Too Cliche for a Novel?

Hi. I just found this place through a link at Neil Gaiman's blog, and it looks like a great place.

I have a question for anyone who wants to answer. Is the idea of an invisible man too cliche to write a novel about, even if it's intended as, hopefully, humorous, or at least satirical? My take on it is to go the opposite way that most books about invisible men go. Instead of the invisibility being a great excuse for murder, mayhem and mischief, I want to play it more as an illness, almost a disability.

When I got the idea, I read "Fade," by Robert Cormier, which I just finished the other night. It was good, and so is "Being Invisible," by Thomas Berger, which I just started yesterday. The Berger novel uses some humor, but neither novel seems to use invisibility the way I planned, which is good.

But even if I can actually do something slightly different with the idea of invisibility, is it still an idea that's just been used too much?

Nothing is too cliche if you don't write it as cliche. I mean, how many Cincerella or Romeo and Juliet stories are out there? As long as you can breathe fresh air into the idea and come up with something original, you should write it.

Hey, how about Adolf Hilter as the invisible man? There you go.

Well, think how many novels have been done about time travel. But Audrey Niffenegger's amazing book The Time Traveler's Wife is a romance where the male character is unable to control his time traveling, with disastrous results.

Just write the best book you can, and don't worry if it's been done before. It's ALL been done before.

edited to fix the link, as usual

As the others have said, it's all in how you write the story. There is no idea so old nothing new can be added, and no idea so new it can't be written as a cliche.

It doesn't sound cliched at all--it sounds very interesting. I love the idea of going the humorous route.

I agree with what was said above; it's all how you write it. There's a funny list out there of how there are only eight stories. I can't remember where I got this, but it's worth printing out and saving:

Cinderella - Unrecognized virtue at last recognized. It's the same story as the Tortoise and the Hare. Cinderella doesn't have to be a girl, nor does it even have to be a love story. What is essential is that the good is despised, but is recognized in the end, something that we all want to believe.

Achilles - The Fatal Flaw, that is the groundwork for practically all classical tragedy, although it can be made comedy too, as in the old standard Aldwych farce. Lennox Robinson's The Whiteheaded Boy is the Fatal Flaw in reverse.

Faust- The Debt that Must be Paid, the fate that catches up with all of us sooner or later. This is found in all its purity as the chase in O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. And in a completely different mood, what else is the Cherry Orchard?

Tristan - that standard triangular plot of two women and one man, or two men and one woman. The Constant Nymph, or almost any French farce.

Circe - The Spider and the Fly. Othello. The Barretts of Wimpole Street, if you want to change the sex. And if you don't believe me about Othello (the real plot of which is not the triangle and only incidentally jealousy) try casting it with a good Desdemona but a poor Iago.

Romeo and Juliet - Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy either finds or does not find Girl: it doesn't matter which.

Orpheus - The Gift taken Away. This may take two forms: either the tragedy of the loss itself, as in Juno and the Paycock, or it may be about the search that follows the loss, as in Jason and the Golden Fleece.

The Hero Who Cannot Be Kept Down. The best example of this is that splendid play Harvey, made into a film with James Stewart.

And look how many novels, plays, poems, were written from those seven stories.

Well if you want to *really* boil it down you could say there's only one story:

Conflict - opposing forces clash, giving rise to interesting stuff.

Being invisible as a disability–yep, there's an interesting idea.

Does he seek others of his own kind and try to form a support group? How would they assemble?

How would they assemble?

"All in favor, raise your hand. Uh, other hand... Okay, quack like a duck."

And that movie "Harvey"? That's about an invisible six-foot wabbit.

So really, go for it. Woody Allen had a sub-plot in "Alice" about such a story, with Joe Mantegna playing an invisible man in a dressing room with Elle MacPherson.:eek

funny you mention invisibility, i was just thinking about that yesterday, instead of some chemical or hard scientific explanation, my guy just wore a special suit. i have no idea why that popped into my mind. i think the first thing you have to establish is how the character handles unlimited access to anything-- does he do good or evil with it? even in a humourous way, that needs played up, eh? there's a lot of humour to be derived out of it, i think. a lot pops into my mind just sitting here, but i won't go into it.

i vote yes, go ahead with it if you want, i don't think it's terribly cliche. not enough not to do it, anyway.

Harry Potter does a good use of invisibility... J K Rowling only uses it to further her plot, never allowing Harry to abuse it. I mean, in reality, Harry could possibly go crazy with the ability to be invisible... of course, Rowling also only gives Harry a limited ability (meaning, he has to wear the cloak, and it's a little cumbersome).

ah, the idealism of youth... what would *you* do with it? lol. most people would say they wouldn't abuse it. whatever. personally, that's one of those things i shouldn't have. nor should i ever be a cop or a high school volleyball coach. maybe that's just me.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Now all I have to do is write it.