Avoiding Cliches

[Xiao Xianyu]

All Purpose Muling Device

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.

Tropes? Seriously? I had to look that silly word up, only to realize I understood everything that falls under it, only not the generalization itself. And there are plenty of "tropes" that people would consider "cliches"

And, sorry, but the lacking of meaning is opinionated. Try Webster instead of wikipedia for the definition of cliche:

something that has become overly familiar or commonplace


Overly familiar, perhaps that's true. Commonplace, very true. Shallow and meaningless? That's an opinion. It's one way to use the word cliche. It is not the sum total of the words meaning.  

[All Purpose Muling Device]

Yes, and you keep using things your way and making people go "that's not what a cliche, that's a trope," or you can use more precise language, which most writers tend to favor for some damned odd reason.

I'm not the stubborn sort of mule, myself.  

[Xiao Xianyu]

All Purpose Muling Device

Yes, and you keep using things your way and making people go "that's not what a cliche, that's a trope," or you can use more precise language, which most writers tend to favor for some damned odd reason.

I'm not the stubborn sort of mule, myself.

Not all the cliches referred to in this thread, or others I have read, would classify as a trope.

Since Mr Webster backs my use, I don't feel the need to change the words I use.  

[sssfryan]

Xiao Xianyu

People are going to be sick of me posting this quote (I think I've posted atleast two times over in the WF), but here I go again:


Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
C. S. Lewis

It's not about what's cliche and what's not. It's about what's well written. If you love your characters, chances are somebody else will too. Don't worry about being cliche, worry about telling a good story. That's what's most important.

This. You can't force a story. If your writing naturally becomes cliche'd then that's what it's going to be. Anything else I feel comes off as forced and pretentious.  

[SugarRos]

Xiao Xianyu

People are going to be sick of me posting this quote (I think I've posted atleast two times over in the WF), but here I go again:


Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
C. S. Lewis

It's not about what's cliche and what's not. It's about what's well written. If you love your characters, chances are somebody else will too. Don't worry about being cliche, worry about telling a good story. That's what's most important.

I completely agree. People need to stop worrying so much over cliches. Write the perfect story you'd like to read. That's all you need to do. smile