I've been writing fan fiction for quite some time but I would also write some original works of fiction. I have seen some cliches in both fan fiction and original fiction that is just a giant pet peeve of mine and I swore that I would never incorporate it into my stories.
Right now I'd like to discuss the top eight writing cliches that I will never incorporate into my stories. There are alot of cliches that I wouldn't use but I'm narrowing it down to those that are my main pet peeve
8.
Mary Sues/Gary Stus
Having a character that is flawless and perfect can be a bit of a writers handicap. I like my share of an escapist character but one has to be careful in that it doesn't devolve into a boring invincible hero or a boring invincible villain. When I would do a character I would try to make said character not 100% perfect. Also we just love stories where a character would overcome harsh obstacles, not stories where" Oh another obstacle that a character will overcome with less difficulty".
7.
Tsunderes
Not really down with the whole double standard if a female treats a guy like crap it's ok cliche. Especially if said female ends up with the guy and made no attempt to make amends with how bad she treated said male character. If you're going to make said Tsundere character end up with the guy she bulled then at least make some effort to develop her into a more likable character and have her atone for her actions against said guy she bullied.
6.
Damsels In Distress
In this current age you haven't been seeing that many characters that are created just to get saved EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. like you used to back in the day. While there are characters that would tend to get in a jam from time to time it can get irritating if their whole point of existence is to get into trouble and have someone get them out of it. Why not do something different by having a character, who is known to being a damsel in distress, learn from past experience and become genre savvy about it. Maybe have character set a trap for said villain. You know take a level in badass
5.
Women In Refrigerators
The plot element that involve the girlfriend of said hero getting killed in a pointless and unceremonious manner just for the sake of creating drama. The two worst offenders I'd say is Ultimatum and Identity Crisis.
Ultimatum
Janet got better
Identity Crisis
It gets worse
You know what makes this bad enough? It's a rip off of this..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhvtzgxl0eQ
Two things that makes the original better.
1. Angelus didn't rape Jenny
2. There was a meaningful build to it, there wasn't anything that screamed cheap shock value.
Speaking of...
3.
Cheap shock valued deaths
Death happens. It's inevitable. But mainstream comics seem to turn death into a cheap gimmick to bring in sales. Death shouldn't be used as a cheap gimmick. It should be something that provides an emotional impact and change the characters or the world around it. For instance in the original Star Wars trilogy Luke's adoptive parents were killed by storm troopers and Obi Wan was later killed by Darth Vader. What made both scenarios impactfull is that it helped progressed Luke's heroes journey. If one uses character death, especially of a main character or main supporting character then have it provide some kind of impact.
2.
The Bully
You've seen this kind of character before. The one note antagonist to the main character that said main character must overcome. We are supposed to hate the bully character since the character's whole existence is to make the protagonist's life a living hell. However don't some writers ask themselves" What does a bully do when not tormenting the protagonist or why they are what they are or is there any part of them thats actually a decent human being?"
The one movie that actually deconstructs this cliche is The Breakfast Club since it shows characters who could be known as The Bully but are actually given layers during their time in detention and you actually get to see what made them become what they've become. I think the only character that wouldn't pass as a Bully in that movie is Brian.
1.
Pointless Rape Scene
To use a few quotes
Right now I'd like to discuss the top eight writing cliches that I will never incorporate into my stories. There are alot of cliches that I wouldn't use but I'm narrowing it down to those that are my main pet peeve
8.
Mary Sues/Gary Stus
Having a character that is flawless and perfect can be a bit of a writers handicap. I like my share of an escapist character but one has to be careful in that it doesn't devolve into a boring invincible hero or a boring invincible villain. When I would do a character I would try to make said character not 100% perfect. Also we just love stories where a character would overcome harsh obstacles, not stories where" Oh another obstacle that a character will overcome with less difficulty".
7.
Tsunderes
Not really down with the whole double standard if a female treats a guy like crap it's ok cliche. Especially if said female ends up with the guy and made no attempt to make amends with how bad she treated said male character. If you're going to make said Tsundere character end up with the guy she bulled then at least make some effort to develop her into a more likable character and have her atone for her actions against said guy she bullied.
6.
Damsels In Distress
In this current age you haven't been seeing that many characters that are created just to get saved EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. like you used to back in the day. While there are characters that would tend to get in a jam from time to time it can get irritating if their whole point of existence is to get into trouble and have someone get them out of it. Why not do something different by having a character, who is known to being a damsel in distress, learn from past experience and become genre savvy about it. Maybe have character set a trap for said villain. You know take a level in badass
5.
Women In Refrigerators
The plot element that involve the girlfriend of said hero getting killed in a pointless and unceremonious manner just for the sake of creating drama. The two worst offenders I'd say is Ultimatum and Identity Crisis.
Ultimatum
Janet got better
Identity Crisis
It gets worse
You know what makes this bad enough? It's a rip off of this..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhvtzgxl0eQ
Two things that makes the original better.
1. Angelus didn't rape Jenny
2. There was a meaningful build to it, there wasn't anything that screamed cheap shock value.
Speaking of...
3.
Cheap shock valued deaths
Death happens. It's inevitable. But mainstream comics seem to turn death into a cheap gimmick to bring in sales. Death shouldn't be used as a cheap gimmick. It should be something that provides an emotional impact and change the characters or the world around it. For instance in the original Star Wars trilogy Luke's adoptive parents were killed by storm troopers and Obi Wan was later killed by Darth Vader. What made both scenarios impactfull is that it helped progressed Luke's heroes journey. If one uses character death, especially of a main character or main supporting character then have it provide some kind of impact.
2.
The Bully
You've seen this kind of character before. The one note antagonist to the main character that said main character must overcome. We are supposed to hate the bully character since the character's whole existence is to make the protagonist's life a living hell. However don't some writers ask themselves" What does a bully do when not tormenting the protagonist or why they are what they are or is there any part of them thats actually a decent human being?"
The one movie that actually deconstructs this cliche is The Breakfast Club since it shows characters who could be known as The Bully but are actually given layers during their time in detention and you actually get to see what made them become what they've become. I think the only character that wouldn't pass as a Bully in that movie is Brian.
1.
Pointless Rape Scene
To use a few quotes
"Take a good look at your story. Why do you
think a rape is what you need for it to progress? Is there something
else that could fill the same function? Unless you have a damn good
reason to include rape in a story, you probably shouldn’t."
I know who I am when I'm saying this, but rape is possibly the worst thing one can do to another. Such an act, if included in a narrative, will bring it to a grinding halt.
You have to respect your audience and address the issue directly. You
do not diminish this violent act by making it the sidestory.
In CAU I had a situation where a male character got raped by another male character and that was not played for laughs. I did not show the scene in graphic detail but only it's aftermath and the character dealing with it. I still made a point in that the scene carries as much impact to not just the character but his friends around him. For instance it caused the members of The Order, a military group that the character is apart of, to have a more close bond than before and there is a moment where some even felt guilt over what happened. Outside of that I've never done a rape scenario, given the uncomfortableness of it.
This is perhaps the cliche that connects to the other cliches that I've mentioned. You want to make a villain horrible well there are more creative ways to do it. Also it annoys me when the act happens then the next day it gets completely ignored. The biggest offense is that the victims friends doesn't support the victim when said act happen, what happened with Ms.Marvel for example.
I also don't do the whole Rape As Comedy thing. Yes there are moments I'd laugh at the ridiculousness of the Rape As Comedy cliche but at the end of the day, especially when I'd write the scene I make it a point that. RAPE. ISN'T. FUNNY!!!
In CAU I had a situation where a male character got raped by another male character and that was not played for laughs. I did not show the scene in graphic detail but only it's aftermath and the character dealing with it. I still made a point in that the scene carries as much impact to not just the character but his friends around him. For instance it caused the members of The Order, a military group that the character is apart of, to have a more close bond than before and there is a moment where some even felt guilt over what happened. Outside of that I've never done a rape scenario, given the uncomfortableness of it.
If there is a cliche that you don't normally use when writing fiction or if you have some thoughts concerning what I wrote down then pop in a comment.
Honorable Mention
Character Bashing
There are characters I've hate but turning them into something worse than what they originally are is just lazy IMO. Why not take a character that you hate and make some efforts in improving the character for the better? For instance in a Buffy story I've managed to turn both Dawn and Kennedy into well adjusted characters. Also I've managed to make Loki a more trickster type of character, with some layers, when compared to his 616 version before character development kicked in.
Honorable Mention
Character Bashing
There are characters I've hate but turning them into something worse than what they originally are is just lazy IMO. Why not take a character that you hate and make some efforts in improving the character for the better? For instance in a Buffy story I've managed to turn both Dawn and Kennedy into well adjusted characters. Also I've managed to make Loki a more trickster type of character, with some layers, when compared to his 616 version before character development kicked in.
BRAVO! BRAVO! ENCORE!
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