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Read it, answer it, and report back.
http://www.rinkworks.com/fnovel/

So seriously, how many times did you go stressed ?

I know it's a cruel survey. But it's funny!

i will admit, i was going through there and my ADHD kicked in and had to leave. but only a couple were "yes".

I'm sure the author of the quiz wasn't trying to condemn trilogies; it's just a common novice pitfall to over-exaggerate the potential of their beginning work. Real, experienced authors have a little more savvy when it comes to pacing and plot layout.

Being the moderator of several author's circles in high school and college, I know from experience that almost EVERY amateur writer starts planning a trilogy at one point or another. (I'm guilty too.) xp If not a trilogy, then there's a squeal or prequel in the making, or maybe just a huge series of stories that occur in the same world but aren't necessarily related. It gets a little frustrating after a while when 5 people want to read their 60-page part-1-of-book-1 fifteen times. stressed

Sorry, there were a number of these where I think the person who wrote this is simply frustrated by seeing many bad executions of some of the concepts. If one were to ditch every single one of these cliches, it would boarder on no longer being fantasy as people would expect. A cliche becomes a cliche because it happens in the genre over and over. It's a part of the genre.

Any of these so-called "no-nos" can be done well. Just because this person doesn't like Robert Jordan (and, personally, I can't blame them) and can't think of ways in which any of these could actually work is no excuse to bash anyone who uses any of these in their stories.

That said, there are some legitimate ones. But they tend to not be specific to the fantasy genre. The ones that I would put stock in are 1, 8, 14, 16, 17, 25 (though, I question its inclusion based on the afore-mentioned anti-Robert Jordan bias), 27, 31, 32, 47 (and this one is crap, considering one should be writing about an alternate world with an alternate form of government, anyway), 49, 54, and 55.

That's 13 questions that are actually legitimate to writing. The others are either loaded with so much anti-Jordan or anti-D&D bias as to be jokes or rather clearly show off the lack of knowledge on such topics that the list-maker has (yes, you can, for example, stab someone straight through plate mail, given the correct sword and technique. Small swords and rapiers frequently did. Freaking arrows go through plate mail. Why do you think it stopped being used?).

The person who wrote this list has a rather clear dislike for mainstream fantasy like D&D. And that's fine. That's his taste. But it is no argument for telling people who write such fiction that they shouldn't. After all, what if someone is writing a spec novel for Wizards of the Coast? They aren't going to get anywhere if it doesn't feel like a D&D game.

Frankly, this list sounds more like the rant of a couple of frustrated novelists who haven't had their works picked up for publishing.

Robert Jordan wrote the never-ending, boring as hell, obnoxiously pretentious, so-damned-long-he-died-before-he-could-finish-it-or-even-really-come-to-a-point Wheel of Time series.

Wow, seriously? That guy wrote in a boring style or are all his books boring? Well, maybe there's not much difference, is there? sweatdrop

I'm tempted to read the Wheel of Time series for the SOLE PURPOSE of reading the last book, which was written by Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn Trilogy and Elantris. Plus, it seems to be such an influential series of book as far as modern fantasy is concerned, I should at least be familiar with it. You don't sell ump-teen books if you're bad. At least, not in the Fantasy genre. It's a pretty cutthroat corner of publishing.

Oh, wow, I actually discovered this exact same thing yesterday when I was bored. I didn't do it though. So I'll do it now whee

1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?
No. That would be slow. And rather annoying.
2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?
Uh, no.
3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it?
No, but I'm pretty sure a wolf wouldn't be to successful ruling humans anyway.
4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?
No, that would be boring.
5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?
Hmm... well, she does quest for a magical artifact, but it doesn't save the world. More like, the Lunar Wolves powers. So no.
6. How about one that will destroy it?
No.
7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
No.
8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?
I have got one who loves to do that, but it's not his sole purpose. So, no.
9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?
No, but I'm sure that would be fun (and insane)
10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character?
No, I'd rather not do a Darth Vader. But my main characters parents are evil. But not the supreme evil, if you know what I mean. And she knows they're evil, right from the end of the first chapter. So definite no.
11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician?
No, mainly because it's just the normal world, just with werewolves and Lunar Wolves. And Lunar Wolves don't have kings, they have the alpha pair, put that's just normal wolf behavior. And they're not duped my evil magicians, so no.
12. Does "a forgetful wizard" describe any of the characters in your novel?
No, there isn't any wizards. And that is a weird, pointless question.
13. How about "a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior"?
Not really.
14. How about "a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons"?
Nope. Mainly because I haven't got a sage. Especially not a wise, mystical one.
15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around?
*Sigh*, no.
16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?
No. I have not got a Saint. George. Plus my main characters a female, so if she existed for that, that would be a wonderful main character, wouldn't it?
17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals?
No.
18. Would "a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword" aptly describe any of your female characters?
No. They couldn't even hold a frying pan or a sword, because they're wolves. And with wolves, the females join the hunt anyway.
19. Would "a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan" aptly describe any of your female characters?
No. And repeat my last answer.
20. Is any character in your novel best described as "a dour dwarf"?
No.
21. How about "a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage"?
No.
22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?
No. I haven't got any elves, or dwarves.
23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?
No. And wolves aren't even that tall anyway.
24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?
No.
25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
No.
26. Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"?
No, that would be sad.
27. Does your novel contain a prologue that is impossible to understand until you've read the entire book, if even then?
No, I haven't got a prologue.
28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?
No, but I might end up writing a sequel; it's possible. And what on Earth's wrong with trilogys?
29. How about a quintet or a decalogue?
No, but why does that matter?
30. Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book?
I've not finished it yet. But I don't think it will.
31. Did absolutely nothing happen in the previous book you wrote, yet you figure you're still many sequels away from finishing your "story"?
No. This is actually my first novel ever. And, I don't think nothing would have happened if it wasn't.
32. Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books?
No. I'm on the first one. There's nothing to write about before where this one starts, unless you want to read a boring account of my main character's school life.
33. Is your name Robert Jordan and you lied like a dog to get this far?
No, and I would very much hope I have not had a gender change.
34. Is your novel based on the adventures of your role-playing group?
No, I've never roleplayed.
35. Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm?
No, but one is based on myself. But he is a boy. And has many different traits that I have not got.
36. Do any of your main characters have apostrophes or dashes in their names?
No, but nothing is wrong with that, is there?
37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables?
No, but again, what's the problem?
38. Do you see nothing wrong with having two characters from the same small isolated village being named "Tim Umber" and "Belthusalanthalus al'Grinsok"?
No.
39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
Yes, halflings. But none of the others. And I still don't see the problem.
40. How about "orken" or "dwerrows"?
No. And I officially find a lot of question in this quiz quite pathetic.
41. Do you have a race prefixed by "half-"?
No.
42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines?
No stare
43. Do you write your battle scenes by playing them out in your favorite RPG?
No.
44. Have you done up game statistics for all of your main characters in your favorite RPG?
No.
45. Are you writing a work-for-hire for Wizards of the Coast?
No.
46. Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls?
No, there aren't any inns. Mainly because they aren't human.
47. Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don't?
No.
48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?
They might, but I haven't got to that part yet wink
49. Could one of your main characters tell the other characters something that would really help them in their quest but refuses to do so just so it won't break the plot?
Well, they could say something useful, but they don't not tell them for that reason. They're actually secretly working for the enemy and I'm going to stop giving away plot spoilers sweatdrop
50. Do any of the magic users in your novel cast spells easily identifiable as "fireball" or "lightning bolt"?
Nope, they do quite unusual magic stuff actually.
51. Do you ever use the term "mana" in your novel?
No, I am not creating a video game.
52. Do you ever use the term "plate mail" in your novel?
No, they don't wear armour, they're wolves. And I doubt I would anyway.
53. Heaven help you, do you ever use the term "hit points" in your novel?
No. I'm not a noob. stare
54. Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs?
No, it is heavy and people can't carry around 1,000,000 coins like in video games.
55. Do you think horses can gallop all day long without rest?
No.
56. Does anybody in your novel fight for two hours straight in full plate armor, then ride a horse for four hours, then delicately make love to a willing barmaid all in the same day?
No.
57. Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it?
No.
58. Does anybody in your novel ever stab anybody with a scimitar?
No. They can't really do much stabbing anyway.
59. Does anybody in your novel stab anybody straight through plate armor?
*Cough* Repeating answers *Cough*. No. They can't really do much stabbing anyway.
60. Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more?
No.
61. Does your hero fall in love with an unattainable woman, whom he later attains?
No, and she doesn't fall in love with an unnattainable man either.
62. Does a large portion of the humor in your novel consist of puns?
No.
63. Is your hero able to withstand multiple blows from the fantasy equivalent of a ten pound sledge but is still threatened by a small woman with a dagger?
No.
64. Do you really think it frequently takes more than one arrow in the chest to kill a man?
No, the person would have to be extremely lucky.
65. Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an "on the road" meal?
Nope, I realise.
66. Do you have nomadic barbarians living on the tundra and consuming barrels and barrels of mead?
No.
67. Do you think that "mead" is just a fancy name for "beer"?
No.
68. Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion?
No.
69. Is the best organized and most numerous group of people in your world the thieves' guild?
I don't have a thieves' guild. So no. And no anyway.
70. Does your main villain punish insignificant mistakes with death?
No.
71. Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute?
No.
72. Is "common" the official language of your world?
I don't understand this, but I don't think so.
73. Is the countryside in your novel littered with tombs and gravesites filled with ancient magical loot that nobody thought to steal centuries before?
No.
74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?
No, I've never read The Lord Of The Rings.
75. Read that question again and answer truthfully.
*Cough* No, I don't think I'll repeat the answer one million times, thank you.

One yes. An awful lot of those questions weren't suitable for wolves. And most of them are rather pathetic questions anyway. And I think I might have just revived this thread 4laugh