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Romance cliché?
- Thread starter DamaNegra
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Cliche phrases come to mind for me.
If I see "his blue gaze" or its variations I put the book back on the rack. It reads like he has glowing rays shooting from his eyes.
Ditto if the guy gives in to groaning at any point during intimate moments with the lady. Makes me think he's not enjoying himself. If it's an S&M kind of read it's okay, but groaning and kissing her? Bleah.
The word "retorted" should be made illegal.
And "laughing derisively" or "with a derisive laugh" ...hmm...tough call. Either blue pencil it or just shoot the writer, I could go either way.
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If I see "his blue gaze" or its variations I put the book back on the rack. It reads like he has glowing rays shooting from his eyes.
Ditto if the guy gives in to groaning at any point during intimate moments with the lady. Makes me think he's not enjoying himself. If it's an S&M kind of read it's okay, but groaning and kissing her? Bleah.
The word "retorted" should be made illegal.
And "laughing derisively" or "with a derisive laugh" ...hmm...tough call. Either blue pencil it or just shoot the writer, I could go either way.
.
I would say "heaving bosom" and "engorged manhood". 
Actually, this is one of those "if you hadn't asked I could have named off a million of them" type questions. My friend and I were discussing them just a few hours ago. Like vampire lovers that don't want to suck blood (does he like starvation?). My pet peeve is vamps that give up immortality to become human and live with the love interest... I don't know if that's really a cliche though. I just don't understand someone living for hundreds of years then suddenly deciding that human again is the way to go.
How about conflict arising because the herione and her lover jump to conclusions rather than ask for the truth? Stuff like that makes me want to tear my hair out. I sit there reading the book and screaming, "Just tell him!!"
For a great interracial cliche, watch 'Something New'. That movie is cliche-alicious and highly predictable. I think romance cliches depend on the subgenre. Each one has its own set. I'm sure there are some that cross over.
Actually, this is one of those "if you hadn't asked I could have named off a million of them" type questions. My friend and I were discussing them just a few hours ago. Like vampire lovers that don't want to suck blood (does he like starvation?). My pet peeve is vamps that give up immortality to become human and live with the love interest... I don't know if that's really a cliche though. I just don't understand someone living for hundreds of years then suddenly deciding that human again is the way to go.
How about conflict arising because the herione and her lover jump to conclusions rather than ask for the truth? Stuff like that makes me want to tear my hair out. I sit there reading the book and screaming, "Just tell him!!"
For a great interracial cliche, watch 'Something New'. That movie is cliche-alicious and highly predictable. I think romance cliches depend on the subgenre. Each one has its own set. I'm sure there are some that cross over.
The clichés that make me want to heave my Wheaties are the ones like kuroisama mentioned. "Engourged manhood". Ugh! We're now in a day and age where it's acceptable to call it what it is without being considered vulgar.
Another cliché I can't stand is when the heroine inevitably is TSTL. She puts herself in some ridiculous situation to "help" the hero and ends up having to be rescued. Yuck. That's when I root for the bad guy. LOL.
Another cliché I can't stand is when the heroine inevitably is TSTL. She puts herself in some ridiculous situation to "help" the hero and ends up having to be rescued. Yuck. That's when I root for the bad guy. LOL.
Where you just KNOW that she's going to end up with the nice guy who's just her friend, rather than the sexy (but not-so-nice) man she starts off with.
brainstorm77 said:
And then the hero moves his arms and yells, "Sike!!" LOL!! Now that would be funny and definitely not cliche.
Sonarbabe said:
I agree and disagree at the same time. Yes, we are in that day and age where we should just say it. But, at the same time, words like "penis" and "vagina" totally take you out of the romance/love aspect of the story. Real mood breaker right there. I think the raw words are more for erotica than romance. That's MHO, but seriously, can we come up with a better phrase than "engorged manhood", it sounds like the heroine should get the hero to a doctor instead of showing him some loving.
Tracy said:
That's when I want to smack the heroine. You took the trip up the mountain path to get across the street. Hell, if I was the nice guy, I'd dump her for being an indecisive idiot.
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kuroisama said:That's MHO, but seriously, can we come up with a better phrase than "engorged manhood", it sounds like the heroine should get the hero to a doctor instead of showing him some loving.
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ROTFLOL- Like Viagra gone bad. "If your manhood is engorged for more than three hours, see a doctor right away."
LOL!
Susan G.
I remember those. I was 12 when I first bought one. (And all of the cliche things I hate now were in it.) Maybe that's why I was turned off by the genre for the next 10 years until a friend handed me this one book. I can't remember the title or who wrote it, but I could tell you what it was about. I loved it and I've been a romance lover ever since.
Just for the record, there are times when I love a good "cliche" romance! Usually after I've read something very deep or mentally draining. Then there's nothing better than a book that can suck me in and requires no deep thought whatsoever.
So cliche's are not always bad!
So cliche's are not always bad!
Any mention of "her core" molten or otherwise gives me the hives. Those "rosy peaks" of yore could inspire me to throw the book on the fire. The list could go on, but I think this is a PG-13 forum.
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I get sick of constantly reporting exquisite hair and eye color and authors immediately defining characters by hair and eye color like that actually lets you "see" them. Fortunately sapphire/auburn Barbie glyph heroines do seem to be less common these days.
Cliches
It may sound femenist but I hate the whole male-dominated cliche. Like those medieval books where the husband punishes the wife for her rash behavior by "spanking" her like he would a child.
I guess it's supposed to turn some people on? Well it's just sexist no matter how you put it. Someone should write a book where the woman's like: You have no right to treat me like a child and if you so much as put a finger on me I'll never forgive you. Or something like that.
I also hate the cliches where the girl has to be either a virgin or slut. Like it's okay even better if the guy is a known womanizer but the woman has to be frigid to every other man in the world.
It may sound femenist but I hate the whole male-dominated cliche. Like those medieval books where the husband punishes the wife for her rash behavior by "spanking" her like he would a child.
I guess it's supposed to turn some people on? Well it's just sexist no matter how you put it. Someone should write a book where the woman's like: You have no right to treat me like a child and if you so much as put a finger on me I'll never forgive you. Or something like that.
I also hate the cliches where the girl has to be either a virgin or slut. Like it's okay even better if the guy is a known womanizer but the woman has to be frigid to every other man in the world.
my issue? i think it's very cliche. she's the epitome of cliche when it comes to describing her characters or writing sex scenes...
christine feehan. i had to stop reading them.. i was going to explode if i saw "molton lava" one more time.
christine feehan. i had to stop reading them.. i was going to explode if i saw "molton lava" one more time.
I invested in cloth book covers for that very reason. That way I could read my romances without the idiot committee making comments (this was back in high school). Nowadays I don't care who knows what I'm reading.PattiTheWicked said:
I totally agree. I like the women with a healthy, responsible sexual history. She had a boyfriend or two (or five) in her past and each of those relationships was physical. Nothing wrong with that. Sex is better when both parties know what their about.sanders555 said:
I think that's a cliche of life, not romance. Women are supposed to be chaste and pure (read - frigid), while men are supposed to go out and get some so they can be great in bed when they deflower their virginal wife on their wedding night.sanders555 said:
AH!! I just remembered a cliche!!! The mistaken virgins (I'm guilty of this one in one of my mss, but it's for a good reason so don't judge me
). The hero is completely convinced that the heroine is a slut (or just not a virgin); and he won't believe otherwise no matter how many times the heroine tries to convince him. When they finally do it (consentual or forced), he either is mad at the heroine because she didn't MAKE him believe her (what were all our arguments about you, you numbskull?) or he feels guilty and decides to avoid her as penance for his mistake. Which, in turn, makes the heroine get all weepy and think she's bad in bed and the hero doesn't like her anymore.kuroisama said:AH!! I just remembered a cliche!!! The mistaken virgins (I'm guilty of this one in one of my mss, but it's for a good reason so don't judge me
Not that long ago, I read a Harlequin Presents Uncut that had that kind of cliche! All in all it was a good book, but there were about 20 times throughout the story where I just wanted to whoop the crap out of both the hero and the heroine. Would it be in poor taste to just bash their heads together?
Sonarbabe said:
Go for it. I become one of those couch-side football coaches at that point. You know the type, the guys who yell at the players on the TV because their idea will surely win the game... those guys. I become one, just in the relationship counseling department. If it gets too bad, I throw the book across the room. Then, I regret it because I might have hurt the book and I like my books to stay looking new.
But, look at it this way. If you're that mad, then the author achieved her goal: You care about the characters and what's going on with their lives.
And, you want to cause one or both of them serious bodily harm because their both idiots.kuroisama said:But, look at it this way. If you're that mad, then the author achieved her goal: You care about the characters and what's going on with their lives.
Now here is a remark I want to comment on. Many times in my writing, I have had readers say that at first they either didn't like my hero or my heroine (for whatever reason pertaining to that story). I would reply to them, "Good! I did my job. You're not supposed to like him or her at first." They would later tell me that they absolutely loved the story. So, I tend to like that phrase about the writer doing his or her job, even if the reader is a bit put out at first. Key words being: AT FIRST. I don't want my readers wanting to chuck my book across the room because my characters are, as you said and I agree, complete idiots.
Oh, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, and my husband's laying on the couch shaking his head at me. I haven't read this in the past couple of days, but I had told him about the "engorged manhood" complaint when it was first posted, so he understood the meaning behind the pic. I actually almost fell off my chair from laughing so hard!!Funny as it was, I think I'll have nightmares tonight........
Gillhoughly said:Some engorged manhood.
Enjoy!
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