There are so many cliches in the weird and wonderful world of fanfiction - and it turns out that I use a lot of them in my own writing!
So join me in my quest to collect and record every single fanfic cliche... and laugh as I call myself out on all...
Cliche: The main character of a fanfiction thinks she's really plain or stupid or ugly... even though she looks like a goddamn fashion model.
Example: "Hey, you look really pretty today, Janice."
"OH MY GOSH THANK YOU, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA WHY YOU'D SAY THAT BECAUSE MY SPARKLING BLUE EYES ARE SO WEIRD AND UNNATURAL, AND MY FLOWING GOLDEN LOCKS ARE ALL STRAGGLY AND GROSS, AND I -"
"Oh my God, why can't you just take the freaking compliment?!"
Why it's a cliche: I'll tell you what's annoying. Being around people who shamelessly dig for compliments. It's especially irritating when a person who KNOWS they're beautiful goes on about ugly they are. Like those girls who post absolutely gorgeous pictures of themselves with captions like "OMG I look so hideous in this shirt" or "I'm so ugly what even".
And you're so internally irritated by their BS that you don't really know how to respond.
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In My Own Words: This stupid compliment fishing thing is a frequent occurrence in my stories. I can't say I'm ashamed of it, but if I don't that just makes me a hypocrite.
* * * *
Sisters? How could we be sisters? We didn't look a thing alike. Serenity was blonde and beautiful, a real little fairy princess. Compared to her, I was more of a plain, stupid goblin than anything else. Not remotely like a fairy princess.
This is an excerpt from A Bit More of You, and believe me, Georgia (the girl who's narrating) is actually really beautiful. I found a photo of a girl who looked just like I envisioned her and used it as the front cover of the fic.
Yes, Georgia, I must admit Serenity does look like a gorgeous golden wonder, but looks aren't everything, matey!
* * * *
"Maybe if I looked a bit more like Agnetha then Adam would like me again," Serenity muttered. "He has a big crush on her."
"Why her?" George asked. "I think you're much prettier than old Agnetha."
"Well, you have to say that. You're my dad," Serenity replied dolefully. "Everyone likes Agnetha because she looks lovely. No one really likes me..."
(Argh! My skin is already crawling just reading this!) All right, Serenity, cut the BS. You know you're gorgeous so you don't have to whine about wanting to look like Agnetha from ABBA.
* * * *
I peered into the wardrobe looking glass. I didn't look all that different, to be completely honest. I was still a scrawny teenage girl in too-big jeans and a Wizard of Oz t-shirt (which said "Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh my!" on the front). The only difference was the fact that I had fairy wings on.
"I honestly don't know what you see in me, Mr Bowie," I muttered. "I look a wreck."
Anne from My Thin White Duke is literally based on me, from her name to her origins to her looks. Now sometimes I feel pretty ugly or worthless, similar to the way Anne does during the book, but I know I'm neither.
Don't think I'm being big headed or anything. I'm just saying that no matter how you see yourself, you ARE beautiful - and you don't need a stranger on Instagram to tell you that!
