Honestly, I think you'd be hard pressed to find many novels that don't have at least one cliche or another. Certainly if the work is full of cliches it might be time to rethink a few things, but sometimes I think authors can get so caught up in trying to be original they lose the story in the process. I guess my advice would be don't worry too much over whether it's been done before and focus instead on what makes your story unique.
Is it really a sin to...
- Thread starter WinterDusk14
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There is nothing new under the sun
I am starting to get a plot about a modern boy with no imagination, who ends up in the realm of elementals. The thing is he doesnt believe in fairies or dryads or anything like that. growing up he never even believed in santa claus. he learns that he is a half born, Half Human Half fairy.
It is all I have at the mo its first draft, yes i can see a cliche in this but there you go
I am starting to get a plot about a modern boy with no imagination, who ends up in the realm of elementals. The thing is he doesnt believe in fairies or dryads or anything like that. growing up he never even believed in santa claus. he learns that he is a half born, Half Human Half fairy.
It is all I have at the mo its first draft, yes i can see a cliche in this but there you go
Ruv Draba
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The range of plot events is very limited, but the range of settings and characters is unlimited. Take any recognisable concept and twist it a few times, and it looks new. E.g.
Main character is an unimaginative farmboy, who:
- happens to have goat-horns, and is embarrassed by them
- is capable of eating just about anything he can chew
- is agile and great at jumping
- is stubborn and easily provoked
- accidentally got the Prophecy of Destiny meant for his handsome, gracious brother
well this is a little irrelevant to the thread, but ive seen a lot of ragging on paolini. now i know that he used a lot of cliches, and that his story had about as much flow as a chopped carrot, but i notice that a lot of people also rag on his age.
do yall really dislike teenage authors, or was it just him.
im a teenage author you know
do yall really dislike teenage authors, or was it just him.
im a teenage author you know
I have the lingering suspicion that people wouldn't rag on his age so much if it 1) wasn't used as a justification for excusing his commonly regarded as subpar writing, 2) wasn't used to market his book in a completely deceptional manner (he STARTED the book at 15, and FINISHED it at 18, not finished it at 15), even now when he's in his early twenties, and 3) wasn't repeatedly used to constantly justify people calling him a "child genius".
Back to the topic. My personal perception of the issue is not whether it's a cliche or not, but rather, the author's understanding of the reason for the emergence and use of the trope, and the justifications used if s/he wishes to use said trope. Blindly avoiding tropes because they're overused is as dumb as blindly following them, IMO; the important thing is the UNDERSTANDING.
Back to the topic. My personal perception of the issue is not whether it's a cliche or not, but rather, the author's understanding of the reason for the emergence and use of the trope, and the justifications used if s/he wishes to use said trope. Blindly avoiding tropes because they're overused is as dumb as blindly following them, IMO; the important thing is the UNDERSTANDING.
What lccorp2 said.
And I'll also add that AW had a good number of bright, well-spoken and active teen authors in this site, several of whom have gotten book agents or deals (or both) this past year.
So no, no one here dislikes teen authors.
Higgins
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I'm working on a farm occasionally these days. I think being a farm-worker is first-rate training for being a hero. Heavy, complex work. Lots of rule-of-thumb engineering. Endless risky decisions. Endless dealing with the neighbors and other interested parties. Lots of machines and structures to repair and maintain. Morale problems and moral issues all over. Endless unexpected disasters and the prospect of distant rewards. Not to mention people with bows and arrows nearby killing things in the woods. Strange rumors, weird festivals and bears and packs of wild dogs on the loose.
Wild dogs are really scary when they make a strange human set of shrieks at 4am.
We really hate authors who are made out to be something special when they clearly are not. Makes it worse when they're teenage authors
I don't care how old the writer is. If he writes well, I'll read his books.
Like others, though, I'm annoyed when a very young (or very old, or very this or very that) writer gets published over others with more polished work because the publisher thinks he can be turned into a circus monkey -- ooh, look! It knows how to use a keyboard! This is insulting both to the writer and the audience.
If the work is only remarkable because of the writer's age, it should not be published.
As for Paolini, I couldn't get past the first two chapters of Eragon. I also couldn't get past the first couple chapters of Twilight, The Celestine Prophecy, and The DaVinci Code. Obviously an awful lot of people don't share my sensibilities, and several publishers are glad that I wasn't in charge of their acquisitions.
Like others, though, I'm annoyed when a very young (or very old, or very this or very that) writer gets published over others with more polished work because the publisher thinks he can be turned into a circus monkey -- ooh, look! It knows how to use a keyboard! This is insulting both to the writer and the audience.
If the work is only remarkable because of the writer's age, it should not be published.
As for Paolini, I couldn't get past the first two chapters of Eragon. I also couldn't get past the first couple chapters of Twilight, The Celestine Prophecy, and The DaVinci Code. Obviously an awful lot of people don't share my sensibilities, and several publishers are glad that I wasn't in charge of their acquisitions.
Sarpedon
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you know, during the middle ages, most of the population was rural, so there's no particular sin in having your hero be a farmer...although it doesn't seem that all professions are fairly represented.
Farmer is #1, followed by Blacksmith and Thief. With the occasional actor, musician, and hunter. No carpenters, no potters (Harry Potter wasn't doesn't count), no tinkers, tanners, candlemakers, fishermen, skrimshanders, cockle-pickers, vendors, pack-men or renderers.
Farmer is #1, followed by Blacksmith and Thief. With the occasional actor, musician, and hunter. No carpenters, no potters (Harry Potter wasn't doesn't count), no tinkers, tanners, candlemakers, fishermen, skrimshanders, cockle-pickers, vendors, pack-men or renderers.
I had to chuckle at Phael's comment. I thought I was one of the very few who just could NOT get past the first chapter or two of Eragon--and I've tried on multiple occasions! Likewise, I'm sure publishers are glad I'm not in charge of their acquisitions, either! With all due respect to Paolini, I have children who read these types of books and I think they have read them simply b/c they are HUNGRY for good fantasy books, but can't seem to find anything that satisfies them the way Harry Potter and others have...
I made it all the way through Eragon only because I hate not finishing books. As far as cliches go, they don't bother me as long as the book is well written. If the book is poorly written it doesn't matter how new and exciting the spin/setting/plot/characters are, I won't enjoy reading it. And I won't buy any more books by that author.
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