http://www.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020^13

CREATIVE WRITING

no matter how poorly written. Yet

a mere glance at Amazon reviews is

usually enough to see that a growing

minority of readers feel betrayed.

Then again, the current obsession

with celebrity has to be taken into

account. If someone is already in the

public domain, Katie Price being an

example, then their works – even if

appalling – will be easier to market.

It doesn’t help that there is no clear

metric for assessing merit. This is

unlike in sport where a goal or try can

win a match, irrespective of subjective

judgement. It helps to explain why

extraneous factors, including fame

and networking ability, have a crucial

role. Presenting your work without

recommendation is unlikely to bring

success. Any sign of weakness –

especially a cliché – will lead to your

creative efforts being immediately

dismissed; that’s if you’re lucky enough

to find a literary agent willing to read

your work, which is far from being a

given. Ultimately you have to write

to the very best of your ability, and

this means avoiding anything even

remotely overused. The fresher you

can be the better.

Overarching clichés

I’ve already mentioned how cliché is

relative to frequency. It isn’t limited to

particular words or phrases, however.

Plots and characters can also be tired

and predictable. If these are clichéd

then you are liable to lose the reader.

The unfamiliar will always be more

intriguing. With characters, there are

numerous examples to be wary of,

everything from the bored, alcoholic

housewife to the dispirited writer

suffering existential angst. It doesn’t

mean that these two examples ought

not to appear. Rather they need to be

developed beyond lazy stereotyping.

If a predatory priest is having his

wicked way with the choirboys, then

also show him as a leading light in the

community, saving the local library

from closure, donating his lottery

winnings to charity – the drama would

arise out of the contradiction, the

tension between one element of his

personality and another. You would be

transcending cliché through nuance.

The same can be said of that

other trope: the bored, alcoholic

housewife. To reduce a character

to simple traits, especially when

this has been done countless times

before, will bring on yawns rather

than an excited turning of pages.

Corny characters

A competent editor encountering

clichéd characterisation will have a

lengthy discussion with the author.

Quite a bit of rewriting will be

required and the proverbial drawing

board may have to be returned to.

Keep in mind that this isn’t failure.

Rather it is crucial to the development

of the work. Writing narrative fiction

is a slog, there can be no doubting

it, and it is common for authors to

backtrack, to rip up what they have

done and start again. Think about

how satisfying it will be to produce

something worth reading, something

which has lasting value. Also keep

in mind that even the greatest

wordsmiths have struggled. Generally

the more time, effort and thought

you put into character construction

the better it will be. And if you are

looking for a shortcut – say you are

rushing to meet a deadline– you can

always defy expectations. If there is

even the slightest whiff of cliché about

one of your characters then have them

doing or saying something surprising.

It should also be said that cliché in

character will depend on what you are

writing. With pastiche or parody, for

example, it may not only be welcome

but necessary. In such circumstances

you would be using archetypes rather

than stereotypes, however, and so

different rules apply.

Predictable plots

A clichéd plot is also undesirable.

If the reader realises where it is all

heading by the end of the second

chapter any element of surprise will

vanish. In part this is why Hollywood

blockbusters rely on special effects to

draw in punters. They have nothing

new to offer by way of plot. Almost

without exception they follow a

formula culminating in the good guy

facing off against and defeating the

bad guy. The better screenwriters and

directors know how tired their genre

has become. As such they tinker with

or subvert plot form. Christopher

Nolan, for example, constructs stories

and characters in interesting ways,

so that the CGI is not only visually

impressive but meaningful. However

the majority of midsummer releases

lack vitality or suspense. After all, the

outcome – the defeat of the nemesis –

will be known from the outset.

The problem in part resides in

the limited number of plots, of

which there are allegedly only seven.

Nevertheless there is scope for

originality. If the writing is fresh, the

characters deep and engaging, then

even the hackneyed boy meets girl and

they fall in love can be engaging. The

Time Traveller’s Wife, for example, has

a familiar structure, and yet doesn’t

feel tired or predictable.

The best advice is that if the reader

can see the ending from a mile off

more needs to be done. Planting the

seeds of different possible outcomes will

leave the reader guessing, for example.

This is likely to require hefty rewriting,

unfortunately. Often a literary agent

will read a synopsis before the sample

chapters, so as to assess whether interest

is likely to be maintained to the story’s

conclusion. These days literary style

• especially with genre fiction – is a
  secondary concern.
  One common weakness is to allow
  everything to happen too easily, for
  goals to be achieved with ease. Say, for
  example, your protagonist wants to be
  a renowned writer of literary fiction
  and in chapter two wins the Booker
  Prize. The balloon of suspense will
  have been prematurely deflated; all the
  air will have gone from your work. A
  character’s struggle can not only pique
  interest but encourage empathy – we
  care to know whether he or she will
  overcome. A plot without barriers is
  unlikely to engage. Editors and literary
  agents will put a manuscript to one
  side if the synopsis shows goals are
  absent or realised effortlessly.

Crowd control

I’ve noticed a tendency with creative

writing groups to offer praise

whenever a literary device is used.

Rarely is there any questioning of

simile, metaphor or personification

as to the intended purpose. However

everything has to justify its place

on the page – especially similes.

Their inappropriate or clumsy use is

the easiest way to show you are an

amateur trying too hard. The best

advice is to underline them and return

to the manuscript a month or so later.

If there is little or no justification for

hé:

Clichés