“The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.”
Terry Pratchett
It’s the Holy Grail of critique, and the Achilles Heel to any well written story. Writers stay awake a night, trembling in fear at the mere thought of that most hated accusation.
The dreaded words: “Bit of a cliché.”
I doubt that there’s a single writer out there who hasn’t being given that feedback. Whether it’s a character checking out their reflection in a mirror, the villain screaming “I shall have my revenge!”, or our hero rescueing a cat from a tree. At some point everyone stumbles into the same dark pit.
And there’s good reason to rail against the cliché. It’s disappointing to read something sold as original, that’s simply as old material repackaged in a new story. If I’m forced to watch yet another superhero become tragically orphaned at a young age, I might have to pry out my eyeballs with a teaspoon.
However.
As with all things in writing (and probably life, though I’m not wise enough to make that call), we shouldn’t be too quick to discard an idea simply based on popular opinion. As Steve Jobs said:
“Screw the consumer.”
Sorry, I meant:
“People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
Steve Jobs
The dirty truth of it is, that while we often belittle clichés when directly confronted with them, most readers (myself included) will eat them up so long as they’re well used. Harry Potter has to be the most cliché-ridden character in history
- Orphan? Check
- Special Powers? Check
- Trusty sidekicks? Check
- Even special-er powers? Check
- Sneering, posh rival? Check
- Specialist powers? Check
- Evil wizard trying to take over the world defeated by the literal power of love? Check
And yet somehow, despite the internet’s clearly superior knowledge of clichés and how to avoid them, J.K. has created a billion dollar franchise, while Dave from Reddit still dwells in r/writing.
Because secretly, we all love a cliché. Shameful though it is.
Clichés are like salt in a good meal. A little is great. Who doesn’t like a little bit of seasoning? Well blended into food, everything tastes better because of it. Just because you wouldn’t pour a tablespoon of salt on your omelette, doesn’t mean that you’d ban salt from the house.
In the same way, don’t be too frightened when the Spanish Inquisition jumps on your heretical cliché.
Sure, maybe it could go. It’s entirely possible that the prophecy stating your main character is uber special — and also probably the child of a god — is a little much. On the other hand, that’s also the basis for about five dozen young adult franchises.
A cliché isn’t the killing blow for your story. A poorly written one is.
The Fellowship Of Ink 