An Author's Insecurities: Too Cliche?

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 17, 2011

Hi there!
So I am generally an insecure person, especially about my writing, so my question today is: is my character's life too cliche?
Alright, now this is the first "real" book that I'm writing not just for fun, but for something to publish, etc.
Here it is:
My MC is a 16-year-old boy who's every kind of bad. You know what I mean, the juvenille delinquent if-you-touch-my-girlfriend-I'll-kick-your-ass type thing, and he lives with his four brothers.
I know, I know. You're thinking, cliche? No way. But here is the part I'm worried about: his dad left the family when he and his brothers were young, and two years after that their mom was taken to an insane asylum, so yeah, the parents are out of the picture and I know that's become something people are getting tired of.
The other thing is that he does have a dead girlfriend, although the situation is a little different than one might call cliche. So the girlfriend died, and she was a girl the brothers had known since they were small, but now he has a new girlfriend, so it's not like he has that whole wounded lover, I hate my life thing going on. I mean, of course sometimes he does think about her and miss her but his whole life doesn't revolve around her dying.
I'm sorry for subjecting you to read through my problems :'( but thanks for doing so! Your thoughts?
Thanks so much!!!!
-Tragedies

Okay, so here is the plot: Leon Arimori is a 16-year-old teenage delinquent who has no desire at all to ever fall in love again, because according to him and everyone he's ever been associated with, he's just not cut out for that kind of thing. And who knows? if he falls in love again, this girl will probably die in the middle of a Safeway just like Brittany did.
Well, fate just likes to fuck with him, so along comes Scarlett Clodds and as you might've suspected, he falls in love with her.
*sigh* I am really bad at this. So basically, in Leon's opinion, his life is screwed and he's just trying to handle it all, from fights with his brothers to facing the past to his girlfriend sleeping with his best friend.

missesdash · Jul 17, 2011

It seems like it could go either way depending on the plot. You havent told us what the story is about. Youve just sort of offered some backstory

Becca C. · Jul 17, 2011

Every character has the potential to be cliché. It's what you do with them, how you subvert those clichés, that counts.

I second missesdash's question, too. What is this story about?

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 17, 2011

I will edit it okay?

and put in the plot

missesdash · Jul 17, 2011

sounds like Love Redeems

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 17, 2011

missesdash said:
sounds like Love Redeems

is that a bad thing?

but i liked that quote.

Becca C. · Jul 17, 2011

I think what you need to do is figure out how to subvert all the stereotypes and clichés. What you don't want is for your story to sound like something we've read a hundred times before. Here's a little break-down of what you've said:

Juvenile delinquent: How can you subvert it? Think of all the juvenile delinquent clichés. Tough. Unemotional. Violent. Stupid. Make him the opposite, or give him unusual reasons for being the way he is.

If-you-touch-my-girlfriend-I'll-kick-your-ass: Does he have a severe anger issue? Jealousy issue? Has he been hurt so bad that he can't trust anybody?

Lives with his four brothers: Since they have absent parents, are they being looked after by a guardian? The cliché would be for the MC to be working several jobs, trying to support his brothers, loving them unconditionally à la Darry Curtis in The Outsiders. Maybe the MC doesn't want to do this. Maybe he finds his brothers annoying and wants to be free from them. Also, maybe they're living with a grandparent or aunt or other relative (and maybe that relative is freaking awesome, not a tyrant like the clichéd adoptive guardian).

Dad left: Unfortunately this happens all the time. I think this is fine as it is, but make sure your MC has real feelings about this. Either he feels abandoned, or he feels he's better off without that bastard, something. So many characters have been abandoned by parents and it's just a footnote in their backstory. Make it affect him.

Mom is in the asylum: First, do your research. It takes a LOT to be committed to an asylum (and I don't think they're called asylums anymore. Try psychiatric care facility or something). For suicide attempts you get a few days in hospital, maybe a few weeks, for a paranoid/breakdown episode you get a couple days in a short-term unit, that's it. For long-term psychiatric care, you're probably looking at a big-bucks private facility. I don't know a lot about this stuff, but make sure you do. Make it as realistic as possible. I don't know what she's in the facility for, but most mentally ill people are not institutionalized. Most can lead pretty normal lives, even if they're never fully independent. Second, make this as un-cliché as possible. Maybe he visits his mom, maybe she's not completely out of the picture. Maybe she's hopped up on drugs all the time and he actually liked her better when her disease was untreated. Again, like with the dad, make it affect him in some way.

Parents out of the picture: Might just be me, but this is one of my least favourite things in YA. Kids, even teenagers, are not adults and I just don't find it realistic that they could do whatever the hell they want all the time. Even if your MC and his brothers are living by themselves, a social worker would probably pop in from time to time.

Dead girlfriend: I think there's a trend in contemporary YA right now with dead girlfriends/boyfriends and the obsession of grief the MC goes through. Maybe make your MC not obsessed. Maybe he's accepted that she died. Maybe he's finished mourning her. How did she die?

New girlfriend: Is she a Manic Pixie Dream Girl? Maybe don't make her one. Maybe make her totally ordinary, not some sparkly, shiny amazingsauce girl who changez his lyfe omg.

Yeah. So basically my advice is, any time you think something might be cliché, turn it around. Do the unexpected. Don't retreat into the safety of writing clichés and stereotypes. Don't shrink from writing the exceptional.

missesdash · Jul 17, 2011

no, not necessarily. But so far the only thing unique about your story is that his girlfriend died in a grocery store lol, that peaked my interest.

But like becca said, it's a matter of addressing your cliches and subverting a few in a way that you build a cohesive individual. Real people don't fit neatly into boxes.

thebloodfiend · Jul 17, 2011

Hmm... I haven't read any dead girlfriend books recently. I like subverting or lampshading tropes. Right now, your plot sounds like a bad boy gets redeemed by love. Which, for me, isn't interesting. I've seen this a million times in PNR. Now, if you re-worded your summary, maybe I'd be more interested. Put a twist on it.

If having a dead girlfriend wasn't bad enough, sixteen-year-old Leon Arimoni just found out that she was sleeping with his best friend. Fate loves fucking with him.

Something like that. Make me interested right away. I don't care about a bad boy who doesn't believe in love. I've seen that a million times. You can't necessarily create a totally new story, but you can make yours different. Star Wars is to Harry Potter as Harry Potter is to Eragon as Eragon is to Percy Jackson. Same basic plot with a twist in each one.

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 18, 2011

Becca C. said:
I think what you need to do is figure out how to subvert all the stereotypes and clichés. What you don't want is for your story to sound like something we've read a hundred times before. Here's a little break-down of what you've said:

Juvenile delinquent: How can you subvert it? Think of all the juvenile delinquent clichés. Tough. Unemotional. Violent. Stupid. Make him the opposite, or give him unusual reasons for being the way he is.

If-you-touch-my-girlfriend-I'll-kick-your-ass: Does he have a severe anger issue? Jealousy issue? Has he been hurt so bad that he can't trust anybody?

Lives with his four brothers: Since they have absent parents, are they being looked after by a guardian? The cliché would be for the MC to be working several jobs, trying to support his brothers, loving them unconditionally à la Darry Curtis in The Outsiders. Maybe the MC doesn't want to do this. Maybe he finds his brothers annoying and wants to be free from them. Also, maybe they're living with a grandparent or aunt or other relative (and maybe that relative is freaking awesome, not a tyrant like the clichéd adoptive guardian).

Dad left: Unfortunately this happens all the time. I think this is fine as it is, but make sure your MC has real feelings about this. Either he feels abandoned, or he feels he's better off without that bastard, something. So many characters have been abandoned by parents and it's just a footnote in their backstory. Make it affect him.

Mom is in the asylum: First, do your research. It takes a LOT to be committed to an asylum (and I don't think they're called asylums anymore. Try psychiatric care facility or something). For suicide attempts you get a few days in hospital, maybe a few weeks, for a paranoid/breakdown episode you get a couple days in a short-term unit, that's it. For long-term psychiatric care, you're probably looking at a big-bucks private facility. I don't know a lot about this stuff, but make sure you do. Make it as realistic as possible. I don't know what she's in the facility for, but most mentally ill people are not institutionalized. Most can lead pretty normal lives, even if they're never fully independent. Second, make this as un-cliché as possible. Maybe he visits his mom, maybe she's not completely out of the picture. Maybe she's hopped up on drugs all the time and he actually liked her better when her disease was untreated. Again, like with the dad, make it affect him in some way.

Parents out of the picture: Might just be me, but this is one of my least favourite things in YA. Kids, even teenagers, are not adults and I just don't find it realistic that they could do whatever the hell they want all the time. Even if your MC and his brothers are living by themselves, a social worker would probably pop in from time to time.

Dead girlfriend: I think there's a trend in contemporary YA right now with dead girlfriends/boyfriends and the obsession of grief the MC goes through. Maybe make your MC not obsessed. Maybe he's accepted that she died. Maybe he's finished mourning her. How did she die?

New girlfriend: Is she a Manic Pixie Dream Girl? Maybe don't make her one. Maybe make her totally ordinary, not some sparkly, shiny amazingsauce girl who changez his lyfe omg.

Yeah. So basically my advice is, any time you think something might be cliché, turn it around. Do the unexpected. Don't retreat into the safety of writing clichés and stereotypes. Don't shrink from writing the exceptional.

Thanks! That was really good advice

and now I think I'm doing it well.

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 18, 2011

thebloodfiend said:
Hmm... I haven't read any dead girlfriend books recently. I like subverting or lampshading tropes. Right now, your plot sounds like a bad boy gets redeemed by love. Which, for me, isn't interesting. I've seen this a million times in PNR. Now, if you re-worded your summary, maybe I'd be more interested. Put a twist on it.

If having a dead girlfriend wasn't bad enough, sixteen-year-old Leon Arimoni just found out that she was sleeping with his best friend. Fate loves fucking with him.

Something like that. Make me interested right away. I don't care about a bad boy who doesn't believe in love. I've seen that a million times. You can't necessarily create a totally new story, but you can make yours different. Star Wars is to Harry Potter as Harry Potter is to Eragon as Eragon is to Percy Jackson. Same basic plot with a twist in each one.

Okay thanks

I've always been bad at writing summaries. Oh well

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 18, 2011

missesdash said:
no, not necessarily. But so far the only thing unique about your story is that his girlfriend died in a grocery store lol, that peaked my interest.

But like becca said, it's a matter of addressing your cliches and subverting a few in a way that you build a cohesive individual. Real people don't fit neatly into boxes.

Exactly. Lol I am just REALLY bad at summaries. There is really a lot more to the story.

An Author's Insecurities: Too Cliche?

sadbeautifultragic

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

Becca C.

sadbeautifultragic

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

sadbeautifultragic

Becca C.

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

thebloodfiend

Cory

sadbeautifultragic

sadbeautifultragic

sadbeautifultragic