Written: Spring 2008 - Uploaded: 13.09.2008
What is a cliché? Typically we understand it as something that has been overused to the point to have lost its effect. I'd like to disagree by claiming that nothing can be overused and these somethings that really shouldn't be called clichés have a lot left in them. Taking it a little further I also want to argue that most of the time, we shouldn't even try to do something new. These are the bold claims I'm making and now I'd like you to allow me to explain myself.
People who are familiar with my writings (you can become one of them rather easily if you can read Finnish, just click the Fiction-link) are quite aware that I'm not really creating anything new. I don't even try to claim I do because that would really be just a lie. However, this article is not an excuse for me writing nothing new, no, this article says that, we just shouldn't give a damn about what shouldn't be called clichés but are called so anyway.
I'd like to start by saying that the biggest cliché of all time is saying that something is a cliché. We all know what it means at least in theory but we just really don't understand it. It's not something a lazy reviewer writes when he's got nothing else to say (or indeed if he does, I think he's in the wrong business). Well than what does a critique writer say when he writes that something is a cliché? Of course, I'm only guessing here, being an amateur critique writer myself I know we're one weird bunch, and there's no saying what the hell we're really thinking behind our fancy words, but anyway, here goes: He's saying that, whoever wrote that piece of whatever hasn't done his job and just doesn't know how to handle those familiar concepts. The cliché is not a something, it's a way of doing things that is doomed to fail.
Let's take a real life example, the biggest date "cliché" of all times: buying roses to your girl. Is this a bad idea? Well, I'd say go and find out if you don't know already. The result might surprise you. Actually when you think of it, traditional dating is one hell of a cliché itself. So should we stop dating like this? Yes and no, but mostly no. Some people are of course doing it wrong, it all seems out of place, and lo and behold, we have a cliché. Maybe it has been overused but only in this very limited context. The next day another guy might be very successful doing this in pretty much the same way except of course he's probably much better at it. Or maybe he's throwing some new elements into the mix.
All clichés do have something in common: they are built on familiar concepts. These two should never be mixed and that's what this article is really all about. I've said this already but I'll say again just in case it didn't sink in: a cliché is an instance of a familiar concept that is getting abused. There is absolutely nothing wrong with familiar concepts, quite the opposite. This should be rather obvious since we've been using them successfully for centuries. Why change now? I'm trying to get away from the dating example but let's just give it a go one more time. These familiar concepts clearly have an advantage: we all know what they mean so we can use them for signaling in dating without having to explain our intentions any further. Just like elves in fantasy fiction, we all know what they're like. Elves are slightly gayish treehuggers who are built a little lighter than men and a guy taking a girl out to dinner and bringing roses is probably trapped and doomed. If you want something that is pretty much like elves in your fantasy fiction then you should consider using elves because people are familiar with the concept and you can avoid that silly race explanation that really just says "This is a race that's pretty much like elves but I wanted to call them with a different name because I'm so unique." Of course your elves might have their own unique traits but that's just a good thing: you're throwing some new elements into the mix.
Story concepts are no different. Actually I'd like to argue, and in fact I have done so already in one of my short stories, that every story has been told, and that if you try to come up with a unique plot that's never seen before you might as well wish for a pony while you're dreaming. I'd like to digress a little bit and take you to Hollywood. Main stream film is a prime example of bad writing. You can instantly recognise a bad movie: it's the one that takes some new concept (at least from the Hollywood point of view) and wraps it around a very familiar concept. This makes for a cliché. They're not throwing new elements to the mix, they're just wrapping the old mix in new shiny clothes (theme). At the same time we have movies that seemingly bring nothing new to the pool of movie plots, and in fact they really don't, but the way they're done makes them actually good. A good writer has simply taken the familiar concepts and arranged them in an interesting way. This is essentially how good stories are built and the further we deconstruct any story the more evidence we can gather. We might even say that all stories are made of small familiar (i.e. generic) elements but more often than not, the elements aren't even particularly small but rather obvious. Still we don't call them clichés and actually, we don't even notice them in this light. We only notice a cliché when something familiar is poorly used.
Now then, what about the other claim? Most of the time we shouldn't even try to create something new? Consciously trying to create something new is nothing but a waste of time if you try to force it. Ideas can't be forced. Moreover, inspiration typically arises from familiar concepts as modifications or rearrangements. The process of forcing new ideas is something I'd imagine to happen in the industry with ten guys brainstorming a hundread ideas each. Now I know this is a good method for many products but I'd strongly argue against this when writing fiction. Of course every once in a while you actually do come up with a rather new idea and this is of course a good thing. Herein lies a trap however. A new idea is not enough. It's no excuse for using familiar concepts poorly. The new idea can be a centerpiece, but in the end it's just that little extra that goes into a mix of familiar concepts. On the other hand, if you construct something entirely of new ideas it might even turn against itself, being too alien for people to really grasp it.
So stop worrying about new ideas. The familiar concepts are your friends as long as you don't turn them into clichés. In the end, the new idea is nothing but added flavor to a good story, something that makes it a little different from all the other good stories around and about. Quality prevails.