Why shouldn't we use worn-out tropes and cliches?

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Kristiina

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Isn't part of the reason new writers get warned about cliches because there is the worry that editors and agents see too much of them, especially if there has just been a bestseller which uses some? A bestselling vampire novel -> lots of wannabe writers write their own vampire story (many of them very similar to the bestseller) -> agents, and buying editors, get an overdose and might get to the point where they will just toss the next one with a vampire character without further thought.

So the worry isn't so much that readers might be tired of something, it's that your story has a better chance of getting to them if it is something that seems to jump out to people who have to read a lot as a part of their job, and so see more than their share of stories which do use the common tropes and cliches?
 
defcon6000

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Kristiina said:
Isn't part of the reason new writers get warned about cliches because there is the worry that editors and agents see too much of them, especially if there has just been a bestseller which uses some? A bestselling vampire novel -> lots of wannabe writers write their own vampire story (many of them very similar to the bestseller) -> agents, and buying editors, get an overdose and might get to the point where they will just toss the next one with a vampire character without further thought.

So the worry isn't so much that readers might be tired of something, it's that your story has a better chance of getting to them if it is something that seems to jump out to people who have to read a lot as a part of their job, and so see more than their share of stories which do use the common tropes and cliches?
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Hmmm, I would think it would work oppositely. If vampire novels become a hot selling ticket, then agents/publishers will want to see more of it because they know they can sell it. Even better if the top bestseller on the list is a vampire novel, then their selling point can be: Hey, if you enjoyed so-and-so novel, then you'll love this, this, that, and this. And, of course, people are going to eat that up. It's the only way I can see why half the YA section is made up of vampire novels.

On the downside, people do get tired of same old, same old (or the bestselling novel that kicked off the trend has turned into an utter joke), and as a result they buy less of that type of novel. Agents/publishers respond by slowing down their production of such novels - they don't stop publishing them, just publish less. It's all about supply and demand.
 
Pyrohawk

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defcon6000 said:
Hmmm, I would think it would work oppositely. If vampire novels become a hot selling ticket, then agents/publishers will want to see more of it because they know they can sell it. Even better if the top bestseller on the list is a vampire novel, then their selling point can be: Hey, if you enjoyed so-and-so novel, then you'll love this, this, that, and this. And, of course, people are going to eat that up. It's the only way I can see why half the YA section is made up of vampire novels.

On the downside, people do get tired of same old, same old (or the bestselling novel that kicked off the trend has turned into an utter joke), and as a result they buy less of that type of novel. Agents/publishers respond by slowing down their production of such novels - they don't stop publishing them, just publish less. It's all about supply and demand.
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Yup, I think you hit the nail on the head here. Editors have to watch the curve. All popular things have an interest curve. And an editor wants to get as much of it out as possible before the peak....and start publishing less of it as the curve goes downward and levels off again.

The Editors may reject a popular trope because they already have so many of them but suspect that the readers' interest will soone begin to wane. So even if you submit a story that is vastly popular at the time of submitting the editor may be afraid to go with it, knowing the time required for a novel to be published, if he/she suspects the trope is overdone and therefore is nearing it's peak.
 
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