Luna Magazine, December Ed. 2013

Top Ten Most Cliche Things To Write About

December Edition, 2013.

© l_unaMagazine

Top Ten Most Cliché Things To Write About

Written by: IridescentStarlight

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10. Horror: I Got Kidnapped and a Handsome Man Involved Saved Me

I have to be honest - I'm not exactly partial to horror stories...or horror anything for that matter! But when I suck it up, try to be brave, and look through some of the horror stories - both inside and outside of wattpad - I can't help but notice how many of them involve kidnapping, usually a teenage girl. And then, looking deeper, I'm surprised to see how many of those end up leading to some handsome guy involved saving her from the horrors of whatever place she's being kept in.

Now, don't get me wrong - like I've said before, the story ideas on this list are cliché for a reason. It's because no matter how overused they are, we still can't help but like the overly recycled idea. So yes, being saved by an attractive man is very appealing to us women - has been since we first saw or heard of stories like Cinderella. But the thing about this particular horror story idea is that it's not very realistic, nor does it stick to the original horror story tradition of "little to no happy endings".

That's just my take on it, and I'll say again, I'm not particularly into horror stories - so if you're a hardcore horror story reader/writer and you disagree with what I've written here, then no worries - I'll gracefully bow out.

9. Historical Fiction: Women Disguises Herself as a Man for One Reason or Another

Mulan, I don't think you knew what you started when you decided to take you're father's place in the Chinese army disguised as a man - and Disney, you couldn't have had any idea either when you made a movie out of it!  

I completely understand the appeal of asserting one's feminine independence in a time when men were the "dominant gender" - hell, I've fantasized about it loads of time when wondering what it'd be like if I lived in that time, as lots of women have in their lives. But isn't there a less...overused way of accomplishing this? Instead of disguising herself as a man to prove she's just as worthy, lets think about this here...doesn't that defeat the purpose? Why couldn't she prove herself as a woman?

I personally think it would make more of an impact on the reader and the time of which the character lives in. But hey, if we want to stick to the Mulan method, that's all good too! In all honesty, I don't think I'll ever get tired of that particular cliché.

8. Teen Fiction: Hey Babe? I'm Pregnant.

-_-

Being a teenager, I understand how this is seen as relatable to the everyday teenage girl - teenage pregnancies are something that's beat into your head better never happen to you, or suffer the consequences of giving up your future to a pacifier and baby wipes. But - as a teenager and also a girl - I also find this just a bit insulting and a tad overused. Especially since the girl that gets pregnant is normally always the virgin who was waiting for the "right guy" and ended up falling prey to the player that would leave her a single mother, or the no good s-word that doesn't give a d-word about anyone else and leaves the teenage father with the child.

This is a very tough situation for any teenager undergoing it - I understand it's important to acknowledge it from the couple's point-of-view. But I got enough of that in sex-ed. - I don't really need to read a story whose sole focus is on the pregnant teen. Maybe if it were mixed in, that would be different.