Cliches large and small

If you talk to Sheena and Melanie about what it's like to write with me, the first thing they'd probably tell you is, "she's allergic to cliches."

Okay, maybe the first thing is, "She's stubborn. Trying to get a new idea past her is like trying to give a cat a pill." But that wouldn't make an interesting blog topic, so we're just going to slide on right past that to cliches.

Tropes can be tough. Many genre readers actively seek out familiar ideas or plots. As previously discussed, I adore stories with girls dressed up as boys, even though I'm pretty sure I've read just about all the places those stories can go.* I'm also a sucker for unique settings (loving Alif the Unseen right now),

But there are other plot devices that I'm heartily sick of. ::cough:: dystopians ::cough:: I almost always stop reading a plot summary if it mentions a thief as the main character (only in part because no one could ever be better than Eugenides or Locke Lamora). Or any story of a long-lost heir. Or a young girl (is it just me, or is it almost always a girl in these situations?) who has a suddenly-appearing power that is (a) different from everyone else's, and (b) is anticipated to have world-changing events.

But lately, I've been starting to pay more attention to the small cliches. The little plot and character devices that crop up again and again in the stories I read. The worst thing is, I have no idea how to avoid them in my own writing. Here are the two that have been bothering me lately.


1. Is he/she telling the truth?????

This is a fairly common situation in fantasy. A person comes up to our hero and tells him a Shocking Thing. And then the character has to spend pages upon pages agonizing about whether or not the person is trustworthy. I've gotten pretty good at skimming these passages.

But I also have no idea how to fix this. You can't have characters go around believing everything they hear without having them being ridiculously naive. And omitting or shortening the explanation makes them seem careless or thoughtless. So, any ideas on how to fix this without the use of truth spells?

2. Magic is real!!!

A universal issue in urban fantasy or any other story where magic is hidden or not well known. There always seems to be several scenes where a character has just discovered magic for the first time. It's worst when it's the POV character, and there have to be several paragraphs, pages, or chapters of that character thinking they are dreaming or hallucinating.

It's a totally understandable reaction. If a unicorn walked by me on the street, I'd probably go straight to the doctor's. Or pinch myself hard. But as a reader, I get ridiculously bored of characters blowing off events that happen because they don't believe this fantasy world is real. Again, any thoughts, or examples of authors avoiding this trap?


What are your least favorite cliches, large or small?


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*Did anyone else make the mistake of trying to read Defy by Sara Larson? What a disappointment. Never mind the problems with the heroine, I almost quit reading when I found out about the breeding houses. See, all orphaned girls are put into houses so that the king's soldiers can breed future soldiers on them. And this war has already been resource-draining. How does it make sense that they'd try to go for such a long-term strategy for such a disastrous war? Anyway.

Upping the ante

Fantasy, as a genre has its great strengths – new worlds, interesting systems of magic, sweeping adventure. But it also has its problems.  For example, the world tends to end a lot. Think Lord of the Rings. The Avengers. Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. The Stand. Most Stephen King novels, actually.

This is especially problematic in fantasy series. I first started thinking about this while I was reading the sixth book in Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series.  I mean, I’m only on the sixth book, and I think Harry has saved the world from ending about three times so far.

Frankly, the overall ubiquity of world-ending plotlines makes the whole thing a little boring, and can take away from the tension. Some writers try to up it by making this the end of all existence. One wonders where they'll go from there: the end of existence, and you still have to do laundry first?

So  how do you keep upping the tension and the stakes in a series, without falling into the end of the world trap? (Or the Anita Blake trap –how many new men will Anita add to her harem this time??) I think it's important to remember that the world doesn't have to end for people to care about characters or a plot. There are so many smaller things that can end. Our lives and identities can be very fragile - how much would it take for your character's life to end as he/she knows it? Or their loved one's life? That, in my mind, creates as much tension as any global crisis.

It took a lot less space to say that than I thought it would, so to round out the post, here's a picture of  some ducklings:

From flickr, shared under a creative commons license. Taken by www.thegoodlifefrance.com

It All Started with a Big Bang

Okay, I love the TV show The Big Bang Theory. I've been missing Schrödinger’s cat and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle jokes since Futurama went off the air, and with the Barenaked Ladies singing the theme song, how could this show not be full of awesomeness.

The first time I saw the show, it annoyed me. I only watched about ten minutes, but the characters were so cliché that I changed the channel. I've hung around a lot of scientists in my day, even married one. They are not all socially inept trekkies who are unable to lift more than twenty pounds. Some of them are rock climbers, skiers, partiers, and fashionistas. I even know a few scientists who were cheerleaders in high school. In fact, they are pretty much just normal people who happen to like science.

But I kept hearing how funny the show was, so one day when the kids were quietly playing and my house was semi-cleaned and nothing else was on TV, I watched a full episode and loved it. Been a huge fan ever since.

Still the characters are so cliché, so why does it work?

First of all, this is a comedy, and comedies can get a way with a lot. Part of the fun of this show is making fun of the stereotypes and taking them over the top. Klingon boggle and secret agent laser chess, pure genius.

But I think what really works here is that the characters are more than stereotypes. I find it fascinating how the four main guys on the show each fit the stereotypical science nerd, but they are all so different.



Leonard"Twelve years after high school, and I’m still at the nerd table." (Leonard in The Big Bran Hypothesis)

Leonard is very much aware of his geekiness and wants to be cooler. He still wants to date the popular girl (Penny), and even though he knows she is out of his league, he can't give up the hope that she will see how awesome he is. And he really is awesome. He is very insecure, but also rather confident at the same time. He is the most self-aware, and the heart and leader of the group, and the only one who knows how to handle Sheldon.

Wolowitz
"If it’s ‘creepy’ to use internet, military satellites, and robot aircrafts to find a house full of gorgeous young models, so I can drop in on them unexpectedly, then fine, I’m creepy." (Wolowitz in The Peanut Reaction)

Wolowitz, on the other hand, is rather delusional. He tends to think he is cooler and smoother than he really is, a real ladies man despite the lack of evidence. There are moments when we see his insecurities and give the impression that the confidence he exudes is more of a front. And yeah, he still lives with his mother.

Raj"Oh, if only I had his confidence. I have such difficulty speaking to women or around women or at times very effeminate men." (Raj in The Vegas Renormalization)

Raj is sweet and sensitive and mute around women unless he's got some alcohol in him. He is the one who reads Twilight and felt that the night the power went off in the Antarctic was a nice bonding experience. Honestly, I just want to hug Raj, he is so adorable.

Sheldon"That’s no reason to cry. One cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid, and that makes me sad." (Sheldon in the Flaming Spittoon Acquisition)

Sheldon is the fan favorite and deservedly so. He is hilarious. He is the prodigy genius who doesn't understand human relations and social cues. He is condescending, demanding, and self-centered, but he tries to be a good friend to Leonard and tries to reach out to Penny. Really it is his cluelessness that makes him endearing.

Penny
"Aw honey, the buses don’t go where you live do they." (Penny in The Infestation Hypothesis)

Penny is also a stereotype, college dropout, attractive, actress wannabe working as a waitress. She is also very sweet and sassy and the only one who really stands up to Sheldon. The interactions between her and Sheldon are some of the best, and her on-again off-again romance with Leonard is really sweet. I'm cheering for them.

I'm glad I gave this show another chance and didn't let the stereotypes run me off for good. Because even though the characters have very many cliché characteristics, they really are well rounded and engaging characters that I love. I guess sometimes the clichés work.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of The Big Bang Theory?

~MaryAnn

The Big Bang Theory site http://the-big-bang-theory.com/