How do you make a character not cliche?

How do you make a character not cliche?

Here's how to avoid character cliches in your storytelling:

1. Focus on Your Character's Origin Story. ...
2. Go In Depth With Character Description. ...
3. Give Your Characters a Range of Emotions. ...
4. Give Your Character a Sense of Motivation. ...
5. Give Your Character Fears and Flaws. ...
6. Give Your Character Strengths.

What are character cliches?

Cliché (n): A trite or overused expression or idea; often a vivid depiction of an abstraction that relies upon analogy or exaggeration for effect, often drawn from everyday experience. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial.

What are some examples of cliches?

Here are some common examples of cliché in English:

• Let's touch base.
• The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
• Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.
• I'm like a kid in a candy store.
• I lost track of time.
• Roses are red, violets are blue…
• Time heals all wounds.
• We're not laughing at you, we're laughing with you.

Can cliches be good?

Cliches are often criticized as the most overused and contemptible phrases in the English language. But writer Hephzibah Anderson says there are times when cliches are not only useful, but also create a sense of camaraderie.

What are the 4 types of characters?

One way to classify characters is by examining how they change (or don't change) over the course of a story. Grouped in this way by character development, character types include the dynamic character, the round character, the static character, the stock character, and the symbolic character.

What is clichés give two examples?

A cliché is a phrase or idea that has become a “universal” device to describe abstract concepts such as time (Better Late Than Never), anger (madder than a wet hen), love (love is blind), and even hope (Tomorrow is Another Day).

Is Romeo and Juliet cliche?

Example 1. Many clichés have their origins in classics like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. This cliché is from Juliet's speech in which she claims that it does not matter that Romeo comes from her family's enemy house, the Montague.

Are clichés really that bad?

Clichés are a form of notation, encapsulating an idea efficiently. That said, they can make for bad writing and should best be used judiciously. You can use them in dialogue, though, if your characters are the sort of people that speak that way.

What is wrong with clichés?

Using clichés is like using someone else's melody in your music or thinking someone else's thoughts—their melody would be discordant inside yours; their thoughts wouldn't help you get through your day. Not only don't clichés add to your writing, they can weaken it.

What are the 7 types of characters?

7 Character Roles in Stories. If we categorize character types by the role they play in a narrative, we can hone in on seven distinct varieties: the protagonist, the antagonist, the love interest, the confidant, deuteragonists, tertiary characters, and the foil.

How to avoid cliches in a short story?

• To avoid character clichés: Avoid stereotypes: Don’t just reproduce a stock character (the high school hunk; the Plain Jane). What are each character’s internal contradictions, strengths and faults? List them. Make sure each character wants something. Show, in the course of your story, the cause and effect behind this goal.

Which is the best example of a cliche?

• Examples of clichéd characters include: The exotic, wise, old ‘other’ who, as if by magic, has the key for the protagonist to reach their objectives The Plain Jane who is magically transformed at ‘the eleventh hour’ (itself a cliché) to win the hunky hero’s heart There are several reasons why character clichés cause frustration:

Why are cliches the enemy of good writing?

• Cliché is the enemy of good writing. We, as writers, are trained to kill clichéd phrases in sentences. But that's not the only place they can hide—they can infect the spaces between the words, too.

Why are character cliches a source of frustration?

• There are several reasons why character clichés cause frustration: Because they avoid complexity, they don’t ring true: Why can’t the old ‘other’ from another culture never be suspicious, mean, grumpy, jaded, unhelpful?