Breakin Free'

Is it just me, or are almost all the stories, not only on this site but everywhere, pretty much all the same? It seems like there's no story that isn't totally about war or training for war, or anything else where war archs over the whole story. And it seems like all romance stories are either Beauty and the Geek or two people just falling in love at first sight. It's getting a little tired a theme for me. Not all interesting things in life involve war, or relationships that can never be. War can be interesting when it breaks from the norm: fantasy meets technology, people fighting underwater for lost treasure, or battles involving some weird kind of ability (other than magic). But people need to realize that fighting has been done over and over and I think that if I read another LOTR battle seen I'm going to cry.
SO basically, all I want to say is that the best writer breaks free from the norm, and I truly do see talented writers everywhere, but without new stuff it won't do anyone any good.
If anyone agrees with me (and I know I'm not alone here) or hates me now, just tell me, but I think this is a really big thing to talk about.

You have a point. *makes a face* It's even worse in the poetry forums. You can just tell by the titles.

So what's wrong with good ol' fashion realistic fiction?

I love realistic fiction. The problem is i haven't yet figured out to make it good. *frowns* I had a story for a while that was just an ordinary book about an ordinary girl, but it got lost. *is sad* A lot of people really loved it too.

I totally know what you mean!
Everything fantasy nowadays is this; some ordinary teenager who suddenly figures out they have mighty powers and they are hurled into some war situation. *barfs* Everything I see in books stores now - Eragon, The dark is rising, all that prap. Ewah.
When I first had the idea for my book, I knew I wanted it to be a little different than the mainstream stuff. Sure, there's war in it, but it's not the main thing. And there's romance, but it's definitely not love at first sight or anything. Far from it.

You all need to read in different genres.

You can't keep on picking up YA action-fantasy and romance books, and then complain they're all the same genre.

You know what I read a lot?

Depressing stories. Some authors seem to think that writing about something serious qualifies them as a sophisticated writer. So often (this spans way back before I joined) I would agree to read stories by people which always went very similarly:

Isabelle stopped, her frightened breathing misting up in the frigid night. Her heart pounded. Tonight was the night, the night when she would finally become a member. Her mind flashed back to several months ago, when she first met Greg. She had been alone and frightened, living on the streets. He had taken her under his wing, fed her, clothed her, and told her about His religion, the only true religion. Now, Isabelle was going to become a formal member...

I could have lifted this story from any number of amature wrting attempts. But I didn't. I just wrote it off the top of my head. But this tired plot has been repeated time and time again. In short: Girl. Cult. Scary Men.

I second the call for people to stop working within the box! I never liked fanfiction or ripoffs, because it ain't new material.
My last thought is that I think most people on this site do a good job of writing original stuff.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way; the #1 cause of fatal writing accidents in the United States is cliché. Don't be one of the millions!
ANOTHER EDIT: Sam's list of recent original pieces has me wondering where Trident's featured works went... Is this just a simple case of lazyness? *sighs*

What do you mean? I read all kinds of books; fantasy, action, history, horror, etc. I even read *shudders* romance when there's nothing else.

That's true- no one really seems to know how to have a laugh.

Even if you are truly inept at comedy, there's no end to the amount of quirky things you can churn out. Or simply take an idea that's already been done and tweak it a little- if you really like Lord of the Rings, you could do a quest story. Your main challenge there would be to create an interesting cast of characters and setting (if you like Lord of the Rings and I see elves in your story, I might cry).

Quirks are the name of the game in idea-stealing. One of my current projects is a resurrection of my love for that movie Balto that I harbored at about age seven- it's about rescuing people from sickness, but the characters are strange and *gasp* there are no dogs. It takes place in Nebraska.

What did I do? I thought, "I like the idea of sickness, because I'm morbid and awful, but my portrayal of Alaska would kind of suck because I have no idea about it. Or sled racing, for that matter."

And voila!

[Don't get me started on my Princess Diaries rip off. I could ramble for days.]

Art is all about inspiration. You've got to filter all of those sources, until you've sifted out all the goop and are left with just the good bits.

Because of NaNoWriMo, I haven't done a lot of editing on this site recently, but a few YWS poster children for Quirking It Up include:

Caligula's_Launderette for her characters and overall premise (see: Guttersnipe).

Suzanne for setting and premise (see: Modlmy Sie).

Misty for her use of words and overall freakish detail (see: The Postman Comes Looking for Us.)

I should get back into critiquing more when the month is over...I really want to go Newbie Hunting.

...in a good way, of course. ^_~

Listen to my friend Sureal. Read some other genres, people. War is not always the overarching theme in most stories, much less all stories. Fantasy, yes, has become extremely banal and repetitious. Too often at the bookstores I see that elves and dwarves crap that seems to be so abudant in the minds of the typical outcast, socially inept adolescent who wants to vent through a keyboard. This is the only genre that I can see war being the only theme in. Maybe sci-fi, too.

But, really, most of you are being really cynical. I think it's true that we all generally have the same "story" ideas and that those same ideas sometimes crop up on paper. Templates have been drilled into our minds. But all hope is not lost. Unless, televison and video games have killed our brains, the human mind will always, I repeat, always be creative. And is creative, for that matter. Johnny - what stories are you reading here on YWS? Are you stuck in a fantasy/sci-fi rut? If you don't like what you're seeing, pick up some action/adveture, some historical fiction, some other fiction.

Genres, as a rule, follow a template. That's genre writing for you. If you read a particular genre, you must like that same-ish story. I'm not saying all genre stories are similar, but quite a few are. That's just life

Cliche genres:

-- Fantasy
-- Sci-Fi
-- Romance

That's about all, though.

-Kylan

Let's face it: there are no new ideas. It's true. And come to think of it, I'm not the first one to say that which just proves my point.

That said, there is no way to be completely original in plot. There will always be somebody who's already thought of/executed the idea that you think you thought up. Depressing, huh? Well, not really... you can have a completely cliche battling-armies-and-beautiful-elf-princesses-falling-in-love kind of story, but if it's written with originality it can still be enjoyable.

So I try as a writer to write things that most people aren't writing/reading at the time. I don't bother trying to write something that has never been written before because that's impossible.

Oh, and by the way, I think this is a really good discussion thread. Very interesting to learn peoples' different thoughts on the matter.


~Azila~

I used to wright stories like these, but I made a completely different one that I never really read another theme in a book like it before.
" The forgotten one"
you see its about this boy who has never remembered being in the outside world beyond the metal room before, or has felt the warmth of another person before.
you should check it out and tell me what you think.