Posted 06 November 2014 - 05:03 PM
I'm a bit late to the party, but I just wanna say that the 'farmboy becomes hero' trope isn't nearly as dominant in modern fantasy as is being made out. While yes, it does still exist in the broader form Abyss describes (though not really in the literal sense) -and to be honest it's not necessarily a bad thing if done right, if you're not using the exact same framing every time; for example American Gods fits the description in a lot of ways in terms of the way the narrative works but it's a great usage of 'everyman becomes important' - if anything it's just as normal these days to go the other way.
China Mieville, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, Mark Lawrence, GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, Daniel Abraham, Mary Gentle; I could go on for a while. It's pretty standard nowadays to approach the story from different angles.
I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.