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Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 13:27:54 GMT
I'm sure we've all read plenty of fantasy. And if you've read any fantasy at all, you must have noticed some (annoying) patterns that seem to repeat themselves. The old bearded mentor, magical macguffins, young farm boys, etc.
Out of all of the cliches you've encountered, which is your favorite? Which one is your guilty pleasure?
Which is your least favorite? Which makes you cringe and throw your book against the wall?
My guilty pleasure would have to be finding out that the protagonist and antagonist are related by blood. I love all the drama and angst that results from the whole 'blood is thicker than water' thing.
I hatehatehate love triangles for the sake of love triangles. I understand that in the real world, some love is unrequited and people can like the same person. You can totally have that in your story! I encourage it! But why do all the love triangles I see end up being two really hot guys who like the same Sue? Why does it have to be a love TRIANGLE? Why can't it be a love octagon? Why not have "John is married to Sue, but Ben loves Sue and wants to kill John. Then there's Tracey, John's sister, who is in love with Ben and mentally and emotionally cheating on her long term boyfriend, Chad, who is secretly gay for his childhood friend Sean. Sean is not gay and is feeling uncomfortable with the advances of his friend, and when he voices his concerns to Tracey (while drunk), they have a one night stand that results in a pregnancy." I feel like love triangles are lazy and just used as a gimmick or because they're a sexual fantasy of the writer or something. --End Rant--
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Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 16:09:01 GMT
I wholeheartedly agree with you: Petty love triangles need to go, unless the story is about the romance and not the fantasy. I also don't like the cliche with the "loyal follower that does everything the hero asks without question". I feel like the 'sidekicks' should have a mind of their own and be able to function without their beloved leader. Get with the program, guys.
Another cliche that is so frequently used is that the hero/heroine's badassery is due to their lineage. "Daddy was a hero, so I'm a hero! YAY!" Like wut.
Can't the hero have a virtually irrelevant background. And no, this does not automatically mean orphan.
And prophecies are interesting and everything, but they are getting boring, because they all seem to have been made by Trelawney a.k.a they almost always dictate someone's death. Like there are worse fates than deaths, like body-swapping with a goblin, being indebted to a monkey, etc.
Guilty pleasure...hmm. I'd say it's probably the secondary villains. The main villain is the evil one, but then there's the other guy who is sort of brooding and tragic and asdffghkksdksl.
I'm a sucker for those. I'm not sorry.
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Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 18:52:13 GMT
Sidekicks in general annoy me. I feel like they're only really good for emotionally and physically supporting the Hero, and giving the Hero a one-up on the Villain as far as 'the power of love and friendship' is concerned. I ESPECIALLY hate sidekicks that function as the comic relief. So annoying.
I don't have a problem with the hero being a hero 'because Daddy was a hero' as long as the author plays with it and gives the hero doubts. I want to see how the hero came to that conclusion. Was he raised by his 'hero' father, or was he told stories about him? Were those stories exaggerated? Is the hero doing all this crazy shit because of some LIES? That would be interesting.
I also don't have a problem with orphans, as long as there is very little angst. I hate orphan-induced angst. I can see where killing off the parents is necessary to fuel revenge or to give the hero free reign.
Prophecies...are a strange trope. I've seen them done really well and I've seen them done really poorly. I think they're done poorly when they're used as an excuse to have a designated hero who is otherwise wholly unextraordinary (Harry Potter). They're rarely done well, but when they are they can be really interesting. They can really tie a plot together. I've had a story idea rolling around in my mind that centers around about a dozen prophecies all playing out at once.
Did you just say that there are worse fates than death? I'm sorry, I can't speak to you again. Ever. XD Just kidding.
Oh, honey, you have nothing to be ashamed of. My guilty pleasure is the PRIMARY villain. There's something fundamentally attractive about villains. It's not because of the brooding though, I don't like brooding. It's not even the whole 'bad boy' thing. It's that they're committed--they have a plan, an ideology, even if it is twisted and immoral. Villains act, heroes react. Give me a leader who acts any day.
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Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 19:39:37 GMT
Yes, correction. I like the main villain as well, unless they're pig-headed and too blinded by their own corruption and avarice. Like some primary villains can be done REALLY well. I absolutely adore Loki from the Marvel-verse, Ganondorf from Legend of Zelda, etc. I meant secondary villains like Zuko. The actual villain in Avatar was Fire Lord Ozai.
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Post by Arctura on Jul 22, 2013 19:41:17 GMT
And angst in general can be really annoying. Angst makes teenagers especially, very stupid. Exhibit A: Harry in PoA. Exhibit B: Harry in OotP. The list goes on and on...XD
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Post by Sleeves on Jul 22, 2013 19:55:27 GMT
I mean, every hero is entitled to a few paragraphs of angst, but not whole books of it, you know?
Angst just becomes tiresome after a while. It's much more impressive when a hero doesn't angst. It demonstrates that they're emotionally resilient and realize that angsting solves nothing.
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Post by Arctura on Jul 23, 2013 1:42:39 GMT
Yep, agreed. Also, I never realized angst was a verb lol:D I angst, you angst, we all angst.
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Post by Sleeves on Jul 23, 2013 12:19:13 GMT
I don't know if it is or not XD But I use it as one.
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Post by Arctura on Jul 23, 2013 23:10:58 GMT
angstangstangstangst
It is now
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Post by Arctura on Jul 23, 2013 23:11:38 GMT
This is off topic, but so excited for Friday:) It's times like these where I miss our D lunches..
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Post by Sleeves on Jul 23, 2013 23:29:46 GMT
I hope we have lunch together this year D: I'll be so lonely (and bored) if we don't.
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Post by Arctura on Jul 24, 2013 1:05:36 GMT
*sniffles* That is truly very touching, Ruler of the Sleevesdom.
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