And don’t take my titles too literally, either. The prophecy is a very standard device in sci-fi and fantasy, particularly. It’s really not a bad thing in itself, and I used it in the Stardrift Trilogy and am using it in The Art of Lightplay, the fantasy I’m currently writing. Like practically all clichés, the… Continue reading Avoiding Cliches: Don’t Do The Prophesy
Category: Avoiding Cliches
Don’t Do The Dress-Up Scene
I might find this cliché less cliché, if I had at some point experienced something like it in real life. Maybe this actually happens among some people, but as far as I know, it mainly happens in dumb novels. And even in some not-so-dumb novels. In fact, the example I’m thinking of is from… Continue reading Don’t Do The Dress-Up Scene
Don’t Do The Mirror
People really struggle with figuring out when and how to describe their characters’ physical appearances. Some people just throw it in there in the middle of the narrative as a rather long, off-subject aside. Others skip it altogether. But one of the most common and lazy ways to get the information out there is the… Continue reading Don’t Do The Mirror
Don’t Do The Mentor
To start my off the series on clichés, I’m going to expose one of my favorite hackneyed characters: the mentor. Mentors serve important roles in fiction. They play to part of an example, somebody who’s been there. The main character needs guidance. They want things explained to them. They want to ask questions of… Continue reading Don’t Do The Mentor