What is Cliché?
Don’t be afraid to bring your own ideas to life, that might bring much more than you expected.
Cliché is an overused idea, sentence, expression in written artwork. It could be irritating and make you feel like reading the same novels again and again. But why authors are likely to use clichés in their stories?
These might be the reasons:
- Cannot think of new ideas (Lack of imagination)
- To be afraid of using their own ideas because they think that their’s are not better than those clichés,
- Desire to take a shortcut (wish to be popular in a short time)
- Others
Here are some examples of clichés stories written in Wattpad.
These are just description parts of the stories that give the reader short information, clue about the story.
- ROMANCE/TEEN FICTION
Wren hides behind her hoodie at school. But when the handsome, popular Asher notices her, she realizes she might not want to be invisible after all.When she gets a new babysitting job, it turns out she's looking after Asher Reed's sister. Asher is handsome, popular, practically the king of the school. But soon he's turning his attention to her. He wants to spend more time with Wren and soon the two are growing close. Unfortunately, Asher's popular friends despise Wren, and his current girlfriend starts making threats. Before, all Wren wanted to be was invisible, but now all she wants is to be with Asher.Story from Wattpad
First, I want to ask “Do you want to continue to read this?”
For me, this is pretty annoying.
The highlighted parts contain more clichés.
The readers will decide whether they are going to read or not after checking the story description so it should grab their interest. Just from reading the description, it smells like cliché about a quiet girl getting popular guy’s attention. What’s next? His girlfriend and his friends will challenge her. They might do anything. That girl will suffer in many ways. She might change herself, or else, the famous guy will be changed. Somehow, they will be together after getting through many hardships.
How many movies and stories with this plot have you seen? This is just one of the millions of cliché teen stories.
Why is teen fiction always about the love between bad and good ones, or between popular and quiet ones? A girl falls in love with the guy she used to hate the most, or a boy discovers the beauty of a girl that he never noticed before. We have been familiar with those stories for a long time. Changing the characters and making a little difference is not the name of creating a new story.
How can it be different?
About the characters, why can we have more unique characters such as one who is color blind, scrawny, or who have some kind of phobia? Another way is having a perfectly ordinary character just like a real human. Do not say your character is perfect from the outside or inside. No one is perfect. Even if it is fiction, the more you make it realistic, the more it would touch your readers’ hearts.
Nowadays, it is so hard to find romance with a good twist. Why are not there such complicated twists and conflicts except for the plan of the ex-girlfriend or boyfriend and devilish friends? Teens also have been going through many tough situations like bullying, discrimination, depression, abuse, losing friends, isolated feelings, self-hatred, and you can name it. Sometimes, people have more problems with themselves, why don’t you mention them instead of seeking enemies around your main character.
2. WEREWOLF/VAMPIRE
He is my mate. I don't know who he is but I'm sure he is about to let me know.He breaks the kiss as he backs up keeping me close as He rips off his mask and he growls "Mine." A growl that sends a shiver down my spine.His breath taking face comes into view. People around gasps as some yells. "The Alpha King has found his mate," I gasp. This man in front of me is Bain Alexander Remington , the King.Story from Wattpad
What do you think about the idea of this story?
Undoubtedly, it is about finding one’s mate.
Finally, he will find his mate then protect her with all his heart and power.
That is the idea of every werewolf story. Of course, the same goes for a Vampire story.
- Why cannot be the main idea of the vampire/werewolf story finding another planet to live and destroying the earth? I have never watched a film about the huge war between human and vampire/werewolf.
Another cliché is letting those creatures live in the human world. Almost every time, they are high schoolers and live in a quiet hidden place with their family.
- Why do not they live in another world where the same creatures as them and other interesting creatures live? You can give a chance to explore a completely different world full of stranger things.
3. MYSTERY/HORROR
Horror/mystery stories have fewer clichés than the romances but it still has.
Different clichés are used in different types of horror stories.
But the common thing that you will notice in most horror stories is a creepy house with many rooms.
In a ghost or witch story, people go to the house or place which is very creepy to live or to spend their vacation. Before they go inside, they never notice its creepiness while it is pretty much obvious for the readers.
- Why shouldn’t the place of ghosts be creepy for the first time? Very elegant, a beautiful place also can have ghosts.
In a horror story with the killer, a girl walks in a dark, creepy place alone at night. Then, any psycho comes out and she gets kidnapped or killed right there. He kidnapped and killed many girls but never get jail until the end of the story. Even if girls are tortured for long and the killer got hurt many times but all of them would be like they never die.
When the horror story like this goes too far from real life, it cannot convince and entertain the readers well.
- First, why do the girls need to walk down the strange street? Can we replace it with a public place?
- Second, why should only the girls be victims of crime?
- Third, why are people not dying even if they got hurt seriously several times and no cure?
4. FANFICTION
Harry Edward Styles is a very wealthy, successful, young CEO of his own business Styles Inc.His life seems perfect to all. On the outside his life seems ideal--or more like perfect. He's rich, gets women easily, and has very successful businessBut on the inside he's just a scared adult who lives and thinks about his regrets and bad past.Until a sweet, beautiful, girl comes into his life and changes it. Will he learn to love? Or push her to the side like he does everyone else?Story from Wattpad
The most common cliché in fanfiction is making the artist almost perfect. No matter the artist is hardly perfect in a real-life or not, fiction is fiction. We cannot keep writing they are perfect and successful. This way of writing already became cliché. Millions of people are writing the same thing as you. Add more weaknesses to the artist, “his regrets and bad past” is not enough.
Moreover, why should the girl who will fall in love with the main role be “a sweet and beautiful”?
Pretty+pretty=love is not a rule that we have to follow when we write romances. Why don’t people can love each other because of their personality matches perfectly, not because of appearance? Write more about human nature, personality, or other features when it comes to love.
How can we avoid writing cliches? What makes a story exciting, intriguing and jump out from the others?
Unexpected and jaw-dropping events that readers would never imagine occur in a story.
For example, any important character dying in the middle of the story or the lead role choosing the one that he shouldn’t have as his lover. It could be anything that makes people surprised.
How to create twists and turns?
- Always ask yourself “what if” question?
Don’t make readers ask “what if?” after reading your story. You have to fill most of the answers to those questions with your story.
2. Think more.
The more we think, the more great ideas will come to our mind. Also, think about how your story is going with coherence. Is it going smoothly and understandable? Did I leave something unexplained or undecided for the readers? When is the right time to set twists and turns?
3. Try to make your ending unpredictable
Make your readers lost in several paths leading to the end of the story. Sometimes, you can leave the choice for ending as their wish. People will end your story as they want. That would let your reader more think about and discuss your story because they are interested in its ending.
4. Foreshadowing
Give little hints of a big event that will happen later in the story one by one during the story. In the beginning, readers might get confused with that, but later, they will be really curious about it. When they know what all of those for, it will be a big surprise for the readers.
Good luck with your story writing.
See you at my next lesson.
