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MakingFunOfStuff — MOST COMMON CLICHES IN STORIES
Published: 2012-09-18 20:27:04 +0000 UTC; Views: 36573; Favourites: 656; Downloads: 30
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CHARACTERS:Crazy, psychopathic, murderer ladies
Sexy, butt-kicking girls
Crazy/random/hyper self-inserts
Depressed emo/goth/always-dresses-in-black types
Angsty/moody/hot teenagers
The brown-haired girl with no personality
The mean, popular, snobby girl
Unreasonably cruel bullies out to make life harder for the main character
The best friend (if they were a good character who *happened* to be a best friend they wouldn't have to be described as this)
Fun fact: Making victim OCs is cliche
Another fun fact: how someone dresses is NOT their personality
Yet another fun fact: People who claim to be random really are not and they know it.
Super bonus fun fact: A character's breast size need NEVER be stated. The end.
Super de duper bonus fun fact: Please, spare us the paragraphs on what the character looks like. It is a story, not a fashion show. A few sentences with mentions of hair color or other select features you find necessary to point out(KEYWORD: NECESSARY) are perfect. After all, how many paragraphs did JK Rowling describe Harry in? And yet we all know what he looks like... Plus, there are always these things called *pictures* you can take advantage of! especially on this fine art site
Super de duper bonus fun fact part 2: When you're describing a character (or explaining a background, etc.) you don't have to do it all at once. Pace it reasonably throughout the story or it will become too overwhelming for the reader. Think of creative ways that make describing things seem more necessary. Example: She pulled out a piece of her curly orange hair.
BACKGROUNDS:
Turned crazy from being abused
Turned depressed from being abused
Turned anything from being abused
Family was murdered
Anything to do with a fire or a car crash
Anything that was invented for the purpose of making the audience feel bad for them, just to get their family out of the way or just for the sake of being dramatic/emotional.
PLOTS:
Over-dramatic/emotional scenarios specifically designed for "fluff" (aka unbearable corny-ness that you will someday wake up and realize you feel like complete fool for writing)
Making it up as you go (aka no plot)
Romance/romance related
Fun fact: Dramatic scenes do require more skill to write than casual scenes and most of the times less is more. If you base a whole story on the most dramatic/emotional things you can think of you WILL regret it.
I repeat, less is more (I don't necessarily mean less dramatic scenes, but also less drama IN the scenes too. The less drama, the more surprised we'll be when your character pours out their heart or whatever, so save the drama for when it's really important).
Another fun fact: There is this come in handy-ish thing called suspense. Drama is the anti-suspense. Create a suspense that the drama can have fun destroying, because drama without suspense is dead. It needs something to feed on.
I know you're dying to get to the part where your character is sobbing their heart out, but let the readers get to know them first, or they won't care as much (if at all...).
In most cases the only way for us to get to fully know them is through light-hearted, casual, every-day scenes and situations (sometimes far more than just the dramatic ones). It's up to you to make THOSE interesting too, you know.
(Also consider whether the sobbing their heart out part is too corny or not. A lot of the times it really is. Be careful).
Example of over-dramatic/over-used scenario (a short and undetailed one to be precise): Your character is completely distraught and broken. They sit in a corner with their arms around their knees sobbing. Then their boyfriend comes up and comforts them.
If you have an emotional/dramatic scene like this think very carefully: Is this the kind of thing I want my grandchildren to see in years to come or is it something I'm going to want to burn in humiliation?
Yet one more fun fact: Stories don't HAVE to have romance in them *shockety shock shock*
The last fun fact: Don't look up to animes when you write. Things that pass in anime don't always in literature. They're all full of Mary Sues for one.
THINGS THAT PEOPLE THINK ARE "RANDOM"
Llama
Pie
Ninja
Saying "I like *insert type of cute food/animal/object here*"
Barfing rainbows
Basically anything else you got from internet memes or fads
OTHER
Lyrics/links to songs (sorry, but music is personal and no one is going to think of it the way you do. Plus, adding lyrics that you didn't write in the middle of a story is unprofessional)
Rewriting a story just to add a love interest
(anyone who writes down scenes of a movie word for word frankly has no life)
Sex, drugs, alcohol, racial issues (basically anything you can report someone on clubpenguin for talking about)
Fun fact: The more swearing in your writing the more immature it sounds. It's a scientific fact.
(Granted, it could be realistic if it's the way of a certain culture etc., but I think it's safe to say: leave that to those who know what they're doing).
EDIT:
Please, read my new post: How Not to Tell a Story
makingfunofstuff.deviantart.co…
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Comments: 459
In a story there are infinite possibilities. Part of being creative is realizing you don't have to settle for something if it's not in your best taste. So I would say drawing attention to something like that is tacky when you really never have to.
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Thank gucci someone wrote this, I've read a lot of amateur stuff and a lot of it follows these clichés
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You reallly, really ought to get an account on Fanfiction.net and post this there. Seriously, the kids uploading stuff on that site woud benefit GREATLY from reading this.
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there is actually quite a lot of good stuff in the warriors and portal fanfiction archive (Especially the portal) and even some in the pokemon fanfiction archive (one story has 66,000 word chapters)
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You are right, but those are the minoritiest of minorities amongst all the ungood stuff there.
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THE WORD HAS BEEN SPOKEN.
Seriously, romance has become SUCH a cliche now I don't even look at book covers that have a couple on it, though there are some exceptions depending on how ORIGINAL and REALISTIC the romance is. Don't even get me started on love triangles omg.
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A very good list. One other point on the swearing thing: if you must insert profanity into your story, try to make sure it actually makes sense! For instance, don't have pre-World-War-II characters using the F-bomb; veterans will tell you that that word was never really used as a common cuss word until after the war. Don't have elves, dwarves, or whatever other non-human character swear using American English words. That bugs me more than the actual profanity. For instance, why would lions in The Lion King be using human cuss words? That's only ONE instance I could list.
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Oh! I almost forgot: Eternity from "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by bloodytearz666 (Raven) and Kitty from SuperKawaiiGurl225's "I'm Not OK".
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You bring up many good points, and I'm glad I read this.
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I looked up "anti-fun" and found this.
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Do you want to explain why you feel that way ?
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I'm just saying I found this when I looked that up.
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Oh. Literally.
I thought you were just being rude. XD
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So why were you looking that up anyway?
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I guess I wanted to see how many posts went by until I found an anti-brony thing. IDK it was like, Sunday.
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I am forever grateful for the mention of the cliche about breasts.
Seriously, who has read a book with a girl-main who we DON't learn in the first chapter is unhappy with her breast size? Plus it's almost every time just about having a too small size, and not too big. Big breasts is not the key to true beauty! It's kinda inpraktisera really (and yeah, I'm speaking according to experienced) I really said aloud "GOD FINALLY THANK YOU" when I read that part. Kinda over-dramatic maybe, but I've always found that frustrating and felt like I'm the only one who does. So yeah haha thanks for also thinking about that xD
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I should try to be more thorough with my proofreading ^ ^'
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Sorry swedish Google translate
*inpractical
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I agree with you. Llama or cake is not random. Nor is cookies or unicorns.
It's just annoying.
Also, a smexy butt-kicking lady with attitude problems is the worst character you could ever have ever. That kind of character always makes me die a little inside.
It's true that I'm planning such a character for my comic, but this will just be a comical relief as she will consist of nothing but epic fail and slapstick humor.
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Hmm... may I ask you a question? I read a few (not all of them, but I might get around to it) of your articles, and I think you raise a lot of valid points. While I do occasionally enjoy stories with fluff or not much going on plotwise and with Mary-Sue character types, when I myself write I try to avoid it. So, here's the thing.
I'm currently working on a story of a girl who is forced out of her normal (-ish) life and has to follow an older alien around (not her love interest, ew) lest she goes crazy. Now, I try to make her reactions seem "believable", so at first I had her be intimidated and feeling lonely, mostly because the alien needed to learn a thing or two about humans, and I will readily admit that after four chapters I used the cliché scene you listed and made her hide in a corner and crying because she felt alone and terrified. Now, I need a way for her to feel better, to make her see some sort of silver lining to all of the horror that became her life, and was thinking about meeting a little girl that needed her help to get her to snap out of it. Wat do you think about this approach? You know, to give her something else to focus on for a while and then deal with by talking it out with the alien.
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thank you so much! i have only just really got into DA, and the moment I found your Literature critiques I had to read them from top to bottom :3 really helpful to set me on the right track with my own writing ideas and I agree with what you say, stories nowadays (although definitely not all of them) have a tangible, repetitive pattern and several issues with the structure and charácter constructs.
Your one about Love in YA is also very, very useful and helpful. All good constructive tips to keep in mind.
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I read a creepypasta called 'The Undertaker', where the main character is crazy, but not because of abuse. No spoilers.
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I just noticed in some stories that I have read in dA, y'know the random ones you speak of, most of the authors usually have some kind of pattern when will the 'random characters will blurt out something.
Just saying.
By the way, good job on stating out your opinions.
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Somebody (not me, not talented enough) should write a story where the nerd/geek is the antagonist because she thinks she's so cool 'cause she's smart and likes Doctor Who, Firefly, Sherlock, (list any other fandoms you're in here)
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Genuis! It would ring true. Most nerds are utter snobs at my school, talking about the 'arrogant' jock who is really kind and humble just because sterotypes...
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Yeah. Me included, a lot of geeks and nerds at our school are really quite rude to the stereotypical 'popular' people, even though (as I found out a little while ago) they are actually nice people.
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LOL, that would be epic.
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FINALLY! Someone who recognises that love interests aren't always necessary! Also, you share a hate with Nostalgia critic, he sees 'The bully' as one of the worst clichés of all time.
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It's gonna get ya! Mua ha ha >: D
Lol X)
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Does he? He sounds like a wise man.
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Oh he is indeed 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_0ByD…
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I have a question for you, since I love your articles and would like your opinion on whether or not this is a cliche` idea.
In a project I'm working on, the main character lost his parents in a car accident at a young age and so grew up with his aunt and uncle. The fact that his parents died isn't a main focus in the story, in fact it's not even discussed until about half way through the story, and even then it's more of a brief mention and not really an 'omg feel sorry for me' moment.
The only effect that this has had on the character is his general outlook on life, and that being (in a nutshell) 'appreciate what you have because you don't know when it'll be gone'. The character has stated that he doesn't have an specific religious views and doesn't really believe in an afterlife (but if there is an afterlife, then hey cool). He also says that because he didn't grow up with his parents, he doesn't really know what he lost and therefore isn't really sad by it.
Upon reading that part of my story, would that information be acceptable (guess that'd be the word for it), or would you consider that a cliche, even though it's a minor detail. Being that it's my first big project that I'm trying to make public I'd like it to sound as professional as I can and not sound like some internet web story. Even though I encourage constructive criticism and for people to ask questions if anything confuses them, I still get the 'omg these are so great!' comments. Like you said in a previous article, if you don't understand it, your audience wont, but if people aren't asking me questions I can only assume that I got my point across and we're all on the same level of understanding about what's happening.
I agree with a lot of what you say in your articles (having seen a lot of it floating around myself) and I want to make sure that I don't fall into the same traps.
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[Wall of Text Warning!]
I enjoyed reading this, especially the fun facts. You really hit home with a lot of these cliches, because I really have seen them all before to one extent or another. I just have some bones to pick....I like to pick bones....-W- . . .Ahem, sorry. These are just my opinions, mind you.
"Super bonus fun fact: A character's breast size need NEVER be stated. The end."
Yeah, it's not really necessary for the most part. But what if your character has very large breasts that makes it difficult to shop for clothes? Every shirt in her size that she puts on stretches across the chest, so she ends up having to buy clothing that's larger than her real size or have her clothing custom made. What about the grown woman with an AA-cup who feels self-concious that she might never compare to women she deems "prettier." The women she thinks are "prettier" are all more endowed than her. It brings something out about her character--- she's full of self loathing about her figure and she may be just a tad superficial.
Granted, these are both on extreme ends of the spectrum. My point is that breast size can be used to bring something out about your character. Not always but occasionally a woman feels like she is affected by her breast size. I'm not saying that the character should outright state their breast size: "I was a 32C cup." That's kind of...silly. I'm not saying that every single female character needs to give their bust size either. But I'm just saying, every once in awhile, it could be slipped in another way. Take my first example of having large breasts:
"Martie slipped the shirt over her head. When she went to pull it down, it snagged on her rather large chest, bunching up, and she had to work to pull it to its full length. Looking in the mirror, she could see her midriff was exposed; the fabric over her chest stretched, tautly hugging her body--- the shirt was clearly meant for someone else, someone shorter, someone less endowed. Frustrated, she yanked it off and threw it back in the pile with a decisive huff."
In most cases, this scene would be meaningless, and yeah, I wouldn't even need to include it. But if one of my character's obstacles becomes finding clothes that fit for a date, it could belong.
Turned anything from being abused
Are you saying the abuse itself is cliche? Yeah, I have to admit it is. But if your character was abused, how realistic is it that they don't change at all? What you wrote makes it sound (to me) like you're saying characters can't change from being abused, or else it's a cliche that is associated with "unprofessional" writers. Please correct me if I'm wrong in my assumption, but I have to beg to differ.
I think it is an unprofessional writer that writes an abused character who does not change and is still perfect despite what happened. A professional, on the other hand, would write an abused character whose personality and/or mind was/is affected by the abuse that is/did happen(ing).
It could be a "minor" thing like depression, though depression is not really minor for those who struggle with it. Depression is quite common among abuse survivors. It could be even more minor, like general distrust. Or it could be major. Many with Dissociative Identity Disorder were abused as children, and developed different personalities to cope. A different personality would experience the abuse while the real person went into hiding.
It could also go to the other side of the coin. Maybe an OC becomes *stronger* as a result of the abuse, and uses her new-found strength as ire to take revenge or something?
I just feel, as an abuse survivor myself, that change as a result of abuse is realistic. I changed as a result. I also developed a disorder. (My disorder may not totally be the fault of the abuse, in fact I may have had it all my life, but the abuse played a role in it worsening, at least.)
Indeed, I pulled a little bit of a self-insert trick with my OC, though she's not really a self-insert because she differs from me in many respects.....but I did use my experiences to draw from in order to create a realistic character who was abused and developed a mental disorder later in life. I think that, as long as it is done with realism, meaning that the abuse/result is researched or in my case already understood (though I prefer to do more research anyway, as I feel my own understanding isn't enough), such a "cliche" can work for the purpose of your story.
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I take it these are cliches that are just exclusive to teen stuff?
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I suppose that's one way to say it, but I was thinking mostly online stuff. Maybe because most online stuff is made by teenagers, it seems? 
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Like putting a new twist on an old idea? Whole series have grown out of such.
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my fics are full of these cliches
ah i'm so dead
(uh...why would you consider excessive swearing to make the writing seem immature? it's more of the character's personality...unless it's third person omniscient or something I don't really get it...)
...the random ones...they're not even random...I've seen way too many OCs with that as a personality trait...
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Yeah, I have a special dislike for the "random" ones, mostly because they're usually failures like you said, and also they tend to rely solely on being more "special" than the other characters.
Well, swearing itself is crude (I'm just saying that as a fact right now), so putting a lot of it into your writing without regard to the obviously large amount of people who find it so tends to show lack of experience or thought put into your writing. There's a reason you don't commonly open books at the store and see "%$#%#$^$#^#^&@$" written all over the pages. Too much is a turn off. When people don't recognize that fact it comes off as inexperienced (or immature). I'm talking generally of course. I hope that helps.
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Well, I have to admit, some stuff you said here are completly true, (like the sex, drug part). I'm sick of the romances people do. 
Ugh, tell me about the random ones. >_> People, they seriously need to be ditched.
\(^O^)/ Cool post though! It helps out a lot!
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My god, as soon as i see excessive cussing i just close the page, i can't deal with that. I also can't STAND seeing a self-insert by the OP and they focus the story on them. eurgh,
(very nice post!!!!)
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I don't think it's bad to make a few characters like that because you do find some people in life like that, but I think it's bad to use them all the time/in every single story.
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Lol, I get tired of the random characters that are just like every other random character. They also usually have a wild wardrobe involving neon colors and rainbows. Another stereotype that I've noticed a ton is the fat/chubby character as comic relief. I've noticed this more in movies than in writing, but it's pretty annoying. It's also totally OK to have a main character who isn't physically fit, young, and hip, but we don't see much of that either.
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