Hello!
Cliches. You know you love them, deep down anyway. I believe we enjoy them because they are familiar, and hey, we were entertained the first time, why wouldn't we be entertained again? And again... However, not so deep down, we are severely annoyed by cliches. I'm not going to sit here and say I've never written a cliche in my stories, however, if you really want to WOW your audience and especially publishers, you might want to think outside the boredom box.
Cliche #1 Love Triangles
NUMERO UNO! Can you take a guess? The biggest cliche thats capturing the attention of the shelves in Barnes and Noble... Love triangles. Bella and Edward, Bella and Jacob... Edward and Jacob?
Yikes. What is the appeal? Ladies, I think we know. As women we love the idea of complicated love. I have no idea why, but there's that hidden pleasure of casting the "good boyfriend" and the "bad boy that we are actually attracted to." When women read literature or watch movies, they know the good boyfriend is the "smart" choice, but the bad boy is the "sexier" option. That's just how we're wired in the media.
So, here's an idea to keep the excitement of the love chemistry in your story without feeling like your ideas will blend in with everyone else's. Why not have one man with multiple characteristics. No not a psycho with a duel personality disorder, but an imperfect and totally human character. A man that has weaknesses, a man that has things you love and things you don't, a man that is complicated without having to cast another character to challenge his uniqueness.
That or have a love square. Why stop at three?
Cliche #2 Weenie Heroines
For some reason we love to write main women characters as useless and insecure beings. I am all for character flaws, I really am, it makes them interesting. You know what's not interesting? A girl who complains about how plain her hair color is (when you can easily change that for a few bucks and a salon...) or the female that trips over EVERYTHING, or the girl who can't function unless a really hot guy gives her a confidence boost.
I am proud that Star Wars cast a very womanly yet strong willed heroine in the new movie. Rey is a great example of women heroes I love. It's not just because she's a bad ass, because she even has moments when she gasps like a scared little girl or gets kidnapped (which is super basic.) BUT she is smart, crafty, physically strong, and can help herself when she get's in a rough situation. That way she can still get rescued by prince charming without looking like a total ditz.
Another great example is Fiona from Shrek. She was probably the first princess to really have some balls. She still has feminine ups and downs without being completely helpless.
Now if your main character is supposed to be a fickle and shy character to fit the story, that's fine, you shouldn't stray from what makes your story. However, let your character grow. She needs to overcome these flaws whatever they may be so she can become stronger, otherwise that reveals a whole new problem of having a stagnant character. We don't want to read a trilogy of a heroine who STILL falls into the same trap.
Cliche #3 The Chosen One
This is one we love too! But who can hate Harry Potter, the boy who lived? Who can hate... well just about any book/movie that quotes "you're the only one to stop so-n-so?"
You know what I love more though, is a character that makes his way to the top.
In reality, would a villain really hunt down only one child when he could be going after thousands of others? Or why would the villain toy and keep the hero alive if HE was the only one who could stop him? Not to sound creepy, but if I were a story villain and a hero was in my way, he would be moved.
I appreciate the stories where a character improves himself to the point where he becomes one of the only ones to save the world. You can still have a hero, just make him work for it!
We fall into the "chosen one" track, because we secretly wish those stories would happen to us. We feel plain or mediocre in our realities, and dream that one day a magical wizard will appear with a special quest just for us because we had hidden powers we never knew. Of course, we want to believe there's more to us than just us! But remember, you are enough, and so is your character.
Cliche #4 The Parents
Ah, the parents. There's a reason why we can't have them part of YA story telling, and that's because parents are older and wiser and therefore could guide your main character through the whole story. Think about it, in Pretty Little Liars the only reason parents aren't killed off is because they're extremely flawed. If they were too smart or too useful then there would be no story for your hero, the hero would be turning to their parents to save the day. When you take a responsible adult out of the equation, you are left with a young character that has to make decisions on their own. That leaves tons of room for growth that you can witness with the hero.
There's a few more, but I will leave it at that today! Enjoy your writing adventures!
Until next time!
Me
