Young Writers Society

I know you're not asking for this, but I felt a rant--so I'm going to let it out.

Tips:

Stop with the vampires and werewolves! I found a science fiction book that had vampires in it. I see you ride on the coattails of "Twilight", but wait until that gets a little old before you do your idea.

Read up on the stuff you're writing about. Parvovirus is a deadly disease in dogs that attacks stomach lining, but it does not make werewolves, you morons--no "strain" of it would make werewolves. It'd make dead humans.

Learn that cliches are okay, but you must make them your own--but be intelligent and don't do #1, become a copycat of the latest trends. For example, so you do decide to write about vampires--make them blood-sucking leeches (no, not politicians--even if it would be different). Make them evil. Make them able to be killed with stakes. Make them not sparkle. If you're writing about werewolves, look up where the word "berserk" came from. Think Vikings. Crazy drug-addict Vikings.

Learn that, while romance is expected in all novels, it does not have to be pointedly blatant, at least in the first novel--heck, don't even include it. Or make it realistic. Your characters won't have that "perfect" relationship everyone dreams of. Why? It doesn't exist.

Learn that not all female characters need a boyfriend to feel good about themselves. I swear, do you think that's all girls think of--boys? I will let you know, as a female, I am fonder of: writing, dancing, drawing, politics, history, and science. Oh, and kittens are "cuter". Yeah, I went there. Stop referring to guys as "cute", too. It freaks me out.

Male characters in romance novels don't have to be perfect, but make them normal. Maybe they smell, maybe they play video games too much, etc. Don't make them some sort of maniac who likes girls kept in a golden cage and won't allow them outside (as per Edward of Twilight). That's not romantic. And wholly unrealistic. Then you have girls who think an overbearing guy who won't let you have male friends is okay. What the heck?

Don't make your monsters all one race. I.e. the werewolves from Twilight. I'm part Cherokee, but I don't turn into a dog. Actually, that's sort of racist...

Answer me this: why are all aliens bipedal? It makes no sense.

You female characters should not be in slots: a girl who can wield a sword while wearing 200 lb. of chain mail is as insane as a girl who cries all the time. While you're at your strengths and weaknesses, think of that. They shouldn't just be "good" or "evil" and they definitely shouldn't just be "strong" or "meek".

My Dad wants me to date. Not all dads are overbearing and they don't always freak out.

...

I think that covered most of it, but there's one thing that really peeved me in the "Twilight" books. They're sexist. Seriously, seriously sexist. They also follow the flow of "people always do what their friends tell them because they want to "belong"". Ahem. I think before I act and I don't give into bloody peer pressure, thank you very much. Also, I'm well aware that not being "fashionable" is perfectly fine. I'm retro. I enjoy wearing classy stuff. I also know that being skinny isn't the best thing in the world, or being a mother, or being a good little wife, etc.

Yeah.

I could go on and on, but I'm supposed to be focusing on cliches. Here's one in a nutshell: all stories are normally sexist, towards both sexes. Everyone expects the same thing out of people.
It's idiotic. One way to break a cliche: have a male and female character who are equals, or close; at least in one regard, bravery or mental strength for example.

I forgot my last point, but I hope that helped everyone. I'll just go with one final thought, which is all I can come up with as of now: anti-heros and villains should change, but don't make them randomly good (unless there's a reason; such as they were possessed previously). Also, don't make your heroes and heroines totally good (idea). Also, try out a blond villain that isn't a neo-Nazi.

Thanks. /rant-off

You have some very good points there.

Of course, one very common element in fiction is dragons. (I think every culture on Earth has myths about them.) Now, the great opportunity here is to look into those myths and add something to dragon lore. (We probably wouldn't have the Inheritance books if it weren't for Anne McCaffrey's dragons.)

It's ironic I found this thread, considering we were only discussing this kind of thing in my English Class the other day. We weren't necessarily talking about cliches as a whole but stories in general.

Writers are so afraid of doing what they think suits their story these days and tend to go along with the crowd. Why would you want all of your fans be completely mad with you because you've killed off the hero/heroine. I know of one steries that the author had to write another book, because his fans weren't happy that the main character had been killed. You don't see stories like Macbeth these days.

I told my friend that I was killing off my main character at the end of the series but she practically screamed my head off. According to her, I wasn't allowed to do that. I think it's the only reason she wanted to add a cross-over between our stories because her character's best friend could bring the dead back. The reason the character was going to die was because it fit for the story, and gave it a well-rounded ending. And yes, she was part of a prophecy - that said she would die. It was healthier for the story.

What I tried to say in that jumbled-up way of explaining, was that there is never a sad ending. Happy endings always happen, because writers fear the way the general public react. J.K Rowling would have had hell if she killed off Harry, am I right?

But I'm a sucker for a well-written romance cliche >.<

I hate the storys that go like this-
Girl meets boy. Boy has girlfriend. Girl loves boy. Boy realizes girl was 'the one' then they run of into the sunset, get married and have three children.
Sometimes it's just like-give me a break.