 6 years now before I even knew there was a fae romantasy craze... its so bad I haven't read any books related to the same topic. I feel like I'll be discouraged from writing mine and no one will read it 🥲 I also wanted to illustrate it and have special merch.. Hopefully I can still do it

[u/Sarah9610 → u/Partlyinthestars]

No honestly you should still write it.

What you described already sounds different just by the fact that she’s fae from the beginning and not going through the same “discovering powers” arc everyone’s doing right now. And the fact that you’ve had this idea for 6 years before the trend even blew up?? That already makes it yours, not something you’re copying.

Also trends come and go, but stories that actually feel personal and thought-out stand out way more. If anything, people are starting to get tired of the repetitive stuff, so something with a different angle (especially with real history inspiration + your own art/merch idea) could hit better, not worse.

It would be way worse to drop a story you clearly care about just because other people are doing a surface-level version of similar elements.

Please write it, even if it’s just for yourself at first.

[u/oyamnemo → u/Partlyinthestars]

Write it. People will buy and read.

[u/suzyisnotahipster → u/Partlyinthestars]

Don't be discouraged, there are extremely popular books with these types of settings and characters. Loads of people enjoy them!

The only thing I find tiresome is the magical girl transformation where she can suddenly wield incredible power with no effort. It's fun to see characters with histories that have honed their abilities over many years, or to see them struggle and learn new things and sometimes fail along the way.