Cliches To Avoid Like The Plague?

Lillith1991 said:

Think in the way a diamond sparkles, Roxx. Sparkle scene, just so you can see it. And it's the exact same way in the book too, only the scene doesn't feel quite so stake worthy in the book. Only by a little though, I still wanted to stake Edward through both of the Twilight books I've read.



No clue, all I know is that it's the only thing remotely unique about her vampires. They're pretty standard except for the sparkling when you really think about it. When I want to rationalize why they sparkle, I try to think of them as dart frogs. But even that doesn't make sense as an adaptation to me. Never seen another vampire that sparkles personally, and I'm glad of it.

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So, they're just like us, except they sparkle when they get in sunlight. Oh, and they're immortal. Do they still have to drink blood and enslave people to survive?

I think having him, you know, bleed from his pores or something, or at least incur a terrible, blistering sunburn the second the sun hit him, might have been more dramatic and created a more interesting obstacle for Bella to overcome in the path to true love.

I mean, teenaged girls generally like sparkly things.

But then, that's probably why Meyer's readership liked Edward the vampire so much. Know your readership and all that, and she clearly did.

Now I would have been rooting for the wolf, myself. I've always preferred shape shifters.

Lillith1991 said:

Think in the way a diamond sparkles, Roxx. Sparkle scene, just so you can see it. And it's the exact same way in the book too, only the scene doesn't feel quite so stake worthy in the book. Only by a little though, I still wanted to stake Edward through both of the Twilight books I've read.



No clue, all I know is that it's the only thing remotely unique about her vampires. They're pretty standard except for the sparkling when you really think about it. When I want to rationalize why they sparkle, I try to think of them as dart frogs. But even that doesn't make sense as an adaptation to me. Never seen another vampire that sparkles personally, and I'm glad of it.

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I never actually watched the movies, so although I read the sparkly scene in the book... *esplodes*

Roxxsmom said:

So, they're just like us, except they sparkle when they get in sunlight. Oh, and they're immortal. Do they still have to drink blood and enslave people to survive?

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They drink blood, no enslaving mankind though.

I think having him, you know, bleed from his pores or something, or at least incur a terrible, blistering sunburn the second the sun hit him, might have been more dramatic and created a more interesting obstacle for Bella to overcome in the path to true love.

I mean, teenaged girls generally like sparkly things.

But then, that's probably why Meyer's readership liked Edward the vampire so much. Know your readership and all that, and she clearly did.

Now I would have been rooting for the wolf, myself. I've always preferred shape shifters.

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What I would have preferred was getting rid of Bella and having Jacob and Edward get together. She could have done something really interesting with that, but I don't much like Bella so I am biased. I don't really like the guys either, but that's another matter entirely.

My blog today is about the Chosen One. Cliché or useful narrative technique?

http://willonce.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/the-chosen-one/

Roxxsmom said:

So, they're just like us, except they sparkle when they get in sunlight. Oh, and they're immortal. Do they still have to drink blood and enslave people to survive?

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As far as I remember from the first book, which I read for my online reading group, since abandoned for its poor choice of books, they drink blood from animals because, yanno, they're good vampires. Also Edward endlessly repeats high school, which must be some kind of punishment, I guess.

It's a dumb book in many ways but it told its readership they could be ordinary good girls and still have Exciting Adventures.

Buffysquirrel said:

As far as I remember from the first book, which I read for my online reading group, since abandoned for its poor choice of books, they drink blood from animals because, yanno, they're good vampires. Also Edward endlessly repeats high school, which must be some kind of punishment, I guess.

It's a dumb book in many ways but it told its readership they could be ordinary good girls and still have Exciting Adventures.

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It obviously filled a need a large number of teenaged girls had.

I've run into adult women my age and older who like them too. Ditto for Fifty Shades. To each their own, I guess.

Once! said:

My blog today is about the Chosen One. Cliché or useful narrative technique?

http://willonce.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/the-chosen-one/

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I liked the basic argument here. Is there a joke I'm not getting with the Star Wars character names?

I like Chosen Ones. I'm just waiting patiently for one of them to be a girl.

Samsonet said:

I like Chosen Ones. I'm just waiting patiently for one of them to be a girl.

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There haven't been many, have there? At least not that have hit the big time. I suppose the baby (Elora) in Willow was a child of prophecy and destiny, but since we never got to see her grow up, it doesn't really count.

And if the girl (Kaitness, or however it is spelled) in the Hunger Games was a chosen one of some kind, then I guess she counts too.

Roxxsmom said:

There haven't been many, have there? At least not that have hit the big time. I suppose the baby (Elora) in Willow was a child of prophecy and destiny, but since we never got to see her grow up, it doesn't really count.

And if the girl (Kaitness, or however it is spelled) in the Hunger Games was a chosen one of some kind, then I guess she counts too.

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Buffy, let's not forget her. That is, if we are going to add a TV show/movie to the list. She was deffinitly a chosen one.

Roxxsmom said:

I mean, teenaged girls generally like sparkly things.

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The sparkle was another aspect of the vampires' ability to allure their prey. I thought the sparkles fit right in.

Dryad said:

The sparkle was another aspect of the vampires' ability to allure their prey. I thought the sparkles fit right in.

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Hahaha. Sparkle to lure teen aged girls for feeding. I love it.

Did girl vampires sparkle too, though? Of course, teen aged boys aren't supposed to be that hard to seduce, are they?

And yeah, Buffy would definitely count as a chosen one.

Roxxsmom said:

Hahaha. Sparkle to lure teen aged girls for feeding. I love it.

Did girl vampires sparkle too, though? Of course, teen aged boys aren't supposed to be that hard to seduce, are they?

And yeah, Buffy would definitely count as a chosen one.

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Sparkly makeup and just body glitter in general have been becoming a thing, and it at least hasn't seemed to stop the lusting, so I imagine there's no reason for the girls not to sparkle.

Roxxsmom said:

Hahaha. Sparkle to lure teen aged girls for feeding. I love it.

Did girl vampires sparkle too, though?

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It was all vampires. They avoided sunlight in order to refrain from their dazzling sparkle effect, which was on full throttle in the sunlight.

Who knew that sparkles were an aphrodisiac?

Liosse de Velishaf said:

I liked the basic argument here. Is there a joke I'm not getting with the Star Wars character names?

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Luke Warmwater aka lukewarm water aka Luke Skywalker. I was brought up on Star Wars, but I can't help feeling that it has one of the soppiest main characters ever.

Admittedly he has a decent scoring rate - 1 death star, a few tie fighters and an AT-AT, but he only gave assists for the other death star, the Emperor and Jabba.

But he doesn't get the girl, has zero charisma and is consistently out-acted by Han Solo, a robotic rubbish bin or a muppet with the voice of Fozzie Bear.

Here's the sequel to the blog ... chosen ones in narratives with multiple main characters.

http://willonce.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/the-chosen-other-ones/

The Chosen One could be you... but only if you're a white cis boy. Because white cis boys are the everyman. Of course.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. I really should be sleeping. But I wanted to post this in case I forgot in the morning.

Roxxsmom said:

I suppose the baby (Elora) in Willow was a child of prophecy and destiny, but since we never got to see her grow up, it doesn't really count.

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Don't get me started on Willow. I was so hyped to watch a film that has a female that saves the world, and it turned out to be nothing of the sort. Bait and switch. BAD movie. Never forgiven.

Once! said:

But he doesn't get the girlhttp://willonce.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/the-chosen-other-ones/

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Women are not trophies or prizes.

It's not a cliche until it's executed with a complete lack of imagination using material lifted from other popular works.

Neverwhere said:

It's not a cliche until it's executed with a complete lack of imagination using material lifted from other popular works.

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You've been watching Dr Who haven't you?

NRoach said:

Who knew that sparkles were an aphrodisiac?

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Strippers seemed to have been in the know.

NRoach said:

Who knew that sparkles were an aphrodisiac?

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Most of my trips to dance clubs in college were predicated on this premise.

As to the main deal of the thread, I like a well-written chosen one story. There's something comforting and sports-contest-style engaging about it to me.

I'm also writing one, but it's not terribly well written yet. Though on the plus side, my chosen one is a woman!

I don't mind chosen one stories, and I don't think you should avoid anything as a writer. I think any trope or cliché can work, depending on the story, the writing and how you use it.

I think you could go to the bookstore and just about every book you pick up is going to have at least one trope, cliché, or any one of the writers-don't-ever-do-this things that you hear about. As long as you make it interesting, even if people roll their eyes and think 'another chosen one story', if they read it and like it, well...does it matter?

And...I don't think readers - who aren't writers - notice these things any where near as much as writers think they do. They like a good story, they like good writing...they just want to be entertained etc.

Belinda Rees said:

I don't mind chosen one stories, and I don't think you should avoid anything as a writer. I think any trope or cliché can work, depending on the story, the writing and how you use it.

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I agree with Belinda. Execution is everything. Also, I love fairy tales, which are often a conglomeration of tropes.

There are still tropes out there that I tend to personally avoid reading, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't turn them into a solid story.