Cliches

Cliches: Friend or Foe?

Now, you might be wondering:  Why even cover Cliches if they are so... cliche?  

The truth is this:  You can't escape using a cliche or two, no matter how clever you think you are, or however clever you ACTUALLY are.  So, here are a few tips to help you cleverly ninja around the eye-rolling, groan-inducing things that people absolutely despise.

Common Fantasy Cliches:

Elves

Dwarves

Anthropomorphic Creatures

Dragons

Magic requires a wand

Kid with dead mom and dad (since Harry Potter, anyways)

No sacrifice or exchange needed for magic

Over-sized swords being wielded by tiny people with the wrong build

Sword can kill a dragon (which is a bunch of shite.  Spears are for killing dragons).

Pretty much anything that Tolkien wrote about is now cliche in fantasy.

How to "avoid cliches":

The truth of the matter is that to "avoid" a cliche, you have to put a twist on an existing convention.  Avoiding a cliche is almost like trying to avoid being assimilated by the Borg: Resistance is futile.

In short, this is how you essentially take and break the cliche like a bad habit:

Elves = Magic = Ultimate Power = Overused

to solve this:

Elves are normal, yet don't have the legendary power of the gods like humans give them credit for.  Instead, why not try making them EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT, but non magical?

I don't, as a general rule, use full-blown elves.  Half-elves don't get enough usage in fantasy, I notice, thus, I use them in my book.

Now you may be thinking: "Oh, so he uses this, so, logically, I can't do that."

Wrong!  Ideas are like pancakes.  Easy to make, and are good with the right "toppings".


Experiment at will.  Cliches are only a base for the greater formula known as originality.