Do those sound familiar? Well they should. The list above is a list of cliches.Some you might have seen before, others perhaps not. Cliches are boring, and this post is going to teach you how to avoid them.
The Dreaded Cliche
First of all, what is a cliche?Well, a cliche is something that has been done SOOO many times, that it's predictable, and frankly, unoriginal. If you're an experienced author, with multiple books to your name and thousands of fans, then you can probably get away with a cliche or two. But if you're just starting off, people want to see something original, they want to be captivated by the uniqueness that is your story.
In order to avoid them, you need to know them. Go to your internet browser, and search 'most common cliches' I found a couple of sites for you to start with.
681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Creative Writing, 10 Common Cliches and the Powerful Truths they Hold
Cliche - it rhymes with Stay Away
Now that you know what a cliche is, let's focus on avoiding them.One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to alter cliches, or flip them upside down. Maybe instead of the damsel in distress it's her brother, or even her knight. However, eventually enough people are going to be doing it that the reverse of the cliche becomes the cliche itself.
Don't use stereotypes either, the dumb blonde, the emo teenage boy, no. Just...no. Those are as predictable as cliches, and become very old very quickly.
How can you make original content?
The answer is very simple.
Just be you
Look at what has been done, and then do something so unique, so startlingly new, that readers will be hooked. Damsel in distress turning out to be the evil sorceress? Heck yeah. Evil villain that turns out whoops the main character was being misled all along and the good guys are actually evil? I'd read that.
You need to do what has never been done before. By creating unique and original content, you'll find yourself with readers who will stick around for the redone cliches later down the road. Don't write what's already been written, write what only you can write, the unexpected, startlingly original text that only you can provide.
Do you have any more tips for avoiding cliches? I'd love to hear them!
