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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:37 pm
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It's hard to avoid cliches now-a-days, I think. There's so much out there, it's impossible not to be compared to another writer. So, my question is, how do YOU try to avoid cliches? Or, how do YOU tweak the to make them more interesting.
I feel like I'm not very good at this, in a general sense. Mostly because once I come up with a clear cut idea, it tends to stick because I feel like I already know certain characters. For example, I was 14 when I began writing seriously. I wrote a lot then, too. So, I came up with the cliche story of a teen destined to be a prophet of a hidden kingdom, yatta yatta. I wrote at least 200 pages for it, probably more. It's full of cliches, but I love the characters because I got to know them.
With my newer stories, I don't have that problem as much (:
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:24 pm
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:36 pm
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:15 pm
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All Purpose Muling Device
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:09 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:12 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:34 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:42 pm
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That's pretty much all I was going to say... not necessarily, of course, all which needs saying, but everything that I would have said in direct response has already been said.
In indirect response... I like to, sometimes, take the cliche and just use it. The cliches are fun to use when you mess with them a little--I try doing this when I roleplay, if I can. Things like... oh, say the small girl who isn't actually young, but she's so tiny and short that people often assume she is. She will, likely, either be shy and gentle or fiery and loudmouthed. The second choice is more common in modern works, I find, but it sometimes seems like recycling the 'older' cliches actually helps make your own writing feel fresher. Then there's the oblivious loudmouth, the angry foot-in-loudmouth, and the never-angry people-pleasers. The cliches, when performed nicely, are easier to relate to.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:23 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 7:22 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:32 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:06 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:15 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:13 am
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All Purpose Muling Device
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:57 pm
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Xiao Xianyu Shadyness I've just realized how many people don't know what a cliche is. A cliche is not something that has been done before. It is something that has been done over and over again to the point of being tired and overdone. Being compared to one book/movie/story does not make it cliche. /rant. I disagree. Most people do know what a cliche is. Saying their work is compared to (insert movie/book/tv show) simply means that whoever compared it is comparing it to the most recent use of the cliche that comes to that person's mind. I also disagree on your definition. A cliche is something that's been done over and over again, to the point of being instantly recognizable. Whether it is tiring and overdone is personal opinion. The cliche one person rants about is the one another person is completely hooked on.
A cliche has been overdone to point of being shallow and meaningless. It's not that it's recognizable. Tropes are recognizable. They are not cliches. They still have meaning, they still have impact, and they are indeed incredibly important to writing.
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