Original Cliches.

lemonhead · May 16, 2010

I know there are threads on here about avoiding cliches- but I'm just curious- what are cliches that, despite all efforts, still managed to make their way into your book and how did you try and put some originality in it?

My whole book is a cliche. lol. Not totally but I have felt like that on occasion. I have the requiste hot, rich bestie who isn't interested in my MC- so I actually ended up putting a "nod" to that cliche in the first page, like my MC thinks to herself how stereotypical it is that a moderately good looking eighteen year old rich boy would of course have girls falling over themselves to date him, it'd be un-american to do anything else...

I don't know if my example works or not but I just read another book this weekend where the author has the guy have "super long eyelashes" (young adult cliche) and then has her MC think along the lines of "why does the guy always have these great eye lashes that girls would kill for"- which I thought was a clever way of acknowleding the cliche but sticking to it anyways.

Okay...hope that made sense. I just thought it was an interesting topic and wanted to see what you've seen or wrote that did that?

Cyia · May 16, 2010

Oldest cliche in the world: boy meets girl. Yet, unless you're setting is a one-gender Amazonian commune, you're going to have to use it at some point.

(And now I have yet another earwig of an idea...)

bri_ness · May 16, 2010

Interesting thread!

Gosh, I'm awful with cliches. My WIP has a rich girl falling for a poor boy, but she's moved into his neighbourhood (though she still has her money) which makes them more equal, if you will. She rejects the wealthy lifestyle, really just wants something more simple with him. And, I guess that's a cliche too, isn't it? :tongue

Worse than that, though, is that I have a car crash that changes everything. Of course I do. I considered all the options that would give my character the injury he needs to have, and it was the most realistic choice. This is one where I'm really not sure how to get rid of the cliche, but I do think what it adds to the story justifies having the cliche.

perfectisafault · May 16, 2010

Haha, my YA novel has the cliche 'rich boy and rich girl rebelling against their privileged upbringing and falling in love while they do it.' Then I have the whole cliche 'best friend who turns out to be a complete bitch/dumb best friend (but she isn't a blonde

)' and the whole 'evil creepy uncle' (there's even a TV tropes page dedicated to that).

Hopefully my fairly unusual/unfamiliar setting (I've looked and I don't think any YA books have been written about Pinochet's Chile for the US/UK/English speaking market) can act as a sort of de-cliche-ing device xD

Shady Lane · May 16, 2010

boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back.

Stunted · May 17, 2010

At the start of the novel, it seems like a standard bad boy/good boy love triangle, but the bad boy loses interest pretty quickly, the girl gets with the good boy, and the two guys wind up being best friends.

(They also turn out to be long-lost half brothers, though. That's pretty cliche. Er...actually, how often does that happen?)

Ugawa · May 17, 2010

Shady Lane said:
boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back.

guilty.

Shady Lane · May 17, 2010

Stunted said:
At the start of the novel, it seems like a standard bad boy/good boy love triangle, but the bad boy loses interest pretty quickly, the girl gets with the good boy, and the two guys wind up being best friends.

(They also turn out to be long-lost half brothers, though. That's pretty cliche. Er...actually, how often does that happen?)

bwahaha I wrote this book once!

Moost · May 17, 2010

Girl dumps boyfriend for best friend who is in love with her.

(Guilty)

This is just a subplot of mine, though. Very minor part of the larger issue.

Poetoffire · May 17, 2010

New girl distracting the boy from the girl seems too good to be true, turns out to be evil. So very guilty. But he sort of suspected from the beginning, so I guess that's a little better?

Also a car crash.

And the eyelashes thing, but it's the girl's boss. She hates him, she'll never do anything with him (he's asexual, immortal, and emotionless), but she occasionally ogles him.

Also the girl gets with best friend who she's loved all along but didn't realize it.

neener · May 17, 2010

Girl who discovers abilities she didn't know she had...

elissa · May 17, 2010

Dead mom. (they even fought the night she died, lol.)

bobcat22 · May 17, 2010

elissa said:
Dead mom. (they even fought the night she died, lol.)

Not only did they fight, but boy/girl also told mom how much he/she hated her and wished she would just disappear and "leave me alone!"

Marzipan · May 17, 2010

Girl falls in love with magical creature.

Stunted · May 18, 2010

The Kidd said:
Girl falls in love with magical creature.

Guilty twice.

Marzipan · May 18, 2010

Guilty twice.

But hey, if it isn't a werewolf,vampire,angel or fairy we are doing pretty good right?

PhoebeNorth · May 18, 2010

The Kidd said:
Girl falls in love with magical creature.

Guilty!

I've also got "The aliens aren't who they say they are."

Sandy Shin · May 18, 2010

I'm writing a Beauty & the Beast re-telling, so I'd say my entire novel is one big cliche. Here's to hoping I'll manage to make it even remotely original (which is really all I hope for!).

KarlaErikaCal · May 21, 2010

I have a number of good girl/bad boy novels. But they involve different plots of course

But I really like my twists on them. This is just two novels out of four.

One has two MCs out of four and they're in a love square. And the guy is good boy, turned bad, and the girl turns him good again at the end lol.

Another has the girl unaware he's a jerk while they have a summer romance, and when they can't contact each other, the girl searches for him and finds out he's a jerk when she finally sees him again at the climax. BUT at the same time, she sorta started falling for a boy who's been helping her find her summer romance dude. Oh and she's pregnant. Not sure if that's a cliche in itself... Apparently the "other guy" falling for a pregnant girl idea is similar to The Secret Life of the American Teenager TV show, but the situations ARE different so I'm safe with that lol.

Interesting topic!

Zoombie · May 21, 2010

Creepy age difference.

A 100 year old dating a 6 year old. Sure, the 6 year old is an A.I with the mental faculties and emotional maturity of a 20 year old, and he doesn't know she's an A.I...so I'm still not QUITE at Breaking Dawn status...

YET!

Stunted · May 21, 2010

Zoombie said:
Creepy age difference.

A 100 year old dating a 6 year old. Sure, the 6 year old is an A.I with the mental faculties and emotional maturity of a 20 year old, and he doesn't know she's an A.I...so I'm still not QUITE at Breaking Dawn status...

YET!

AI. Ok, thank God. I thought it was a real 6 year old. Phew.

I guess when you put it like that, I had a 7 year old and a 20 year old.

shaldna · May 21, 2010

Shady Lane said:
boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back.

This my favourite story.

Zoombie · May 21, 2010

Stunted said:
AI. Ok, thank God. I thought it was a real 6 year old. Phew.

I guess when you put it like that, I had a 7 year old and a 20 year old.

No, what do you think I am, stupid?

Also, just cause someone is an artificial intelligence doesn't mean they're not real

Ellefire · May 21, 2010

neener said:
Girl who discovers abilities she didn't know she had...

guilty!

Zoombie · May 21, 2010

Oh, also guilty!

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