avoiding cliches

[asher marquering]

wasn't sure where to post this so i'll just post it here

i have 2, main characters in my mind, for 2, seperate series of books:

asher marquering - a young adolescent that battles with mainly 2 ideas; independent thought and being a sub-ordinate (sub-ordinate in the sense of always being told what to do)

eldred abbadelli - a young adolescent that battles with several ideas concerning the differences and similarities within his own mind, his personal life and non-human beings

ok now for the questions can anyone find cliches in these characters (even slight ones) and how can i avoid cliches entirely?

 

[dustinzgirl]

It depends on your story. I have used cliche's to make a point, and I don't see what the big deal is.

The duality of teen angst is a cliche, but it is used so much in books it is a part of life, too. What will make your characters stand out is the extremes, or thier normalcy surrounded by extremes.

I mean, you can pretty much go two ways in character development---you can have a normal character (normal to the scenery of your book) who is thrust into abnormal situations that change his thinking===or, you can have an abnormal character who is ostrisized or loved because of his abnormalities.

For example, Roland from the Gunslinger was a normal man for his world who was thrust into a set of experiences and situations that made him hard. Actually, most of Stephen king's characters are NORMAL, but thrust into abnormal situations that wakes some extremist qualities---either really good or really, really bad. Which is what makes him my favorite.

Tanis Half-elven from Dragonlance was an abnormal character (for his half-breed and royal blood) who is thrust into a world of normalcy (in his childhood) and hated for it, but when the environment changed (to war and violence) he was loved for being who he was. In most of the DragonLance novels, the characters are extremes. The same actually, for most fantasy novels I have read. Drizzt do'urden, for example, was an extremist in abnormality for his people (the Drow elves).

To that, I would recommend defining your character by thier surroundings, not thier situations first. If they live in a village that abhors science but the character can invent, he is an abnormality for his surroundings. If your character is a boy who lives in a village that despises non-humans, and generally has despised them himself---yet, suddenly he is saved by a race of non-humans and has to live with them, he is normal in an abnormal situation.

I don't think you can have a character that is too cliche, look at our media culture of superheros--they are all the same, they have amazing abnormatilites they hide from the world for fear of discovery.

I guess what I am saying is don't stress about a cliche. Some cliche's make for darn good readings because they are comforatable.

 

[asher marquering]

ok thx you have given me better understanding

cliches shouldn't be completely avoided

 

[the_faery_queen]

nope. i think that's a cliche in itself! cliches can have their part, if they're done well, or you turn them on their head. and cliches do seem to sell. fantasy is made up of dragons, that's a cliche. but dragons seem to sell. *shrug* i think that people should concentrate on just writing a good book that's natural and relatable. if it is full of cliches, people will be ok with that because its a good book. its far worse to have a bad book with original ideas, i think. because if it's bad and boring, no one will read it to see those ideas

just try and see your characters as people, be sensitive and logical and it should work otu

 

[williamkooiker]

I see nothing wrong with either one of those characters. With Eldred in particular, you'll have a real winner if you pull it off correctly. Characters who undergo unremitting mental termoil are often the most endearing. It just takes time and effort to insure that you convey their feelings (or lack thereof) correctly.

 

[Stuart Jaffe]

The reason writers are told to avoid cliches is two-fold, primarily. One, they can be tedious and predictable to the reader, and Two, they can become a crutch to the writer, letting him/her avoid actual writing. You've not created a cliche (yet) with these characters because all you've given us were some very broad strokes. At that level, any character will sound like generic cliche. Character X is a swashbuckling rogue who hides his true self from those around him until he learns that loyalty and people are more important than profit. Sounds generic/cliche but name him Han Solo and put him into a special story and you have tossed away the cliche. Make sense?

 

[j d worthington]

Asher: I think part of the problem is confusing "cliche" with "type". Types are templates, a general set of familiar tags which enable us to form a fairly quick picture of that character rather than spend enormous amounts of time describing the character before getting to the story. "Cliche" is something that has become hackneyed and lacking imagination or any sense of originality, largely because the writer puts nothing of themselves in it, but only copies that which they've read in the writing of others. Simply build your characters as they fit the story; better yet, let them tell the story through you. That way, they tend to take on a life of their own, no matter how cliched or hackneyed a brief description of them may seem. Just let the characters live and breathe, do unexpected things; if they surprise you, they're likely to surprise the reader, too.

 

[asher marquering]

wow you guys are brilliant thanx

 

[asher marquering]

I see nothing wrong with either one of those characters. With Eldred in particular, you'll have a real winner if you pull it off correctly. Characters who undergo unremitting mental termoil are often the most endearing. It just takes time and effort to insure that you convey their feelings (or lack thereof) correctly

asher kinda felt alienated by this comment, he said i should tell you that he also suffers from mental torment in the sense that; because he was a sub-ordinate he cant separate what "he would do" with what "he would be ordered to do" by his dead commanding officer so much so that he cant separate the voices in his head namely: his emotional mind, his logical mind, his evil self, his conscience, his own decision making ability, his commanding officers influence.

sorry bout that it was kinda bothering him

 

[williamkooiker]

Originally Posted by asher marquering
asher kinda felt alienated by this comment, he said i should tell you that he also suffers from mental torment in the sense that; because he was a sub-ordinate he cant separate what "he would do" with what "he would be ordered to do" by his dead commanding officer so much so that he cant separate the voices in his head namely: his emotional mind, his logical mind, his evil self, his conscience, his own decision making ability, his commanding officers influence.

sorry bout that it was kinda bothering him

HA!

Tell Asher that I'm very sorry for leaving him out, and that I'm sure he has many, many problems of his own. That should make him feel better . . .

 

[FelineEyes]

Sometimes life is a tad cliche, so you don't want to avoid cliches entirely. At least, I don't think so. Sometimes things that seem cliche are really just normal...
That's my ten cents into the converstation.

 

[Paige Turner]

In writing, clichés can be a real hot potato. Too many clichés should be a red flag, and you really should start trying to think outside the box. For what it's worth, that's my humble opinion.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

There is a difference between clichés and typical human behavior. The trick, of course, is recognizing that difference (and in not portraying the one in terms of the other).

As JD said, if you draw your inspiration from real life, rather than copying characters from other books, you have a much better chance of avoiding clichés. And I will add to that: if you don't try to over-dramatize, but let situations and characters speak for themselves, you're more likely to stay out of trouble.

 

[j d worthington]

In writing, clichés can be a real hot potato. Too many clichés should be a red flag, and you really should start trying to think outside the box. For what it's worth, that's my humble opinion.

I count 5; am I missing something?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I suppose you could call demonstrating a rule by breaking it something of a cliché, JD, which would bring the total to six.

 

[j d worthington]

I suppose you could call demonstrating a rule by breaking it something of a cliché, JD, which would bring the total to six.

Bravo! I love even numbers!!!

 

[asher marquering]

lol all i have to say is thanks but wheres this conversation going now ?