Writing Mistakes You're Making

Plot: Clichés

Some people starting out writing might not be aware of what constitutes a “cliché plot.” Here’s a short checklist of examples:

Girl meets boy, whom she initially hates, but grows to love (This Lullaby and anything else by Sarah Dessen)

Average teenager is for no apparent reason the central part of an ancient prophecy (Gregor the Overlander)

It's the King's most trusted adviser who turns out to be the bad guy (Aladdin)

Parents died at a young age and the wonderful child who did nothing wrong is treated horribly by new guardians (Harry Potter)

Old and brilliant mentor of the hero dies right as the hero is starting to become confident with themselves, and they must now face the ultimate evil alone (Eragon)

The bad guy is the family member (His Dark Materials)

The protagonist is the strongest person around in terms of magical or fighting ability (Graceling)

Sound familiar? I'm sure you've read at least one of these before. I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen every single one at one point or another –– even books considered to be highly original oftentimes contain cliché elements such as these. 

If you feel the urge to write a story with some majorly cliché elements, find a way to add another element so huge it detracts from the cliché enough to make it an non-issue. 

Example: The film, Avatar. I’m sure you’re aware that the plot is one of the biggest clichés in literature today, but why did people see it anyways? They saw it for the other, bigger element that enticed them, the 3-D. It was the cool graphics that drew them to see the flick, not the plot (like in Titanic, by the same director).  

Now, you can’t use 3-D to draw in readers, but it should give you the general idea of what I mean. Another thing you can do with a cliché is to deliberately choose a cliché (or pretend you chose a cliché deliberately) and put in a new element that makes it fresh and standout. 

Example: Twilight. It’s the classic “we come from two different worlds and can’t be together” love story, but what makes it interesting is the vampires. Mock all you want, but love it or hate it, you cannot deny Meyer is enjoying her trips to the bank, and all because she dreamed up a heartthrob that sparkles. A sparkling heartthrob is not cliché. 

Notice how this vampire addition is essential to the plot. Whatever your twist is, it needs to be big, and a major part of the story line. Mentioning your major male character’s favorite color is pink is not what I’m looking for here. (Especially if he tries to macho it up by claiming it's not pink, but “salmon,” which is a very masculine fish.)