Cliché’s have always been and probably always will be a hot topic. This is especially true on Wattpad, where the most popular cliché takes all. There have been a lot of complaints about wattpad, a lot of them centering around this topic, and a lot of them coming from its adult community. There is however, a reason these stories win time and time again, and don’t break out the pitchforks or anything when I say this, but I completely support these writers.
The way I see it, Wattpad is a starter site--a place to get your feet wet if you will--and that's exactly what a lot of these cliche writers are doing. We all had to start somewhere, and I know for a lot of people, this is it. Now, maybe the first novel you started to write was perfectly cliché-less, but for the majority of people, that isn’t the case. Writing isn’t an instantaneous thing; it’s something that’s developed over time, and it is in that time that a writer begins to become better at recognizing the flaws in their writing. Therefore, I would argue that writing the “cliché” novel is almost critical to becoming a good writer. Think of it as a test run of sorts.
Now, this doesn’t mean that I think cliché’s are 100% okay. If you’re trying to get published, and you’re on your third or fourth story about a good girl meeting a bad boy; you might have a problem.
Challenge: If you ever get the chance, check out some of Shakespeare’s earlier works like Henry the 6th. Examine them in comparison to his later ones such as Othello, Hamlet—the really popular ones everyones always talking about—it’s like they were written by two different authors.
****Fun fact**** The majority of cliché’s are bound in truth, and that’s the reason we see them play out so much. That being said, did you know that cliché’s extend beyond plot? Below, I’ve listed a set of each so you get the idea.
Top 3 Plot clichés:
1. The bad boy and the good girl or any variation of it (of course this one had to be number one)
2. The foster care/adopted/taken in kid falling in love with his sister, or the other way around
3. The cheerleader and the jock. This worked in the 80’s/90’s. Back then it was new and cool—now it’s just overused. In fact, the economy’s so bad a lot of schools are cutting cheerleading from the budget altogether.
4. The prophecy*
*This one is cliché, but only if used incorrectly. For example, J.K. Rowling waited until practically the middle of her series before she brought in the whole prophecy bit. It worked for her, because she timed it right. Bottom line, prophecy’s are like prologues, don’t just add them because they sound cool, add them because your story really needs it.
**none of these are 100% true either. Some people can make anything work. If you’re one of them-kudo’s to you.
Top 3 Character clichés: There’s nothing wrong with having these characters, but be careful not to typecast them.
1. The nerd. He wears glasses, spends all day looking up weird articles on the internet. Make your nerd original. They don’t always wear glasses, and sometimes they’re interests extend beyond the internet. Like, card games for example. Why don’t I ever hear about them playing those? A good one to help with this is to think about that show, The Big Bang Theory, if you’ve seen it. They’re all nerds, but they’re all different kinds of nerds. Keep that in mind when creating your characters.
2. The bitchy blonde girl. I’ve met just as many mean brunettes.
3. The jock. Just because you can play sports does not mean you have to be dumb. Remember this in relation to your characters.
I’d like to add here, that there’s another kind of cliché that nobody ever talks about. Literary clichés. These are trite phrases or expressions passed down to us over time. They’re so embedded in our every-day language that we don’t even realize they’re clichés. Here’s a list I’ve compiled so that you get the idea. It’s not an absolute that you avoid these, but if you can you should because these phrases are overused and will cause your story to sound repetitive.
1. The words, "to myself" especially in conjunction with, I thought. If there's already an "I" in the sentence, you've already established the speaker, and you can't really think to anyone but yourself... *Thanks Angie for the tip.
2. In the nick of time or it’s close cousin—just in time
3. Adverbs such as, suddenly, or, luckily.
4. Any metaphor involving an animal
5. Fast as a speeding bullet
6. Sick and tired
7. Pretty as a picture
8. The pit of my stomach
9. Out of nowhere
10. My stomach dropped
11. Dead as a doorbell
12. His eyes were like…..
13. Sent a shiver down my spine
14. Gut wrenching
15. Heart stopping
16. All bent out of shape
17. As luck would have it
18. All in all
19. Crazy how time flies
There are a lot more than this. If you can think of any let me know. That concludes clichés. Hope you learned something.
