Is it cliche . . .?

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Dr-I-Know-All

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Is it cliche to

1) end the story with a wedding?
2) have a secondary character pushing the couple together?
 
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Cella

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Is it...clique?
 

mirandashell

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:D

You're alright, we've all done it! Thank Om for the edit button, eh?

And yes, it is a little bit cliche but a lot of people like it in their romance. That's why it sells so much.


ETA: That isn't meant as an insult to the genre, BTW. I was thinking of things like Mills & Boon / Harlequin. I wish I could sell that many books!
 
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Cella

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I had wondered if there was some other use for it I didn't know about!

But, yes. What mirandashell said. You could always work in some sad angle or hidden secret to shake it up a bit, though. Good luck! :)
 

slicing_angel2003

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It is cliche, but like the others said lots of readers like that. I think as long as you've told a good story a nice cliche ending works. I haven't honestly read too many books where a friend pushes the couple together, but I think it can offer up a bit of humor and it works.
 

Lil

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Don't think of it as a cliche. Think of it as a convention.;-)
 

robjvargas

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Is it Cliche? Dr Know All doesn't know?

:poke: :roll:

Sorry, couldn't resist doing that at least once. I'm done now.

I think it's kind of a trick question.

It's the kind of story that sells. Over. And over. And over.

People love happily-ever-after. I don't see that ever going away. Unless Utopia sneaks up on someday... I suppose.

If the two lovebirds and the secondary character all feel real to the reader, they'll buy it.

So my answer is, "does it matter?"
 

Marian Perera

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Well, the novella I'm working on right now ends with the wedding about to begin (and I liked that part so much I've already written it).

But the story begins with the heroine having to prove herself on a mission so she can get permission to marry the hero. The rest of the story is about how the two of them work together on this mission. So it seemed fitting to end with their reward.
 

lise8

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two of my beta readers said 'no no no, end with the happy ever after, please!!!!'. I think that many want to end on happy ever after.

I don't mind, but I have to admit that I find it interesting that Pride and Prejudice always ends with the wedding in movies, but has a lot more afterwards in the book. And thinking back, it did feel weird to have this epilogue here-is-all-that-happened-afterwards chapter at the end, as the tone was so different.

You want a happy wedding ending? You want a friend helping along?Your readership wants it too, so what's to stop you?

Happy writing
 

Orianna2000

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I don't like to show weddings, generally because they're so alike. White dress, long veil, flowers, vows, rings, kiss, cake, etc. If you're going to do it, make it unique and interesting.

When I married my characters in my first novel, it was a secret wedding in the middle of the night, so it started off as unusual. I deliberately didn't show the ceremony, because there's only so many ways to say, "I do." I led up to it, then I skipped ahead to, "It was done."

My second novel, I ended with the proposal, rather than the wedding, for the same reasons.

My third novel kind of skips the issue--it's set in the distant future on a colony world. The guy's telepathic and when he sleeps with someone while initiating a mind link, it bonds them forever, so that effectively marries them. There are some problems because the girl's government doesn't recognize the validity of such a union and therefore considers her unmarried. The couple might have some kind of official binding ceremony back on his world, once everything is resolved, but I haven't reached that point yet, so I don't know for sure.

Like with any cliche--turn it upside down and own it. Make it yours!
 
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