Touche Cliche ― The Book of Cliches

-fiction & romance; throwaway characters

01. fiction and romance;

Throwaway characters in fiction are one of the biggest deterrents to reading a story. After all, if the author doesn't care about one of the characters, why should the reader? Accidentally introducing a throwaway character can break a book, especially if the character is crucial to the plot, and ruin your credibility as an author. 

THE SCENARIOS;

A throwaway character is usually the product of an author who has projected their image onto their main character. Therefore, they do not want to make their character/themselves look bad in any way, shape or form. Insert the throwaway character, they're usually related to the main character or are somehow connected, be it by a friendship or acquaintanceship. This type of throwaway character is what I call, the 'Scapegoat'.

The second type of throwaway character is the 'Bimbo/Himbo'. 

The 'Bimbo/Himbo' is usually introduced in a romance story as a rival for the main character. She/He is usually blonde/blond, with either large, 'fake' breasts or a muscular, 'steroid-induced' figure and blue eyes. They are normally introduced after the heyday of a romance novel when the author is trying to hook in more readers or money. 

The main couple, the protagonist and the deuteragonist, have some petty argument over some contrived bullshit or another, which results in both taking a 'break' from their relationship. The 'Bimbo/Himbo' is then introduced and attempts to be the mediator between the ex-lovers but ends up flirting with one or the other (great mediator, am I right). The remaining lover suddenly becomes jealous and confronts the 'Bimbo / Himbo'. 

Now, there are various scenarios that can play out after this, that I will not describe, or else this chapter will become too convoluted. 

THE PROBLEM;

There are a lot of problems with both these character archetypes, the main one being how little effort is put into these characters. I timed myself to come up with a general idea of both these characters, all in all, it took me less than 5 minutes to actually think of what I was going to write. That is how stereotypical and redone this stereotype is.

THE FIX; 

The 'Scapegoat' archetype stems from a certain fear the author might possess, if you couldn't guess, it is the fear of looking bad or making a character look bad. To fix this, I would recommend, removing yourself from the character and to stop associating yourself with that character. I understand this might be very hard to do, especially for people who have insecurities with themselves, so allow me to suggest another option. 

Imagine the character is inhuman (eg. a rat, table or ogre), write down all the flaws of your character on a sheet (you can even draw an image of the animal/monster/object you chose). I found that by comparing your character to an inhuman creature/inanimate object (something a human isn't) helps differentiate you from your character, ergo solving your problem

THE FIX;

The problem with the 'Bimbo/Himbo' is how forced and desperate their introduction is. It feels like a dirty scheme to pull in straying readers, by breaking apart the 'perfect couple'. It is implanted into our brains to see to it that tasks are complete, that is why you feel incomplete when you don't finish a cake or finish writing a story. 

This is what the author is trying to exploit to make you carry on reading the story. If you find yourself doing this, end the story and move on, going the 'Bimbo/Himbo' route will never be a long-term solution and will only result in angry, distrustful fans and no money on your regard.