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.