Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2007, 05:16:41 PM
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What are some of the cliches you notice in Bsb fanfic?
I started reading this series the other day that more than one person had recommended to me. I won't say what it was, so as not to offend anyone, but it wasn't on AC. Anyway, I started the first story, which everyone had told me was so amazing, and all I read was cliche after cliche. The writing wasn't bad, but the plot seemed to predictable and overdone that it didn't interest me at all. But it was an older story, so I thought, "Well, maybe the series gets better with the later stories."
So I clicked to the last story in the series and started reading, thinking that if it seemed a lot better, I would go back and give the first story more of a chance. But all I found were even more ridiculous cliches, so ridiculous they were funny, so at that point I gave up on it. I know I'm picky, but I've read so many GOOD stories with the old cliched storylines that I can't get into ones that are less than stellar. It's just pointless.
Anyway, I was thinking of making up some sort of "litmus" test for Bsb fanfic cliches, kinda like the Mary Sue one we did on here once. So I need you to start listing cliches. Not just for romance either - think of all the cliched stuff that happens in drama, angst, suspense, action, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. Cause there are cliches for all of them, but I haven't read enough in certain genres to know very many.
I'm looking for stuff like bus crashes, car crashes, a character getting cancer, kidnappings, all that good stuff LOL.
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OMG there are SOOO many lol. I think its really hard NOT to write something cliched. I believe that the trick is to take that cliched plotline and do something to make it a little different.
I feel that certain plotlines tend to go through phases. Like for instance they'll be one REALLY sucessful "best friends" story. Then they'll be ten others that come out all at once afterwards and each one is progressively worse until everyone is just sick of best friends and it becomes cliched. Does anyone else notice this or is it just me?
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What about the "girl meets BSB, *insert BSB name here* acts like he hates her until he finally admits he's in love with her." It can make for an interesting story when it's not totally obvious that *insert BSB name here* likes said girl.
I can't say I don't feel like a hypocrite for talking about cliches when I tend to use some of them. I try not to, and if I feel like I am then I try and figure out how to de-cliche whatever the issue is, but I can't help but feel like that lol.
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There are plenty of fanfic cliches out there lol
To add to what Mel said, it seems like the problem is with every new story that gets written the cliche becomes more exaggerated until you feel like you're reading the Lifetime networks version of the story. (That was meant as an insult I hate the Lifetime Network lmao)
I know stories everyone tends to love I tend to think they are overly cliched a lot of the time lol
Probably the biggest one in suspense is of course the stalker or kidnapper, Always directed at Nick and I am guilty of writing a few storylines with this plot as well lmao *hangs head in shame*
The standard formula tends to be boy is being watched by stalker, recieves threats but doesn't take them seriously until it's too late.
I have to say since suspense has died down a bit to almost zilch, I haven't seen any good old fashioned kidnapping stories anymore but usually a bus crash is involved or it happens backstage at a concert.
The biggest cliche I have noticed in medical type dramas is the failure of the sick person (again usually Nick lol) to tell anyone he's sick until it's too late.
Other general overly done cliches:
- having Lou Pearlman be the bad guy
- having Leighanne be everyone's BFF
- the boys played out OVERLY stereotypical i.e. AJ the lonely alcoholic, Nick the womanizer, Brian the God boy, Howie the well...Howie lol, Kevin the anal one
- the boys always having long drawn out conversations about the main female character
- Nick acting younger than his age (we've discussed this one before. I doubt kevin carried Nick up to bed when he was 13 lmao unless his legs were broken)
- song lyrics lol (okay not sure if this is a cliche but it's a pet peeve)
- two friends fighting over the same boy or girl.
- the use of Frick and Frack
That's all I can think of for now lol
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I think in fantasy it's putting the guys in a Camelot type setting... I don't know why it's considered fantasy and not historical or a crossover, but...
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There are plenty of fanfic cliches out there lol
To add to what Mel said, it seems like the problem is with every new story that gets written the cliche becomes more exaggerated until you feel like you're reading the Lifetime networks version of the story. (That was meant as an insult I hate the Lifetime Network lmao)
LMAO Hey! I like those damn Lifetime movies! They always draw me in even though they are usually pretty cheesy LOl
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LMAO Hey! I like those damn Lifetime movies! They always draw me in even though they are usually pretty cheesy LOl
I know most people do, that's why I had to say I meant it as an insult. See? At least i'm consistent. I don't enjoy romance or Lifetime Movies LOL
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Good ones, thanks guys!!
And yeah, I agree - all it takes is one good story, and everyone gets inspired and copies it. It's not always intentional, but it's hard to top whatever great story started the trend. A story can be built off of a cliched storyline and still be a great story, but like Mel said, it needs to be different and better somehow.
I'm totally guilty of using cliches, so I'm not out to judge, but I think it would be fun to have a sort of litmus thing for it like Mary Sue. Could be an eye-opener LOL.
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Ok I've been wondering for ages now, but could some please tell me WTF is a Mary Sue?? ???
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Ooh, I totally know one of those fics... Someone recomended "Oreos for Breakfast" to me... It got really poor and cliched by the end... but I think it totally started the Anti-Sue trend... *shakes head*
Anime/Manga-style definition (with examples from my faovrite series, Yuugiou)... Because it makes more sense to me to explain it this way...:
A Mary Sue is basically the term for a female character who is not normally part of the original universe of the show/cannon universe. She general either falls in love with or sleeps with the main characters or the author's favorite characters. She is stunningly beautiful, so much that every character, even ones who should hate her, adore her. The girl becomes friends with Yuugi-tachi but Kaiba is isntantly taken by her anyway. She does everything wonderfully. She is a master duelist rivaling both Yuugi and Kaiba. She can do everything amazingly from the first moment she tries it. She has never played Duel Monsters before and somehow defets Yuugi. She usually sings, or plays an instrument of some kind. And she can often have magical powers. She's young, trendy, and must wear a new outfit every three sentences. The author goes on and on and on about what she is wearing, because obviously it is the most important element of the story... ::) She is usually the narrator of the story and more often than not has the same name as the author.
The short version is... She's a perfect in every way, and then some, character posing as a perfected self-insert.
For Backstreet Boys fan fiction, all that cannon stuff I mentioned up there is usually replaced with the female in question being a magically amazing singer or dancer.
Mary Sues tend to be followed by a horde of cliched characters and plots lacking time continuity.
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I think that's why I couldn't get into Oreos; I don't like the blatant Anti-Sues either. Or that love/hate stuff where they hate each other at the beginning and then end up falling in love. Gag. (Not in all cases, but that one did nothing for me.)
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I tried very hard to make it through most of it... But I've basically given up.... Those Anti-Sues may as well be Mary Sues these days...
Arg, that's annoying, because it's so painfully obvious who the girl will end up with.
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*feels sad because she uses clichés as well*
I really do hope though that PF (Prevailing Fate) is much more than a story with a cliché storyline.. :(
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Nijntje it's fine to use cliches as long as you don't use too many and you try to put a new spin on them.
I did do the girl meets a BSB by chance thing, but I also made her a bit overweight, glasses and basically not perfect looking...not that confident, but she has her pros too. Then kept the time frame consistent. It's fine as long as you try to work it into something good. It's a challenge hehe.
I tried Oreos too by the way Julie and Dee...lol couldn't stomach it. Here I thought it was cause I'm very romance picky.
In sci fiction stories...now this a cliche thats older and not used as often, but I don't see many sci-fis anymore either. It's almost died in the BSB fanfic fandom. But having the ten destined heroes (BSB and Nsync) plus one girl who's been pulled along for the ride. Only one I saw pull it off right was Whitney, and her story The Legend was classic. But then everyone tried to do it too.
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That's a good one too, Rose!
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In sci fiction stories...now this a cliche thats older and not used as often, but I don't see many sci-fis anymore either. It's almost died in the BSB fanfic fandom. But having the ten destined heroes (BSB and Nsync) plus one girl who's been pulled along for the ride. Only one I saw pull it off right was Whitney, and her story The Legend was classic. But then everyone tried to do it too.
I started something like that. :D But it's five, not ten... And it's more fantasy, less sci-fi... And the woman is pulling the strings... *evil grin* Okay, not really, but... I actually plan on making it an original comic someday... it's only BSB now because I started it as a present for Nick and never finished... *shrug*
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Friends who happen to fall in love stories make me want to vomit. I kid you not, I actually feel sick to my stomach when I open them in my browser lol
I also hate, hate, HATE..."girl goes to concert, meets *insert bsb name here*, that night they invite her on tour and they are forever in love" -- pipe dreams!
I'm tired of the stalker/kidnapping storyline but I feel that it definitely has room for innovation, and improvement. Just as long as there isn't a firey bus crash involved.
I try really hard to write outside the box, and not completely surround my fics with cliche. Obviously you're going to get a few because they wouldn't be cliche if people didn't use them, but the job is just to make it so people read it as your own, not as "same ole, same ole." It's okay to use cliches, as long as you make it your own. You can't always have a new plot -- in most cases it's impossible to have a brand new, never used before in the history of life fanfic plot.
But seriously, if there's a bus crash that leads ultimately to Nick falling in love with a forest ranger then being diagnosed with cancer caused by tanning bed exposure and too much sex then a week later he finds out some chick he slept with had his child... write something else.
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But seriously, if there's a bus crash that leads ultimately to Nick falling in love with a forest ranger then being diagnosed with cancer caused by tanning bed exposure and too much sex then a week later he finds out some chick he slept with had his child... write something else.
Well that just killed my next story idea, thanks a lot! *deletes Swollen, Faceless chance encounter with Mare the gorgeous, pregnant best friend of Nick the kidnapped forest ranger* :( <-- the title was too long anyways. lol
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Well that just killed my next story idea, thanks a lot! *deletes Swollen, Faceless chance encounter with Mare the gorgeous, pregnant best friend of Nick the kidnapped forest ranger* :( <-- the title was too long anyways. lol
lmao -- I think I just hurt myself from all the laughter. :P
Now that you mention it though, I dislike it when writers use their own name as the main female character!
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But seriously, if there's a bus crash that leads ultimately to Nick falling in love with a forest ranger then being diagnosed with cancer caused by tanning bed exposure and too much sex then a week later he finds out some chick he slept with had his child... write something else.
LMFAO okay I almost choked on my soda between you and Mare just now.
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lmao -- I think I just hurt myself from all the laughter. :P
Now that you mention it though, I dislike it when writers use their own name as the main female character!
My GOD me too! lmao but see I think that's more of a pet peeve than a cliche. Although it could fall into both.
lol
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My GOD me too! lmao but see I think that's more of a pet peeve than a cliche. Although it could fall into both.
lol
I agree that it could be both because too many people do it, therefore it's done far too often AND it's a pet peeve.
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My GOD me too! lmao but see I think that's more of a pet peeve than a cliche. Although it could fall into both.
lol
It also falls into Mary Sue territory too lol.
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LMFAO okay I almost choked on my soda between you and Mare just now.
hehehe yay! We made Rose laugh!
And yes I didn't even think about Mary Sue...godness I hate her lol
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hehehe yay! We made Rose laugh!
And yes I didn't even think about Mary Sue...godness I hate her lol
We are just that good *sizzle*
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Yes we are! lmao
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This thread has drawn me in. I guess its because I hate cliches too. I find myself looking for unique stories, but they get harder and harder to come by. Another thing I hate, which is more a pet peeve, is people who use a TON of flashbacks. I know I'm guilty of using them, but I try to limit it. I do have a dilema though. How do you tell the back story without using flashbacks?
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This thread has drawn me in. I guess its because I hate cliches too. I find myself looking for unique stories, but they get harder and harder to come by. Another thing I hate, which is more a pet peeve, is people who use a TON of flashbacks. I know I'm guilty of using them, but I try to limit it. I do have a dilema though. How do you tell the back story without using flashbacks?
Oh yes, the flashback lol that's another one. The thing I don't enjoy about those are when people actually write
---------flashback--------- if we can't tell it's a flashback you're doing somethng wrong.
But let's see how to go back to the past without flashing back...*rubs chin to reminisce*
---------flashes back to when I wrote flashbacks-------
I think using italics helps sometimes instead of flashing back just going inside someone's head to find out what happened? Or sometimes using dialogue to tell a story about what happened in the past but keeping it real time? Those are two things I use, or also the use of a journal or diary, having the character reading it out loud, although that can be a bit cliched as well.
----------ends flashing back to flashingback-----------
^ as long as you don't use those lol
:)
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I think using italics helps sometimes instead of flashing back just going inside someone's head to find out what happened? Or sometimes using dialogue to tell a story about what happened in the past but keeping it real time? Those are two things I use, or also the use of a journal or diary, having the character reading it out loud, although that can be a bit cliched as well.
Yeah, I use italics for flashbacks now, but I didn't want it to be too much. I thought about a dialogue with another person, but right now the main character is alone and this event needs to be told while she's alone. I may try the journal thing. Hopefully I can pull it off without seeming too cliched.
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^ aww good luck! :)
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I'm SOOO guilty of the flashback thing with UMS, but my big dilemma with UMS is that it orginated from an old unfinished story of mine ad I wanted to rewrite it without having to rewrite the whole entire story and never get into the present time. So my solution was to flashback to certain events and try to parralell them to the present day plot. I always italicize flashbacks though. Yea... I don't need to be told lol
Hmm... Some other cliches... I agee w/ Jullily about the best friends plot especially when the best friends seem to think its perfectly acceptable to sleep in the same bed together regularly and be scantily clad. To me its like okay... What best friend does that like EVERY night? Almost everthing is a cliche though seriously... Kidnapping stories, Nick getting cancer, Nick cheating on his g/f and the other woman getting pregnant... For a while there I was REALLY getting sick of stories where the main character was either in an abusive relationship or a rape victim. Also cutting is beginning to become a cliche. I feel like a lot of stories just ramdomly have their characters be "cutters" just cuz it seems more angsty.
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I haven't seen cutting stories in awhile but I do rememebr those were really big at one point as was the Nick has a eating disorder stories! There used to be a ton of those.
I use flashbacks a lot, in fact i'm guilty of almost all of these cliches lol (minus the best friends thing) I think anyone who has written more than ten stories eventually finds themselves in the position where they are rewriting scenerios. It's hard to keep them original and creative but I think all good writers manage to do a fine job with it.
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LMFAO at Julilly and Mare - cracking me up!!
I get really tired of the rape/abuse victims. I've never really liked that storyline, for the most part. And yeah, the best friends sleeping together all the time (but not actually *sleeping together* - until they finally do LOL) is weird. Can be cute in the right situation, but not when it's all the time, cause like you said, who does that??
As for flashbacks, I hate when they're labeled as flashbacks, like Mare said, as if the readers are too stupid to figure it out LOL. I use italics when I do flashbacks. I don't think I use them too much, but sometimes there is just no less cheesy way to tell part of a back story, and also, with BMS, since it's a sequel, I like to put in short flashbacks of parts from Broken when I refer to them cause I'm afraid no one will remember what I'm talking about otherwise LOL. It helps me keep my story straight too LOL.
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Even writing something like ...
3 years earlier.
... is better than actually writing flashbacks. Novels and screenplays flash back to specific times by letting the reading/viewer know exactly when they're going to, for plot purposes, but they don't have some guy in the background or a big note at the top of the page screaming: ***FLASHBACK***
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I haven't seen cutting stories in awhile but I do rememebr those were really big at one point as was the Nick has a eating disorder stories! There used to be a ton of those.
I use flashbacks a lot, in fact i'm guilty of almost all of these cliches lol (minus the best friends thing) I think anyone who has written more than ten stories eventually finds themselves in the position where they are rewriting scenerios. It's hard to keep them original and creative but I think all good writers manage to do a fine job with it.
Oh yeah, the eating disorder stories used to be big too!! That's one I don't think I've seen in awhile.
And yeah, I have used most of these cliches too. Even the ones I say I don't like LOL. I've done the best friends, the childhood best friends (slight difference there), the abused chick, the bus crash, the car crash, the plane crash, the cancer story, the kidnapping story, the stalker story, the Brian heart problems story (there's one no one has mentioned yet - though that one is not so popular anymore either), the love child after a one night stand, the drug abuse fic, the long lost fictional sibling (sort of - in reverse), the stranded on a deserted island fic (almost), the vampire fic, the ghost fic, the angel fic, the suicide attempt fic, the transplant fic, the sick child fic, the star-crossed lovers fic, the NSync-are-the-bad-guys fic, the girl group fic...
I am a walking cliche. :D
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Oh yeah, the eating disorder stories used to be big too!! That's one I don't think I've seen in awhile.
And yeah, I have used most of these cliches too. Even the ones I say I don't like LOL. I've done the best friends, the childhood best friends (slight difference there), the abused chick, the bus crash, the car crash, the plane crash, the cancer story, the kidnapping story, the stalker story, the Brian heart problems story (there's one no one has mentioned yet - though that one is not so popular anymore either), the love child after a one night stand, the drug abuse fic, the long lost fictional sibling (sort of - in reverse), the stranded on a deserted island fic (almost), the vampire fic, the ghost fic, the angel fic, the suicide attempt fic, the transplant fic, the sick child fic, the star-crossed lovers fic, the NSync-are-the-bad-guys fic, the girl group fic...
I am a walking cliche. :D
*blink* Wow.
That just proves my earlier statement that it is virtually impossible to not use cliches, but they only become cliched when you use them improperly and don't give it your own flare.
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LMFAO at Julilly and Mare - cracking me up!!
Didn't you know? We are the in house entertainment!
We're here all week! Try the veal, tip your waitress! ;)
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Oh yeah, the eating disorder stories used to be big too!! That's one I don't think I've seen in awhile.
And yeah, I have used most of these cliches too. Even the ones I say I don't like LOL. I've done the best friends, the childhood best friends (slight difference there), the abused chick, the bus crash, the car crash, the plane crash, the cancer story, the kidnapping story, the stalker story, the Brian heart problems story (there's one no one has mentioned yet - though that one is not so popular anymore either), the love child after a one night stand, the drug abuse fic, the long lost fictional sibling (sort of - in reverse), the stranded on a deserted island fic (almost), the vampire fic, the ghost fic, the angel fic, the suicide attempt fic, the transplant fic, the sick child fic, the star-crossed lovers fic, the NSync-are-the-bad-guys fic, the girl group fic...
I am a walking cliche. :D
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lmao whoa! And how can I forget the Brian heart problems story? I did the long lost sibling fic as well. I mean it was an AU, but still.
I have never written about an evil twin though!
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Just because I really want a 200th post before bedtime:
I'm now desperate to find good cliches in my fics (excluding shorts), so here goes lol I have the Brian a tough police detective, Nick as a sex trade worker, tailor, WWII vet, deranged juvenile detention centre prisoner, kidnapper with a kind heart, robot out to save the world from tyrrany, 19th century scholar, MS sufferer, and ghost solving his own mob murder...
So I have the sick angle, and the supernatural ghost angle covered, but it seems that all of my cliches lie in my short stories! I have lots of cliches in there! Depression, statuatory rape leading to illegitimate children -- the lot.
I gotta keep myself away from cliches, lol good thing my next fic is about bank robbers...I mean, I didn't tell you about that... *runs away*
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LMAO now I want to do that too!
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lmao whoa! And how can I forget the Brian heart problems story? I did the long lost sibling fic as well. I mean it was an AU, but still.
I have never written about an evil twin though!
LOL, that's right, I have TWO long lost sibling fics! One was an AU, and one is the evil twin fic. ;)
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When I do flashbacks I just use the same thing I use for a scene changer: ~*~
It seems to do the trick... Though I don't know if they're really flashbacks, so much as memories....
And the best friends sleeping in the same bed together... No one does that! Every time I stayed at my best friend's dorm, I slept on the floor.
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omg this thread is killing me! You guys are friggin hilarious!!! You don't want me to list all the cliche's I'm guilty of. I might shut down the server-lol Let's just say that my very first story that I wrote when I was like 14/15 has pretty much every cliche you guys have mentioned in it. Except it's not like "Five Backstreet Boys In Search Of A Plot" Mine wasn't meant to be funny... oye. If I ever write another story like that, shoot me please!!!
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You know, I don't think I've ever done a flashback. A couple of dream sequences, but no flashbacks. Weird.
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omg this thread is killing me! You guys are friggin hilarious!!! You don't want me to list all the cliche's I'm guilty of. I might shut down the server-lol Let's just say that my very first story that I wrote when I was like 14/15 has pretty much every cliche you guys have mentioned in it. Except it's not like "Five Backstreet Boys In Search Of A Plot" Mine wasn't meant to be funny... oye. If I ever write another story like that, shoot me please!!!
Most of the cliches I listed were from the stories I wrote the first year I started writing (I averaged at least one or two a month LOL), but not all of them. I did have one I wrote that year (not my first story, but still when I was 15) that was soooooo teenybopperish . It had the girl band, a love triangle, at least one car crash, cancer, eating disorder (not a Bsb though), SIDS, quite a few deaths, and... maybe more but that's all I can think of right now. In any case, it was like my parody story Not Another Teenybopper Fanfic, only for real. :P It was fun to write though, cause it was like a soap opera LOL.
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That's what we were missing in 5 BAckstreet Boys in search of a plot! The Horribly cliched chapter! Dang!!
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Speaking of soap operas, those things are made of cliche mixed with sap... And are oh so entertaining. :D
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... And conversations that go on forever and ever.
The only soap I've ever really watched is Days, but I swear, I could only watch it on Fridays and stay totally caught up with it because it takes a week for anything to happen. A single conversation between two people can go on for days. (Heh, Days.)
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Haha. :D
The only one I ever really watched was Passions... But yeah, everything does take a long time to happen...
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It was fun to write though, cause it was like a soap opera LOL.
Did anyone come back from the dead? :)
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Did anyone come back from the dead? :)
Yes, after one of her multiple personalities killed her and before she was possessed by the devil.
Actually, no. :)
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Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
That almost made me die, Julie.
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Normally I hate the friends fall in love stories. But when I started writing one, there are tons of things you can do with it, to make it less cliched and more like a real-life drama. Honestly with Romance/angst/drama the more realistic the plotline and characters, the better the story will be. I think what makes a story less than stellar is that the writer either should NOT be writing, or there's not enough of what could REALLY happen in the story.
For instance right now in my series the two friends (Ali and Nick) who fell in love are beginning to drift apart. They've grown too comfortable with each other, as couples often do after a certain point and having them deal with real relationship issues as far as trust and intimacy, etc.
It's REALLY easy to be like hey they fell in love, happily ever after, the end. lol But that's not how life is and making it reflect life and real relationships is what makes a good Romance story.
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^ That's what I've tried to do with mine too. Otherwise it's too boring, if it's just girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, girl and boy get married and have babies and live happily ever after without any of the problems normal couples face.
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lol.. I guess 'Memories' falls into the cliché-category.. as to why I never managed to finish that one.. ;)
'Lavender Rush' will have a ton of clichés too, though.. but I'll try to use my knowledge of certain psychological disorders to make some things more realisitic..
I can't seem to get into the writing mood though. I think I need a new challenge..
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I thought of quite possibly my most hated cliche EVER. It's not just a fanfic one; it's more a movie/TV show one.
When people are like "Let's start over..." and then they introduce themselves to each other and act like they just met.
Who DOES that?! I hate that!!!
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Oh I got teased for one of my stories having a cliche part or meeting or something so the next chapter I wrote making fun of my own cliche in the story. LOL!
I like to TRY and take a cliche idea and twist it into an acutal story. Like Amnesia... LOL ... or More Than That... *nods* but I don't know if I succeed... heh I'd like to think they aren't as cliche despite their cliche moments.
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I thought of another cliche, but it REALLY thank God isn't as popular as it once was. I remember back a few years ago I guess cuz a lot of fan fic writers at the time were older there were a lot of "Nick getting it on with an older woman" stories. It used to piss me off cuz at the time I was prolly not even 20 and I'm like Ugh I don't wanna read about a 30 yr old woman LOl
OMG I completely forgot about the angel stories! I SOOO had one and guess what the angels name was? Angelina! :-[
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LMAO the angel stories!!!! Ahh, I read a few of those.
And I know of the Nick/cougar (older woman) stories too. Cover Me With Dreams aside, I find those hard to get into. It just depends though.
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The reason the Nick/older lady stories were big is because there are a LOT Of older women who like Nick and wanted a story for themselves... heh!
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I know LOL. Can't blame them, but yeah...
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*nods* doesn't mean it didn't become cliche but yeah. LOL
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What about one of the guys dead and coming back as soon as his lady finds another love? I have neevr read one like that for obvious reasons lol but i'm sure they probably exist. lol
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LOL like in Pearl Harbor?
Yeah, I'm sure they exist.
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I have one but it's not for BSB Fanfic... it's for video game fanfiction.. having a person (aka me) fall into the video game... there are a LOT of those ... it's how people get themselves or yeah someone like them in the game.
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The reason the Nick/older lady stories were big is because there are a LOT Of older women who like Nick and wanted a story for themselves... heh!
Seriously though I think at the time the whole inner fan fiction circle were all older (late 20's, early 30's) so obviously their characters respresented that. It was really hard at that time for a younger author to gain a lot of popularity (at least it sure seemed that way at the time) I'm really glad its not like that today. Now I feel like there are a good representation of ages in the inner fan fic circe (which I like to consider is all of us LOL)
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The reason the Nick/older lady stories were big is because there are a LOT Of older women who like Nick and wanted a story for themselves... heh!
??? Thats so weird that you've mentioned that because I just read one that involved Nick and AJ marrying women twice their age!!! it wasn't too bad for a story, had a lot of depth behind it , i thought anyways lol.
http://www.chandrahvj.com/cbhome.html the author is Chandrah from Speaking Tongues website, I can't even remember how i stumbled across it!
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Seriously though I think at the time the whole inner fan fiction circle were all older (late 20's, early 30's) so obviously their characters respresented that. It was really hard at that time for a younger author to gain a lot of popularity (at least it sure seemed that way at the time) I'm really glad its not like that today. Now I feel like there are a good representation of ages in the inner fan fic circe (which I like to consider is all of us LOL)
I'm glad it's not like that anymore. Some of my favorite authors are older, but there are also a lot of talented writers who are teenagers. You can't discount anyone because of their age. I ask for ages when people submit stories for me to host, and trust me, I've seen 16-year-olds who are good enough to be published and people close to 30 who can barely string a coherent sentence together.
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Don't get me started on the thirty-year-olds that cant string a sentence together...
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LOL like in Pearl Harbor?
Yeah, I'm sure they exist.
I have never seen that one. Never had the desire which i'm sure shocks you all to death lmao
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^ don't bother, totally SUCKED.
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that is what my spidey sense was telling me lol
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those are some good spidey senses. Whis I'd had them before seeing that movie. I didn't have to pay for it, but I'll never get those 2 and however eternally long that movie was hours of my life back.
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LOL! I liked Pearl Harbor okay, but I know what you mean. Have you ever seen Team America, Kelly? They have a whole song about how Pearl Harbor sucks; it's hilarious!!!
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oh yes. I about cried during that part. But I'm glad that someone liked that movie... good to know that all those millions of dollars weren't completely wasted. hahaha
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Hehe, yeah... it was no Titanic, but I enjoyed it for the eye candy and the love story. I'm a sucker for the tearjerker love triangle sort of dealie LOL. The actual attack part is soooo long though; that's where it starts to lose me LOL.
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ok totally off topic, but I just signed up for DS and it won't send me the activation e-mail. Am I a moron, or is there a trick to it?
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Um... good question LOL. I don't really know, but don't even worry about it cause you can post without being activated. There are a lot of people who aren't - maybe that's why, cause something's weird with the email. It's been awhile since I started it, so I don't remember LOL.
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LMAO the angel stories!!!! Ahh, I read a few of those.
And I know of the Nick/cougar (older woman) stories too. Cover Me With Dreams aside, I find those hard to get into. It just depends though.
Heidi did an exceptional job at making CMWD a fic completely out of that cliche's league though. I didn't even think about that when I read that fic because it was just so well done.
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Hehe, yeah... it was no Titanic, but I enjoyed it for the eye candy and the love story. I'm a sucker for the tearjerker love triangle sort of dealie LOL. The actual attack part is soooo long though; that's where it starts to lose me LOL.
I liked it too...but I liked it for the explosions and airplanes lol I could have done without the love triangle :P
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Hehe, yeah... it was no Titanic, but I enjoyed it for the eye candy and the love story. I'm a sucker for the tearjerker love triangle sort of dealie LOL. The actual attack part is soooo long though; that's where it starts to lose me LOL.
Yea lol I can very easily stare at Josh Hartnett for over 2 hours Lol. Ben affleck not so much...
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Heidi did an exceptional job at making CMWD a fic completely out of that cliche's league though. I didn't even think about that when I read that fic because it was just so well done.
Oh, I know! And I don't know if I really consider it one of those "older women" stories cause she wasn't THAT much older. Like 5 years maybe? That's not bad. But technically, she is older.
That is my all-time favorite romance though; I love it.
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^ That's what I've tried to do with mine too. Otherwise it's too boring, if it's just girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, girl and boy get married and have babies and live happily ever after without any of the problems normal couples face.
Hence why I like the Broken series hehe
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Hence why I like the Broken series hehe
Aw thanks! ;D LOL
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Welcome Julie! Normally the whole nick gets sick story drives me up the wall, however with that said, the way you've written both stories make it so believably real that honestly it makes him into a completely new person in my eyes (fiction wise of course hehe) but yeah I found solace with Broken when my grandma died of cancer last year, it helped me through the grief alot. And now that I may be facing my own battle with the big C (nothing's for sure yet but hopefully it can be treated before it goes cancerous) it helps alot to read a story that shows the realities of the disease in such a way.
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Aww, thanks Teri... that means a lot to me that it meant so much to you. :) I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma, and I'm praying that everything goes okay for you!
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Yeah my grandma was really hard to get through but ur story and writing Alyssa's dad's death from cancer and how she dealt with it helped me get out a ton of my emotions. as far as me it's more like i'm just gonna deal as it comes
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In some cases, I believe, authors sort of create this inevitability of running into cliches. The stories that I have posted on the site (at least most of my older ones) are sort of cliche BUT in doing them, I think I was able to learn from them and sort of hone in on a particular skill. You write them then learn that 'hey, this is sort of cookie cutter and has sort of an interchangeabl e plot' then you learn from that. I've since distaced myself from romance stories since often times, you do find a lot of cliches in that genre as far as the band goes as a lot of stories are fans and band members meeting and falling in love.
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Yeah fans meeting the band love story are soo cliched. Even the best friend stories are. (Insert joke about my best friend story LOL) but yeah it's all about learning from writing and your experiences from it.
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Yeah, I agree. You gotta start somewhere, and it's hard to be original when pretty much everything has been done. But like you guys said, after you write some cliched stuff and get better at writing, you learn to take an idea and put your own spin on it to make it original.
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Well said, it's hard everyone starts with the cliched stuff cuz honestly it's the EASIEST to think of. It's usually one of the first ideas that comes to mind. Therefore it's not bad to write it at all, they wouldn't be cliched if they didn't have a popular following. But after you've written it go back and be very objective with yourself and say "will someone I don't even know understand what I'm trying to do here?" If that answer is no, then I suggest a re-write, if that answer is yes (first check with your beta reader if you have one) then be like ok it has potential.
Another thing with beta reading although I must admit both stories I beta for I LOVE. It's not always a good idea to have someone who is a huge fan of your story to be your beta. I feel though it's my duty to the authors whom I beta to be objective, (but overall nice about it LOL) and give them my honest opinion about where they're going with their writing. And personally I like knowing that one of my most trusted beta's (Mel!) really wasn't a "fan" of my work like say my friend Anita from Denmark or Crystal here at home are. Though I adore both Anita and Crys, I know that no matter what I do to my story (aside from killing off all five boys LMAO) that they'll love it simply because they like the story. With Mel it's more like okay Teri is this crucial to your plot? If not axe it. And I love that about her being my beta because usually I have this feeling that the scene or idea isn't really going to go anywhere so I'll bounce it off her to see if it may have potential and if she's like "well do you think it will important later in the story?" and I can't come up with a solid answer, I know it wasn't a good idea in the first place.
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^ Good points. I don't really have a "beta reader," but I know what you mean - it's hard to get valid, critical feedback from people who are fans of your work, or at least it seems that way. They'll say everything's great whether it is or not, and maybe they really think it is, but others would probably disagree.
Do a lot of you have an actual beta reader who isn't just a friend of yours or a fan of your story?
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Hmmm... Well, I asked Kelly to be my beta, and I love her feedback to pieces, but she seems to like the story too much to be overly critical with it.
I wish I had a very critical beta. *nod*
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I dont really have a beta reader at all. I just let Mersey and Maria read my stuff before anyone else does and they are the ones that tell me if it makes sense or not, and I do the same for them lol I edit my own stories. I have betaed for other people in the past but it got to be too much.
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^ That's the arrangement I have too. I always have somebody who will read my chapters first and offer their opinions, and I do the same for them.
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Yeah that's the general idea of a beta reader. Like with Mel we bounce ideas off each other for our stories, email excerpts of chapters to see if they aren't too cheesed out or if they make sense, etc. I think the most important part is that there's another set of eyes looking at your work preposting that can help make it better.
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Yea I'm late here, but just going over what I missed while on vacation. I dunno if you consider what I do betaing but I usually like to have one or two people that I can send parts of my story that I want a second look at or to hear out my ideas. It's sort of a fine line cuz basically my two "betas" (Teri and Tri) are fans of UMS, so I guess you can say they might be a little bit biased, but I think it helps cuz they are involved in the story and they know the plot and the characters pretty well, wheras w/ a non-reader I'd have to explain a lot for the to really "get" it. Not every fan can be a good beta though. I like Tri and Teri cuz I can trust them to be brutally honest w/me and likewise I'm the same with their stories. If they have an idea that I'm not fond of I'll tell them right out. (Teri will tell you jusy how much crap I gave her about her threesome scene, but that's another story lol) It's nice though cuz if i have an incomplete idea half the time one of them can help me complete it and vice versa. I couldn't have written UMS w/out my betas!
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hehe yay! LOL about the threesome thing, yeah In AIL I wrote a threesome thing that comes back to bite nick and ali in the butt in SWIB (i think that's the redeeming quality of it) but I knew not everyone would like it and I accept that but at the time I was writing it completely fit into the story and will make even more sense as the second sequel progresses
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hehe yay! LOL about the threesome thing, yeah In AIL I wrote a threesome thing that comes back to bite nick and ali in the butt in SWIB (i think that's the redeeming quality of it) but I knew not everyone would like it and I accept that but at the time I was writing it completely fit into the story and will make even more sense as the second sequel progresses
And whoose idea was it to have it come back and bite them in the asses? LOL j/k
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you gave me the idea, i figured it needed more literary value, though it was fun to write.
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I thought of quite possibly my most hated cliche EVER. It's not just a fanfic one; it's more a movie/TV show one.
When people are like "Let's start over..." and then they introduce themselves to each other and act like they just met.
Who DOES that?! I hate that!!!
*cracks up and waves* I do that, Julie! lol. I seriously just did that with a friend about 2 months ago (I think you know who I'm talking about).
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sex and or the girl in the story is already with one of the guys
saying "i love you" in the second chapter
girls having babies in the being of the story
slash stories without warning (like no disclaimer)
even though i love these, the girl and the bsb guy hate each other
i think that's off the top of my head, anything else i missed.
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sex and or the girl in the story is already with one of the guys
saying "i love you" in the second chapter
girls having babies in the being of the story
slash stories without warning (like no disclaimer)
even though i love these, the girl and the bsb guy hate each other
i think that's off the top of my head, anything else i missed.
LOL yea I agree however you can take all of those cliches and make them better by adding more plot to them. I took a very old cliche for my series, the best friends who fall in love. And I played around with it, alot. And it turned out to be this giant story with lots of drama
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i was just listing the ones that i see often.
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Well, no disclaimer on a slash story isn't really a cliche lol I don't find it happens all the time.
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i was just listing the ones that i see often.
Oh no i know and those are REALLY common, it's just fun to see what people will do with em. Some don't do anything and follow it chapter and verse but others tend to like to change things up, which is pretty cool.
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Well, no disclaimer on a slash story isn't really a cliche lol I don't find it happens all the time.
than you haven't read author's like billy breuwer and fictionlyn.
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See, when I first started reading fanfiction. The first ones were Mary-sues. But I quickly started hating them because they were the same story, only the girls names would be different in each story.
As for the bus-crash or place crash stories, those i like better. They have action in them and they led to different plot lines, when you think its going one way, its takes a left turn and your like 'what the monkey?!'.