What writers can learn from the main sub-genres of Fantasy literature

Good vs. Evil - the eternal conflict. Call it whatever you will, good vs. evil, light vs. dark, order vs. chaos, heaven vs. hell, life vs. death, etc. - it's always the same principle. Typically there is a bad guy (or a group of them) who is totally evil and wants to destroy or conquer the world, to extinguish all life, enslave all sentients, or anything along those lines - for either entirely evil reasons, or for no other reason at all - than simply being evil. This calls to action the good guys, the heroes, who are not acting pro-actively, but are reacting to what evil is brewing in the world. Their goal is to...

Save the World - to restore the balance, to banish the evil gods, to free the peoples, to stop/hinder/undo whatever the bad guys are plotting. That's the main objective. The world itself - when free from the bad guys - is a good and beautiful place. And all hardship and strife stems directly or at least indirectly from the doings of the antagonists. Everything revolves around those shining heroes, who have to set things right again. Everyone depends on them - but initially they don't seem quite up to the task. Following...

The Hero's Journey - the hero (or heroes) of the story does not start out as such. She only becomes a hero through fighting (and eventually defeating) evil, but in order to be strong enough to achieve this feat, she first has to become strong. To awaken. To unlock her inner potential. To find assurance and conviction. To fulfill the prophecy. To unleash her inner strength. Only if she manages that, she will be able to stand up to evil and defeat it. And so she sets out on a journey of self-discovery, traveling through...

A Large World - made up of large continents, kingdoms/countries, with a rich history, lots of politics, different factions, conflicting ideologies, detailed maps, hot places, cold places, dry places, wet places, mountains and valleys, plains and rivers and everything - inhabited by...

Diverse Races - which most typically are Elves, Dwarves and Orcs - but they could bear other names. What they always have in common is, that being of a certain race does generally define certain traits of a person - more often than not in a rather stereotypical fashion. Orcs are strong but stupid brutes living in a shamanic/tribal culture. Elves are gracile, otherworldly and magical beings, living close to nature in a society rich in fine arts. Dwarves are a stout, honest, hard-working and equally hard-drinking people, who value honor, coin and solid craftsmanship. Of course there are exceptions, just to shake things up a little, but the only race which features real diversity, is the human race. And they study...

Magic as a Science - Magic typically is something that can be learned, trained and controlled. It's something that is being studied, and well known - with experts of the field recording their findings in writings and books for others to learn from. Magic users typically are bookworm-ish types, scholars, highly educated, wise, seasoned persons of more or less refined manners. Magic is very reliable, well understood (even if only by a small minority), and follows the well-defined "laws of magic" which act much like physical laws do in the real world. Learning magic requires dedication and patience - and gives great power to persons with often less than heroic physique.

Moral Ambiguity - things are not as black and white as "good" and "evil" - there are only many shades of grey. Even people who appear truly evil on the outside - do have their reasons, their justifications. They probably don't think of themselves as the bad guys, and from their point of view, what they are doing is simply necessary, a worthwhile sacrifice, or not "evil" at all.

The World Doesn't Care - it just keeps turning. It does not revolve around some heroes, or what they are doing. It does not need to (or can't) be saved either. In fact, if some would-be heroes want to leave their mark on history - and achieve something to be remembered - that's going to take a real effort on their part. They have to earn this the hard way - and even if they do, their glory might be only temporary. But somebody ambitious and thirsty for fame enough to actually achieve that, probably isn't that much of a shining hero in the first place - but rather...

The Anti-Hero - The Heroes usually do pursue their own personal goals - might be fame and riches, might be revenge, might be becoming a legend, might be nothing but bare survival. They fight for their own sake, and for their own ambitions - not for some greater good or to save the world. Their goals might clearly rank on the "good" side of the spectrum, be of a brighter grey than most - but they still are their own, personal goals. The Heroes also are not pre-destined for greatness. They achieve it of their own strength - or not at all. In most cases they live in...

A Dark World - a rather brutal, uncaring and unforgiving place, full of diseases, crime, poverty, violence, intrigue, corruption, decadence, disparity/inequality, oppression, famine, drugs, death and/or war. It does not have to be as harsh as this sounds - and it can have it's nice and beautiful places too, but generally speaking it's at the very least a mixed bag. More often than not it can be a dangerous place to live in, especially if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Many times this world is inhabited by...

Humans Only - or if there are races, there is very low emphasis on them. No matter how exotic they might appear, they usually have a diverse mixture of strong and weak, good and bad, intelligent and dumb persons, just like every other race. There might be pure-race kingdoms or countries, but they are defined by their politics, their economy, their religion and/or their culture - not by their race. Generally speaking, what race someone is, doesn't tell you anything about what kind of person she might be. Who knows, maybe she wields...

Dangerous Magic - It's mysterious, inexplicable, and unreliable. There might be a personal danger involved in using it, and it's not something you can learn by studying books - you either have it, or you don't. And if you have it, you probably will be feared and expulsed by others. You might even be a danger to yourself and others, a ticking bomb. Nobody ever has full control over magic (even if they think so) - and there is no science and no reliable laws behind it. Some people might master it to a degree - others are simply consumed by it. It's definitely not something you'd want to use for every day convenience.