18. The Parents
I'm not even sure if this should be a stereotype. These guys are practically nonexistent. And when they do exist, they're fucking ignominies. Take this scenario:
"MOM! DAD! I'M GOING ON TOUR WITH ONE DIRECTION, KAY?"
"OKAY SWEETIE! DON'T FORGET TO USE PROTECTION!"
But that's not always the case. Sometimes they really are nonexistent. Sometimes the parents are Dead, providing a depressing backstory for the character, which is supposed to incite us to sympathise with them. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that this is so overused and written so unprofessionally and so unrealistically by so many people that it's starting to become a really awful cliché.
Moving on.
The Abusive Parents. Horrible stereotype. Also used for the same purpose as stated above: giving the protagonist a backstory. What I hate about this is that the people who write this stuff never have a reason for what they write. This doesn't apply to this stereotype only. Okay, I'm not making any sense.
I mean, why are they behaving this way? What made them like this? You can't just throw in a pointless backstory. It needs to have a meaning. Why is it in the story? Unless it's necessary for the story and/or characters' development somehow, I don't think you should be throwing in reasonless plotlines, characters and/or characteristics.
And what's up with all the absurd crap some people make up? If you're writing about an unfamiliar topic, do your fucking research. Because if you don't, you're really just showing us that you don't give a fuck about your writing and just want to have this fantasy - probably a sexual one - written down so you can convince yourself that it might happen.
God I'm not even talking about the stereotype anymore.
Back on topic, why can't the protagonist have normal parents? They don't have to be dead or somehow obliterated off of the face of the Earth for no fucking reason, you know? They can be a happy couple, a sexually frustrated couple, a bored couple, etc. One of them can be mentally unstable, one of them can be having an affair, one of them can be a fucking serial killer for all I care!
Just make sure it contributes to the story somehow.
And I’m out of here.
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The Ultimate Book of Stereotypes
RandomBecause originality on Wattpad is pretty fucking limited and we all know it. So start reading if you wanna see me rant about how some writers really need to do society a favour and staple all their fingers together. But just so you know, I swe...