Wattpad 101: Your guide to the world of Wattpad

Clichés Do Not Equal Bad

I'm one for always jumping on clichés. Partly because I think they are funny and if certain other books haven't tipped you off, I like to play around with them. I like people to always hold an awareness for when they are writing something that is cliché. This is mostly because cliché writing can quickly become boring. If everyone acts in a predictable matter and events transpire in a predictable manner, then a story is predictable. If a story is predictable, that can often make a story boring, especially for someone who reads a lot of stories.  

In fact, the more stories someone reads of a particularly genre, the more in tuned with clichés they become, and ultimately the more it will irritate them. There are only so many times you can read about a female protagonist falling for a bad boy before you roll your eyes in irritation each time you see it.  

That being said, I'm here to tell you that having a story that is clichéd isn't a bad thing. Using clichés neither makes your story sound immature nor does it make your story boring. In fact, it'd be near impossible to write a story that doesn't at least hit upon a half dozen clichés. You really can't write a story that doesn't fit tropes and character types and events that have been done before.  

So it's not the simple act of having a cliché that ruins a story. However, how you implement that cliché can really make all the difference. You can put a bad boy in a story as long as you keep that story new and refreshing. However, if you don't keep it interesting, expect it to turn people off.  

Acknowledge that you're going to have that reader who is going to get to that point in your story, and read your main protagonist falling in love with the bad boy. You need to realize they might roll their eyes and stick their tongue out in disgust. However, when they've gotten to that point, you've either made your story desirable and interesting enough that they want to continue to read on, or you haven't.  

That's really the trick. You can't write a clichéless story; that's impossible. Instead, use those clichés and present them in ways that don't irritate your reader. Assemble your story in a unique and entertaining way. Just like every pitfall in writing, you need to gain mastery over clichés. Don't simply never use a cliché. The trick is to know what is considered cliché, as well as what clichés you're using in your story, and how you're going to make it work to keep your readers invested.  

So don't feel too angry or disappointed when you write a story that comes off as clichéd. Things became clichéd because they worked. Clichéd events are things that have interested and entertained people time and time again, and they have been used (and overused) because they work well. Some of the most popular and famous books around are full of clichés, and they obtained their status because they made good use of the clichés (or in some cases are the reason this is a cliché in the first place).  

Use what you know, learn more, and go into it with sufficient knowledge of when a cliché works, and when it doesn't. That is your greatest power. Don't use a cliché because you saw someone else use it. Use one because you know what it is, how it is used, and how you can make it refreshing, interesting and fun for your readers.  

Like everything, it is a tool in your writing repertoire. It's only when you don't quite get how to use that tool that you can end up breaking your story with it. Instead, own it, and own up to it. If your story is entertaining, it won't matter all too much how many clichés you use, as long as they are used in a unique way that doesn't make your writing predictable.  

That sounds easier said than done, and it is. You won't be able to use clichés to your advantage right away. You'll include mirror scenes to describe your characters, the first day of school to introduce your story, and aliens that all happen to speak English for convenience. It happens, and it will continue to happen in the future, mostly because those clichés have worked in the past and when done right, will work in the future.  

However, keep at it. Read other people's works. That's the best way to see when something is done over and over again. Read books in your genre over and over again. Realize the themes that get reiterated time and time again. Or you can wait for my chapter listing off every cliché I can scrounge up on the internet, but even that will miss a million clichés that you really only notice once you've read a few hundred stories.  

I guess this whole overly long essay is just to make one point. Take your time and improve. Don't depend on clichés, but don't rip apart your writing in a desperate attempt to avoid clichés either. Like every pitfall mentioned in my book, when done right it can make your work amazing... and when done wrong it can cause your story to crash and burn. So be aware, keep writing, and have fun!