Cliches – according to Jared.

Well. First off, whether I like a cliche or not depends entirely on how it’s used. If an author uses a cliche and doesn’t seem to realize it, as happens in so many young adult fantasy novels these days (and I know ’cause I read a lot of them XD ), then I don’t like cliches at all. They annoy me and make me roll my eyes. It’s like “that’s the best he/she could come up with?”. But if the author takes the cliche and uses it to make something new–turning the cliche on its head, looking at it from a different angle, making fun of it, combining it with a seemingly very disparate cliche, etc, etc–then I like them. Then, they show the author’s cleverness. Using cliches in an unexpected way can also enhance a novel’s overall “surprise factor”. For example, I read a book recently where a character had an encounter with a Galadriel-like figure. I had a whole scenario worked out in my mind of what would happen, because it seemed very familiar, a cliche. BUT–I found out shortly after that the Galadriel-person was actually evil, and had cursed the hero. That particular event, the cursing, was totally unexpected due to the scenario I’d created based off the seeming cliche. That is exactly the sort of way to use a cliche. Of course, there were several other cliches in there–notably the classic “super-tough, independent female fighter” that’s so overused–but some of them are perfect examples of how to use cliches. I think I just insulted and complimented that author at once. XD I’m talented. Anyway.

May I use an example from my own writing? When it comes to cliches in my own writing, I prefer to take the approach of making fun of them. I’m a fairly experienced reader/author, so I have a fine-tuned cliche detector. So when I find a cliche, one of the characters will say or think something that points it out and pokes fun at it. My characters commonly make fun of each other or the story for being cliched. And they usually have sarcastic senses of humor. *eyeroll* Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. Just as an example of what I’m talking about, here’s an excerpt from a novel of mine, Little Darkangel:

Liam led them to the stables–Gryff had been surprised to find out they had horses this deep–and they mounted up. The horses had already been saddled and loaded with supplies, and Gryff got a rather placid brown mare that nevertheless seemed much too big. Looking around, he realized that Liam was the only one on anything other than a nag. The pack horses looked much more spirited. Apparently Liam was the only one who could ride. Gryff swallowed, hoping he’d be able to figure it out without too many bruises. He wished they could use a car, but Liam’s grunted explanation–“No fuel out there”–belied that notion. He supposed a proper epic quest needed horses, but a car would really have been nice.

The example is only in the last sentence I guess, but I needed some context. XD So yeah. Cliches can be very useful or very detrimental depending on how you use them. It’s also good to remember that a story can be based on cliches, and gain individuality through the author’s unique perspective and the personalities of the characters. One good twist can completely turn around an otherwise cliched story. For example, there’s a video game called Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The basic story is one that’s been done a lot–evil overlords attempt to conquer the galaxy, amnesiac hero must stop them by going on a quest to find ancient objects of great power. Sound familiar? But life is breathed into this story through vibrant, interesting characters, cool settings, and one very, very good twist that I consider to be one of the best ever: eh…. I’m not sure I want to reveal it. But suffice to say that it completely changes your view of the story, as every good twist should.

 

~written by Jared