I’m sure we can all think of at least a few tropes in books that have been used so often that they’ve become cliche. The Wise Old Mentor character. The Chosen One plot. Rain during a dramatic moment. Love triangles. We’ve seen these tropes over and over so often they’ve become unoriginal. Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about killing cliches in your writing, such as the ones above, to avoid being unoriginal. And there’s a lot of sense to that. We want to see something different, not the same old story that’s already been told a hundred times. So there is a definite need to work towards originality.
Cliches have become cliche because they’ve been used so often that they’re overly familiar. And there is a reason that a lot of these tropes have been written so many times. Sometimes, as in the case of a main character describing themselves in a mirror, it’s a matter of laziness, and this sort of cliche should absolutely be avoided. But, in other cases, it’s because readers resonate with something about the trope. The Chosen One cliche touches on our inner desire to be special and irreplaceable in the world. Love Triangles fulfill our need to feel loved and accepted. These cliches touch on some emotional need readers have. And I think this is why they’ve endured.
However, I don’t believe that gives us free rein to plug cliches into our books willy-nilly. Readers want you to touch on these emotions, yes. But they’re wise. They’re savvy. They know what’s cliche and they’re not impressed if you just drop a Chosen One on them and leave it at that. Cliches feel like an easy way to build a story, but they’re not any more. We as writers have to work hard to present these cliches in a way that makes use of the emotional attachment, while adding something new. It’s not that you can’t have a Chosen One. It’s that the Chosen One can’t be the only thing your story has.
Give your Chosen One a cast of supporting characters who are important to the plot, well fleshed out, and without whom your Chosen One would 100% fail. Take your wise mentor and build them out into a fully formed character with personality and a past, and maybe even an importance to the plot other than just training your main character, rather than leaving them as a 2d cutout plugged in to fill a gap in your story. People do like familiar ideas and tropes. They like plot elements that fulfill some inner need. But they want them to be presented in such a way that it isn’t the same old story over and over again.
In my opinion, not all cliches are bad, and not every cliche should be avoided at all cost.. But every cliche does need to be well thought out in your story. It needs to be fleshed out and adapted so that readers are presented with something fresh and new. Using cliches correctly is not as easy as just plugging in a few well loved elements and calling it a day. But it is worth the extra effort. But these are just my thoughts and I would love to hear from you. Do you think that there is a place for cliche plot tropes still, or should they be killedwith fire? What are some of your favourite books that use cliches? What are some of your favourite tropes that are cliche, but still near and dear to your heart? Let’s chat in the comments!
