Clichés

[tonic]

Well when Im trying to come up with something creative for a plot line or fixing the plot of a story in general, I always think of every possible cliché which annoys the hell out of me. Anyone have any suggestions to fix that problem, and yes I know it's a pretty big one

[I, Brian]

One thing I like to do, is bear in mind the sort of expectations that the reader will have.

Some expecation is good - for example, a state of tension where a certain plotline is expected to be resolved in a certain way, the writer's strength being the panache involved in satisfying the reader beyond their own expectation of this resolution.

The other is to set up major presumptions, so that you purposefully ensure that you make the reader expect a certain direction, only to then suddenly show them what the real truth of the matter is here.

I personally like to challenge the reader - ensure that the unexpected can always happen - and throw in a few good strong twists to keep the reader's mind active with speculation. IMO, if a plot does not challenge a reader's expectations in some way, then the reader may well comeaway quite disappointed.

[tonic]

When you write the plot, do you have everything already planned out, the whole story or do you go along with the tide?

[Rane Longfox]

I get an idea for a start, and see what happens from there, really... I can never plan what I'm gonna write too far ahead, or I get distracted and never write anything

[I, Brian]

Indeed, a start.

Stories have a peculiar way of fleshing themselves out. Perhaps if you sense a cliche, and then consider possible options around it, you may find one that satisfies you better. It all depends on what you want to achieve as a writer.

[tonic]

Well I'm the same, I just start a story that I think will be interesting and go along with it. Though I'm always told that you have to have a outline and know what's happening later and everything else and when I try to figure that out I get stuck and loose my drive to complete the story. So Im going to try it out and just go along, the story itelf may not be good but I'm told just to keep writing and that's I guess what I'll do. As for the cliche thing, well I'll try what you suggest Brian and see if it works Thanks for the suggestions though, if anyone has anymore they'd be much appreciated.

[Mark Robson]

Tonic,

I have no idea how to put the accent on cliche, so I'm not going to try. Your piece that you posted on the critiques section really wasn't that bad, you know! I didn't realise that I would touch a nerve when I said it felt a bit cliche, but now I feel obliged to try and help again.

When I'm planning a piece, I will often only have a start point, or an end point, or in the case of my current dilemma a start and an end, but a missing 90 000 words in the middle! What I try to do is to bullet point the middle bit. I try to build a series of one liners that describe events that will progress the story towards the ending that I'm heading for. (My last novel was encapsulated on a single side of A4!) Once I have a suitable string of events, I then allocate a word count to each event, thereby giving me a target to aim at. Each section of the story is then like a separate story to me. It has a start - normally the point at which the last piece left off - and an end. Within my word target, I then allow sub plots to build as my imagination fills in the detail of each of the major events. Sometimes these sub plots affect the outcome of the major events in ways that I hadn't originally planned. If this happens, I generally re-plot the story from this point in the same fashion as I did the first time.

This technique allows you to have some structure and discipline, whilst allowing for flashes of inspiration. It has certainly led me down some paths that I didn't see coming in my writing! I hope you find this useful.

[tonic]

Oh don't feel bad lol It wasn't what you said it was when a friend and I were brainstorming and I realised that most of what I said was cliché lol Thanks for the comments by the way, I'll try to figure them out when Im not so tired. But I think i get the gist of what your saying.
Oh and I learned how to do the accents because I went to french immersion for a really long time. If I didn't know I think my teacher would murder me by now. an Accent égu (if that's how you spell that word lol, it's been awhile) is ALT 130 and an accent ègrave is ALT 138. lol hope I helped.