Cliché, Cliché Everywhere

I identify as an attack helicopter and you should too!

Not really.

But i just needed a weird-ass catchy title to get your attention. Since i know that a  title like "Things to consider while writing" and "helpful writing tips" won't pull peeps immediately in.

So as many of you peeps know by now, I, the one and only, has recently started a Review book.

I made the cover while being covered in blood, anger stirring my soul and tears of betrayal cascading down my cheeks.

I was on my periods.

 Also, i used to be a reviewer for SweetTalkBooks too. Since the community is kinda dead now, I moved all of my reviews here. Even before hosting this review book, i had been reviewing plenty of books lately  on forums and dms too. SOOOO it isn't the first time i'm dealing with various genres and writing styles being thrown my way.

So what's the purpose of this chapter again? Shameless self promotion? Boooo Lizzzy!!!!! May you step on a lego.

No. :(

After reading so many books i think i know why some books fall flat in terms of originality, intrigue and yada yada yada. 

Why?

Lemme explain.

1. Description is not just restricted to describing a character's physical appearance or the background; rather description is a broad theme which involves describing emotions, scents, textures and much more.I believe you can do more in terms of describing stuff and expanding your horizons in terms of literary devices(using more similes, metaphors, hyperbole, euphemism etc in your writing). While reading what puts many people off is the lack of balance between showing and telling. 

I have literally copied this paragraph down on numerous reviews and i cannot stress this enough that just how important "good description" truly is.

2. A character doesn't have to be as random as sponge bob just so people can relate to it. There is a huge difference between making a character "relatable" and "random". Once you make it random, it loses its impact. It doesn't stand out and nobody remembers him or her. Nowadays people fall more for "strong" characters. Not in a Mary-sue-invincible sort of strong way. Rather the type who inspires and motivates their readers.

 Have you ever wondered why you fell in love with Harry potter? Percy Jackson?  Po from kungfu panda? or some other Disney character like baymax, Hiro hamada, Ralph from Wreck it ralph etc etc?

It's because how they evolve, how they change throughout the story. How their arcs collide with other character's arcs and synchronize beautifully to create harmony of fictional perfection. A character needs to evolve and change (Their views, opinions, perception etc etc) to show that at the end, they are humans (or animals) who learn from their mistakes like any other person reading the book.

Learning from our mistakes is what we humans have in common. Some take longer than usual but eventually they do submit before their errors. Why can't your character do the same? 

Now, from all this reviewing, I've learnt a small recipe that can make any character a lot more appealing. Those authors who have used this technique have made really memorable characters. There were times when i wasn't truly invested in the plot, yet, i kept reading because i fell in love with the characters.

The trick is to give your character: 1 good quality (Kindness, honesty etc), 1 bad quality (Aggressiveness, Haste etc) and 1 neutral quality (i.e. something that is both good and bad. Such as being messy can be creative, being straightforward can often be rude or inconsiderate.)

And don't just tell the reader that Shrek was an inconsiderate, judgmental yet misunderstood ogre! rather show this through his actions, the way he talks and the way he behaves.

3. This chappie is getting longer than i expected.... but i still got so much to sayyy :( Anyway, lets keep that stuff for later and just wrap everything up with this final point.

Every character needs a goal. Don't put a character in you story without a purpose. You have no idea how 100000's of characters without a purpose clogs a story up. It's about time authors stop treating their characters like tissue paper and stick to those who serve some "actual" purpose in the story.

To put into perspective, just think of something crucial that happened in your life. Anything. 

Let's take my example here, 4 years back in middle school, i had a close friend who got involved in guys....in a bad way.

Throughout that whole wacky-ass incident there were other characters too. Few. But those who played "some" role to lead the whole incident to its resolution. The final act. Which unraveled the truth and points where everyone (including me) terribly fucked up.

It's fine to include background characters but it isn't wise to include Karen in the first 3 chapters for emotional support and then forgetting all about her. You don't realize this just yet but those 3 chappies were enough for the readers to establish a "relation" with Karen. And by nullifying her existence for the rest of the story , you are just making your readers unhappy.

With this stuff aside, hopefully my next 3 updates will surely be centered around cliches. I just needed to get this outta my system before returning back to my usual cliche-update routine. 

I hope you guys find this helpful.

Love,

Lizzy