One of the most interesting parts of my YouTube
adventure is watching the audience reaction to my videos. I am so happy that most people seem to get
it and enjoy my content. Yet there is one reaction I should have expected,
but did not quite anticipate; writers worried that their writing is a bit too similar to
a Terrible Writing Advice episode. So what happens when you discover a cliche
in your writing? What do you do? So I thought I would drop my usual sarcastic
persona and address my audience directly. Well, I can’t promise no sarcasm. But rather than pointing out cliches, I decided
to offer some genuine advice on what a writer might do if they find a cliché in their work. First thing is first. Don’t panic. Identifying a potential problematic trope
within one’s own work is an essential first step in improving writing quality. The important thing is to understand the nature
of cliches. So let’s start from the beginning. What is a cliché? Cliche
1: A trite phrase or expression; also: the idea expressed by it
2: A hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3: Something (such as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace A cliché, for our purposes, is essentially
an overused plot device, trope, or writing convention. When is something a cliché? Now that is entirely subjective. Two people can read the same story and one
can say it is cliché and the other can say it’s original. Whether a trope crosses the line from trope
to cliché depends on the specific reader’s tastes. There is a different between them after all. A trope is merely a storytelling convention. Anyone can find a particular trope a cliché
depending on how it is implemented into the story. Most writer’s handbooks and writing advice
blogs tell you to avoid cliches ‘like the plague’ before patting themselves on the
back for that totally original and funny joke. They then offer no further insight into the
matter and a call it a day. It is just assumed that cliches are bad. Cliches are certainly cast as the villain
in modern storytelling. Ryan J. Stark proposes that the cliché is
so reviled in modern literature because it clashes with the Romantic ideal of the author
as creative genius who should always strive to design new and surprising language. The Romantic ideal is a philosophy that views
cliches as having no creative value. But is that really true? Are clichés really bad? They can be, but the risk clichés pose is
not a lack of originality. The true danger of clichés is when it draws
the reader out of the story. This most often happens when a writer uses
a cliché without thinking. Let’s use an example. Let’s say our aristocratic fantasy hero
enters a rough looking market place with a coin pouch at his belt. It isn’t long before a young streetwise
child bumps into him. The child apologizes before vanishing into
the crowd. I used this example because I once read a
story that used this trope and it brought me out of the story. TV Tropes calls this trope the Percussive
Pickpocket. The TV Tropes wiki, which is a wiki dedicated
to identifying and cataloging storytelling conventions, has a trope called TV Tropes
will ruin your life. The basis of the trope is that when one spends
too much time reading TV Tropes, they are able to more easily identify the storytelling
conventions that a story is using by watching it with a critical eye, thus ruining any surprise. This is why there is often a divide in review
scores between professional critics and the general audience. Critics usually train themselves to dissect
entertainment with careful analysis because that’s their job. They are far more attuned to cliches than
most people and a lack of originally will be far more glaring for them. However, if a trope is used enough, even the
ordinary reader, moviegoer, or gamer will pick up on it. Especially if they are older or well read. This is the main danger of cliches, it can
ruin the immersion of the more astute in an audience as they can now see the components
of the story on display, rather than the story itself. The worse and more obvious the cliché, the
more chance of this happening. In my earlier example, the thief drew me out
of the story as the sections before it had been fairly clever in its execution. The Percussive Pickpocket trope, played so
painfully straight, ruined my immersion. The solution is obvious right? Always avoid cliches. Well... not exactly. There is the other side of the coin. Cliches can communicate an idea. They are shorthand. For example, we have a character say “searching
the caverns for the rebels will be really difficult because of the cave’s immense
size compared to our small enemy.” Or we could say “Finding rebels in the caves
is like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Both convey the same information. Even this very video used “crosses the line”
which is a cliché. Yet when I say “crosses the line from trope
to cliché”, the audience understands what I am trying to say. Let’s return to our example. Why would a writer use the Percussive Pickpocket
trope in this scene? Because it conveys a lot of information very
quickly. With this short scene, we know that the child
is a thief, the market has a crime problem, and our aristocratic hero is naive, out of
place, genre blind, freshly out of loose change, and a chump. That is actually a lot of information compacted
and shown in a single scene. Lazy and unoriginal, perhaps, but efficient
in terms of information, especially considering the short nature of the scene. Is there a better way to write the scene? Yes. A lot of ways actually. We will get to that. But it helps to first break down a scene into
what it is trying to show us first before trying to replace a cliché. Cliches are also fun. I often joke in my writer’s group that the
easiest way to get compliments from me is to add a giant robot, monster, cyborg, or
some other hokey sci-fi or fantasy thing. I tend to like a certain about of cheese in
the media I consume. Cliches also sell. Some publishing houses have literal formulas
they use that their writers are required to follow. This is often the case for romance novels. If it sells why change it? This can be dangerous though. Trends do not last forever. Eventually audiences tire of the latest fad
and move on. So what exactly is my point in all this? If there is one thing I hope writers take away
from this video, it’s this: Clichés are not good
Clichés are not bad Clichés simply are I think it is a good idea for a writer to
fall into the habit of looking at cliches from a dispassionate perspective; to see them
as tools rather than as bad or wrong. One possible method I use for dealing with
cliches can be broken down into three basic steps. Step 1: Identify the cliché or trope used. This can be done by either familiarizing oneself
to the common cliches of the genre being written in or pointed out by a beta-reader or another
member of a writing group or workshop. 2: Identify what the cliché is trying to
communicate and how it relates to goal of the scene the cliché is included in. It is not just what the cliché says, but
a writer should also take into account the context of the scene. Every scene in a story must serve a purpose
in the greater whole of the story just as every trope should serve the greater purpose
of the scene. Is the scene even needed? If yes, then proceed to step 3. 3: Decide if the cliché should be kept as
is, subverted, or replaced with something that better communicates the intention of
that part of the scene. Once the cliché is identified in the context
of both the story and scene, a writer should be able to make an informed decision on how
to handle the identified cliché. Cliches are not a problem, they are an opportunity. Either an opportunity to strengthen one’s
writing with its removal, or as a way to use audience expectation to your advantage. As most have likely noticed, many of the ‘dismissed’
pieces of advice I give in my Terrible Writing Advice videos are often ways to tweak the
cliché in a manner that can subvert audience expectation. A clever twist on an old cliché can really
engage a reader, especially if done early in the story to set both the story tone and
audience expectation. Sometimes all that is required is to show
the logical outcome of a cliché. After all, one of the greatest tools in the
writer’s hand is the ability to look upon the mundane from a unique perspective. With that in mind, let’s return to our pickpocket
example and see if we can improve it. One way to improve this cliché is to draw
attention to it and highlight it by having the aristocratic hero be aware of the genre
conventions of the story. He could go the market for the express purpose
of getting robbed in hopes of meeting a plucky thief that the hero intends to recruit to
his team. Instead of frustration, he could get excited
after the thief bumps into him. This could work very well for a story with
a lighter tone and even create an interesting character conflict as the hero tries to recruit
the thief who would be weirded out by the hero’s enthusiasm at being robbed. This revision puts both the thief and the
hero on equal footing and can be used to characterize both. Another way to rewrite the scene is to subvert
expectations by having the thief bump into the hero, but then the hero checks and finds
his coin pouch is still there. Both the hero and audience is set at ease
knowing it was an innocent run-in only to have the guards confront the hero and accuse
him of stealing. It turns out that the thief planted stolen
goods on the hero so he could act as a decoy. This could also work because it generates
a new conflict for the hero to resolve as he has to talk or fight his way out of this
confrontation. It also sets up a much more personal future
conflict with the thief as the hero will not likely forget about how the thief set him
up. This revision puts the hero as the focus of
the scene and gives the audience an opportunity to see how the hero resolves confrontation
with authority figures. Another interesting subversion would be to
have the thief bump into the hero and steal his coins before revealing his theft to the
hero and returning the coins willingly. The thief could then chastise the hero for
his foolish genre blindness before offering to guide the hero through the crime ridden
market, for a nominal fee of course. This does a number of things. Not only does is subvert audience expectations,
but it also establishes the thief’s keen, streetwise instincts and entrepreneurial ambition
while also have him immediately form a working relationship with the hero. This revision puts the thief as the focus
of the scene and could work much better than the original if the story’s intention is
to have the thief join the hero’s team. This scene now serves as a solid introduction
to the thief’s core character traits and abilities. All three revision examples play with the
Percussive Pickpocket trope in different ways and provide far more immediate possibilities
for characterization and conflict than the original example. All three would not be possible if the cliché
was avoided completely. So for the aspiring writers in the audience,
the next time you are watching Terrible Writing Advice and find that a cliched brought up
in the video matches something you wrote, don’t panic. What you have is an opportunity. I believe that there is no correct way to
write. There are a lot of rules and conventions,
but a writer defines what they want to get out of their writing. Don’t get too hung up on anything I, or
any other writer says. Write the stories you want to write. Don’t let fear of cliches discourage you
or stop you from writing.
