I thought it was about time I started posting on some more technical elements of writing. This post will deal with the feared cliché – some of my own opinion on that as well as what I’ve heard from writers, some of them published.
A story needs to start with an idea, whether it be a character, a single scene, a theme, or a plot line. Since this is the starting point of a novel, I thought it would be appropriate for this to be one of the first topics I posted on.
We all know what clichés are – knowing how to avoid them is the problem. But are clichés necessarily a problem? Clichés are clichés because people like them (or have in the past). But, I suppose that it’s inevitable for anything popular to grow out of fashion as people become bored with the same old. I’ve got clichés in my book – I think it’s impossible to write anything entirely original (if you can point me in the direction of something that is, great!). Whether it’s a clichéd storyline (there are only 36 according to Polti) or a clichéd character or plot element, I think the important thing is to put your own spin on it, and that’s pretty standard advice.
Take, for example, good versus evil – a cliché, certainly. To be avoided? Certainly not! Point me in the direction of a novel (fantasy, crime or otherwise) that doesn’t deal with that in some way shape or form. Probably general fiction might be the best chance of escape from that particular cliché, but you’d be hard-put finding a book from one of the other genres that doesn’t. My book certainly deals with Good versus Evil and I’m not about to go changing that just because it’s a typical fantasy theme.
The ‘Orphan with a mysterious past’ is another common fantasy theme. I happen to like this one, and the main character of my book just happens to be one. So long as I can put my own spin on it, then the fact that it’s been used a hundred times before shouldn’t matter. J.K. Rowling used it and look where it got her! It just goes to show that it’s the story you weave around these common themes that makes it interesting.
I really like the idea of writing a book with a prophecy, but these are getting ridiculously common, in my opinion. It seems like every second book you read has a prophecy in it. I’ve still really liked the books I read, but there was just something like ‘not another prophecy’ every time I read the blurb and that word was mentioned. I think prophecies really need to work hard to make themselves something special, but then, so does any other clichéd element.
How many fantasy books have you read where the hero wields some kind of sword? How often does that sword have some magical attribute? These can get pretty old, but recently I read Brandon Sanderson’s Way of Kings and yes, he had swords and yes, the swords have some kind of magic, but it all tied into the story. It wasn’t just there for the sake of it and it was something I’d never read about before, which was refreshing.
Dark Lords, quests, elves, dwarves, swords, magic daggers, ninjas, castles, the ‘Chosen One’, the wise old stranger who seems to know everything, names with apostrophes – some of these I hate and some I don’t mind. Either way, I think the most important thing is how they are used in a story.
I’ve heard some people say that clichés should be avoided at all costs and any book with a cliché should be scrapped immediately – if someone said that to me, I’d ignore it. Primarily, I think we should all write because we enjoy it and that means writing about what interests us. I guess if you’re looking to be published then it pays to be original, but I still don’t agree that this is synonymous with no clichés.
A story needs to start with an idea, whether it be a character, a single scene, a theme, or a plot line. Since this is the starting point of a novel, I thought it would be appropriate for this to be one of the first topics I posted on.
We all know what clichés are – knowing how to avoid them is the problem. But are clichés necessarily a problem? Clichés are clichés because people like them (or have in the past). But, I suppose that it’s inevitable for anything popular to grow out of fashion as people become bored with the same old. I’ve got clichés in my book – I think it’s impossible to write anything entirely original (if you can point me in the direction of something that is, great!). Whether it’s a clichéd storyline (there are only 36 according to Polti) or a clichéd character or plot element, I think the important thing is to put your own spin on it, and that’s pretty standard advice.
Take, for example, good versus evil – a cliché, certainly. To be avoided? Certainly not! Point me in the direction of a novel (fantasy, crime or otherwise) that doesn’t deal with that in some way shape or form. Probably general fiction might be the best chance of escape from that particular cliché, but you’d be hard-put finding a book from one of the other genres that doesn’t. My book certainly deals with Good versus Evil and I’m not about to go changing that just because it’s a typical fantasy theme.
The ‘Orphan with a mysterious past’ is another common fantasy theme. I happen to like this one, and the main character of my book just happens to be one. So long as I can put my own spin on it, then the fact that it’s been used a hundred times before shouldn’t matter. J.K. Rowling used it and look where it got her! It just goes to show that it’s the story you weave around these common themes that makes it interesting.
I really like the idea of writing a book with a prophecy, but these are getting ridiculously common, in my opinion. It seems like every second book you read has a prophecy in it. I’ve still really liked the books I read, but there was just something like ‘not another prophecy’ every time I read the blurb and that word was mentioned. I think prophecies really need to work hard to make themselves something special, but then, so does any other clichéd element.
How many fantasy books have you read where the hero wields some kind of sword? How often does that sword have some magical attribute? These can get pretty old, but recently I read Brandon Sanderson’s Way of Kings and yes, he had swords and yes, the swords have some kind of magic, but it all tied into the story. It wasn’t just there for the sake of it and it was something I’d never read about before, which was refreshing.
Dark Lords, quests, elves, dwarves, swords, magic daggers, ninjas, castles, the ‘Chosen One’, the wise old stranger who seems to know everything, names with apostrophes – some of these I hate and some I don’t mind. Either way, I think the most important thing is how they are used in a story.
I’ve heard some people say that clichés should be avoided at all costs and any book with a cliché should be scrapped immediately – if someone said that to me, I’d ignore it. Primarily, I think we should all write because we enjoy it and that means writing about what interests us. I guess if you’re looking to be published then it pays to be original, but I still don’t agree that this is synonymous with no clichés.
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