Cliché: Noun (in writing)
An idea or expression that has been used to often and is often considered a sign of bad writing or old-fashioned thinking.
Oof! That sounds pretty bad huh? I think we've all been taught to avoid writing clichés and the thing we're most scared of, is someone calling our story "cliché".
But do we really have to be afraid of clichés? Can we use them to something good?
First of all I want to make sure not to confuse a cliché with a trope.
Trope: noun
Something such as an idea, phrase, or image that is often used in a particular artist's work, in a particular type of art, etc.:
So when you write a romance story and you let the bad boy fall in love with the quiet girl who is always good in school, you aren't writing a cliché, you're using a very normal romance trope.
Fx. A very normal High School anime trope would be for them to have a cultural festival, to go on a school trip and to have a beach episode. You simply can't watch a High School anime without seeing these tropes.
Don't be afraid to use a trope, they became tropes because people like them and because they find them entertaining. If people don't like the trope I mentioned above, they probably don't watch that type of anime. And come on let's be honest with each other, we all have a trope we love. Let me be the first to admit my weakness. You all know I'm a sucker for romance, but even in romance I have a few particular tropes I'm very fond of. (If you have read my books they won't come as a surprise to you)
Teacher-student relationship - My all time favorite.
Age gap relationship - And it can go both ways. I don't care if the guy is a lot older or the girl, I love both!
Language barrier - When they can't really communicate but still fall in love I LOVE IT!
I love these tropes very much. I look for movies with these tropes. Animes, mangas, tv-shows, books. Yes I even write them myself. And I'm not ashamed of that. We all our preferences and we should stand by them. Don't be embarrassed about yourself, embrace yourself.
Now let me go back to the clichés again. I've noticed a lot of people get so caught up in this fear of using clichés that it either ruins their joy of writing or ruins the book. Let me be straight with you. Reading a book trying so hard to avoid every cliché is just tiring in the end. As humans we like the predictable, but we also like to be surprised. I know it might sound confusing, but let me explain further.
When reading a book, our mind starts trying to predict where the story will go and what will happen next. We start thinking "this will probably happen next" and when it does, we feel a sort of satisfaction in ourselves. But it also works the other way. When we think "this will probably happen next", because that is how this type of story usually goes, and then something completely different happens, we're shocked and surprised and suddenly feel very intrigued to see where the story will go.
It's all about balance.
Don't be afraid to use clichés (or tropes), there's nothing wrong in your readers predicting where your story will go. Use this to your benefit. When your readers think they've figured out your story and think they can predict everything, that's where you surprise them, make a plot twist, write a new angle.
But now listen to me before you start putting plot twists in every corner. Let me say it again:
It's all about balance.
Reading a book where there's a plot twist in every chapter is so annoying. The same goes for movies or tv shows. I once watched a kdrama and in every episode something got resolved and I thought "okay now we're on the right track" only for the show to be like "nah ah! We're going THIS way," and after 10 episodes of this twisting and turning in the plot I felt so frustrated.
Remember this: One really good and well planned out plot twist is a million times more efficient than 10 plot twists that only confuse your readers and make them frustrated.
We like to be surprised, but we also like a good cliché used well. Sometimes I want to watch a good old danish movie where the people sing all the time and take long walks in the forest and I know everything will end happily ever after. And other times I want to watch a psychological thriller where I have no idea where the story will take me and I just want to be blown away.
Sometimes I want to read a book where my mind is challenged and I really have to think, but most of the times I just want to read something that I find entertaining. Because isn't that what reading is? Entertainment? Relaxation? Coping with the stress of the world?
And sometimes the same goes for writing. Sometimes I want to write something with a heavy theme like mental illnesses or bullying etc, but other times I just want to write a fluffy romance story that makes smile and blush when I read it.
So write whatever you want to, because someone out there would at some point want to read whatever you write. Don't think about aiming for the bigger audience. Just write for yourself and write what makes you happy or what makes your heart pound.
Happy writing!
Love Annalise~