I absolutely abhor clichéd writing, as, to my understanding, do publishers. The problem is that some of them are so damn useful. There’s a reason they're clichés after all.
Anyway, is it acceptable to succumb to ONE meagre cliché in the interest of moving the story forwards, or should they be avoided at all costs?
I realize that this isn't exactly helpful so let me tell you my specific situation. In the story, my main character is required to leave behind this world. Now I'm tempted to make him an orphan, to avoid the problem of him leaving his family (although that could be interesting.....), but it is, for lack of a better word, clichéd. (Note that he is NOT the son of the king/villain).
I would appreciate any comments to the effect that either A) Clichés are fine or B) Clichés are the spawn of the devil, but here's a handy trick for resolving your problem.
Thank you in advance. Simon
Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :
Cliches can work if you bring them home and make them real and specific, rather than a convenience for story telling. The situation you describe seems to me a contrivance for convenience. If he's an orphan, you have to consider a lot of other things, such as where did he grow up, how did he live, etc, and how all of that might affect his world view and hence the story. And he's still going to have people he cares about, probably--friends, lovers, mentors, etc.
There are other ways to deal with it. He could have an estranged family. One dead parent and one parent with whom he had a falling out. And why avoid his leaving his family? Might make an interesting scene and allow for some character depth and sympathy to really come through. If you really want to not play out this scene, then there could be a myriad reasons why he can't see his family. Maybe one of them's in jail. Maybe he doesn't have time. Maybe someone's watching him and he doesn't want to lead them to his parents. Etc. Play around with it, tweak it, but don't settle for cliche.
Posted by smncameron (Member # 7392) on :
This story is aimed at a younger audience, so I'm not sure how well the parental problems would play out. Otherwise I'd dive right in.
Posted by NoTimeToThink (Member # 5174) on :
Don't dodge parental estrangement with young readers - especially in today's world, most of them are dealing with divorce or have friends who are. And if we're talking teens, I bet they have their own version of estrangement going already.
I agree with annepin - you are missing a character development opportunity if you try to simply avoid handling his leaving the family (if that is the only reason he is an orphan it will seem cliché in a negative way).
There is nothing wrong with using clichés as long as you make them your own. If you just use them to get to where you want to go, you will have used precious space to give your reader something to not care about, and this will also impact their ability to connect with your character and his story. If he's an orphan, he has back history that relates to this, and he has FEELINGS about it, so you'll still need to deal with the leaving in one way or another...
Posted by LCastle (Member # 7363) on :
Yep, I agree with the other posters. The how and why of your character leaving the world behind is important, and can go a long, long way to establishing your character's ... well, character. And don't underestimate the savviness of your younger readers. Unless it's at the picture or early chapterbook level, they can handle a lot.
Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :
quote:This story is aimed at a younger audience, so I'm not sure how well the parental problems would play out. Otherwise I'd dive right in.
Hm... is being an orphan is easier than dealing with parental problems? I think you're missing the issue here with this statement. No matter what your character is, it's going to affect him or her. You can just as easily turn something that's less of a cliche (as in estranged parents) into a cliche-feeling situation by not giving it the weight, depth, and consideration it might need.
[This message has been edited by annepin (edited January 28, 2008).]
Posted by smncameron (Member # 7392) on :
I think I've figured out what I'm going to do. But I'd still appreciate your suggestions.