Evil robots! Pew pew pew!

I would love for someone to help me right now. The story goes:



Man builds self aware robot. Then robots take over and try to "improve" humanity by turning them into robots (unsuccessfully). Man is forced to become part robot, the thing they are fighting, to have a sliver of chance to win the war of man vs machine. The humans are losing ranks, and the robots are becoming smarter and smarter...

IT SOUNDS SO CLICHE RIGHT?? Ugh please help

All stories sound cliche once you strip them down to the barest basics. People have been telling stories since time immemorial, and so while the trappings may change, there's very little variation in underlying structures; it's where you get archetypes and tropes from, and it's not a bad thing because you can use these to your advantage by playing them straight or subverting them.

Even with the bare-bones summary above, I think your story is interesting and opens up a lot of avenues for exploration of various themes, such as the nature of humanity and how far it extends, how humanity would survive when its no longer at the apex of its ecosystem, how individuals react to their species slowly going extinct, etc.

Depending on which direction(s) you take the story, the characters in it, and even the setting you draw, you'll wind up with a very different story than someone else writing with the same premise.

So write it. See where it goes.

(And let me know if you do because I'd be interested in reading it.)

Cool idea! Some inspiration for you:

- Teen Titans original animated series (the one that looks like anime, aired from 2003 to 2007), specifically the episodes/arcs dealing between Brother Blood and Cyborg. Some very powerful stuff in there along the "what is robot, what is human" lines. I would also look at Robin and Slade arcs. And some Beast Boy arcs. And Raven arcs. The series is full of "where is the line between good and evil" and it's all handled really well.

- Doctor Who's Cybermen. Same gist of "improving humanity" by becoming robotic. I would suggest Russell T Davies episodes in particular, because they are generally seen as much better.

Here's the thing about cliche. Three main things, actually:

1- Things are cliche for a reason, and that reason is people love them. Cliche isn't bad. It's badly done cliches people dislike. Well done cliche are some of the best stories out there.

2- As Kyll said, all ideas sound bad/cliche when stripped down like that. Badman is "kid watches parents get murdered and learns how to fight crime then dresses up in a bad costume because criminals are superstitious." The game "explain a movie plot badly" (I think it's a hashtag, as well) is built on stripping ideas down so they're both unrecognizable from the final product and sound like some utterly terrible pieces of media. But it's just in how you spin it.

3- Nobody else is you. There are over seven billion people in the world, and nobody else is you. Nobody else has your exact life experience, perspective, and quirks. Nobody else can take a cliche and twist it the way you can.

It might take you a few drafts to find your voice. That's okay. The important thing is to keep working. Tell a story you want to tell, and keep working it until it's yours.

Good luck!

This. Sounds. So. Cool!

Are you currently writing this, or are you just playing around with the idea?

I think it sounds fun, even IF it's been done before. And there's a key component that will make it special:

I notice in your summary you mention nothing about character. That's where the story is anyway. Is the MC a scientist who developed the robots? A soldier who has to give up some of her humanity to help fight for it for others? A robot perspective, trying to "improve" the humans and getting frustrated that they don't understand?

That's the actual story, and where tropes and clichés are more problematic. The underlying premise can be used in so many different ways it's not as big a deal.