How to Avoid Clichés in Your Stories

When writing, we want our stories to be fresh, surprising, and unforgettable. But sometimes, even with the best intentions, we fall back on familiar patterns. These "clichés" can make a story feel predictable and uninspired.

The secret to originality isn't avoiding familiar ideas entirely; it's taking a familiar idea and giving it your own unique, unexpected spin. Here are five advanced strategies to help you turn the expected into the extraordinary.

1. Dig Deeper than the Trope: Exploring Internal Conflict

A trope isn't bad on its own. It's a useful shortcut for storytelling. However, simply using a trope without examining its consequences leads directly to a cliché. The key is to explore the internal and external cost of the trope on your character.

• The Reluctant Chosen One: The classic "Chosen One" trope is a starting point, not an ending. Instead of having your hero immediately accept their destiny, explore the conflict. What if they are completely unsuited for the role, lacking the necessary skills or temperament? What if they'd rather be a baker than a saviour? Their reluctance, their unique, mundane skills, or their personal motivations (e.g., they only accept the destiny to save a minor love interest, not the world) can make a tired trope feel new again.

• The Love Triangle Cost: If you use a love triangle (a common trope), focus less on the drama of the choice and more on the emotional and social fallout. Does the hero lose a friendship regardless of who they choose? Does the community judge the decision? Exploring the messy consequences transforms the romance into a complex moral problem.

2. Subvert Expectations: The Power of Interruption

The most reliable way to avoid a cliché is to surprise your readers. Predictability drains tension. If your story seems to be heading toward a predictable plot beat, try to pivot, interrupt, or radically twist the expected outcome.

• The Villain’s Interruption: One of the most famous cliché is the "evil monologue." The villain is about to give a long, self-congratulatory speech? Subvert it by having the hero interrupt them and ask a mundane, practical question ("Do you accept bank transfers?" or "Can we talk about that leaky roof?"). This immediately deflates the tension in a surprising, often humorous way.

• The Mentor’s Wound: The "Mentor Must Die" trope exists to motivate the hero. What if they survive, but are left permanently disabled or mentally scarred? This forces the hero to take on responsibility while simultaneously caring for the mentor, creating a constant, difficult reminder of the cost of their journey, a much richer motivator than a simple death.

• The Fake-Out: When a character is standing on a precipice, staring at a difficult choice, have them make the obvious, expected choice, and then immediately show that the expected choice leads to a totally different, worse problem.

3. Focus on Specificity: Killing Abstraction with Detail

Clichés rely on vague, generalized ideas and abstract descriptions. Specificity is the antidote to abstraction. The more granular you get with your characters, setting, and details, the harder it is to fall into generic patterns.

• Specificity in Character Roles: A story with a "beautiful princess" and an "evil queen" is a cliché. But what about a Princess, who is a master blacksmith and struggles with the physical demands of her craft, and a Queen, whose "evil" is rooted in a complicated, necessary political struggle to prevent mass starvation? Specific professions and motivations add undeniable depth.

• Specificity in Setting: Instead of a "dark, dreary castle," describe the castle's unique, specific features: the faint, persistent smell of burnt coal from the ancient boiler, the way the sound of water dripping echoes three times down the main corridor, or the specific, unique patterns of mould growing on the lower tapestries.

• The Minor Character Detail: Give minor characters a unique custom or specific mannerism that makes them feel real. The barkeep always wipes his hands on his apron before pouring a drink; the local guard always uses a specific, outdated slang word. These details are what make your story truly unique.

4. Challenge Your Own Assumptions: Becoming the Detective

When writing, you must become a detective, constantly questioning your own creative choices. Clichés thrive when writers write on autopilot.

• The "Because" Test: Ask yourself, "Why is this character doing this?" If the answer is, "Because that's what happens in stories like this," you've found a cliché that must be changed. Is your male hero's only motivation to "rescue the girl"? Challenge that. Maybe the girl is more capable than the hero, and the hero is only going because they feel obligated due to their personal pride.

• Inverting Standard Roles: Question the standard dynamics. Must the grizzled, wise mentor always be old? What if the mentor is a child who possesses ancient knowledge, and the hero is an ancient person who has lost their way? By questioning the standard roles and plot devices, you force yourself to create a more nuanced, interesting story.

• The Gender/Role Swap: If you have a specific character role (e.g., the muscle, the rogue, the wise elder), temporarily swap the character's gender, age, or social class. Does the dialogue or motivation feel different? If so, you've found a way to make the original character's identity more specific and less stereotypical.

5. Start in an Unexpected Place: Breaking the Conventional Opening

Many stories begin with the laziest openings: a character waking up, staring in a mirror, or receiving a knock on the door. These openings signal a generic story structure.

• In Medias Res: Jump right into the action (in medias res). Start with a character in the middle of a tense conversation, just after a life-changing event, or running from the consequences of a decision you haven't explained yet. This immediately signals to your reader that this story is different and catches their attention.

• The Climax of the Mundane: Start at the climax of a highly mundane event, contrasting the small stakes with the large stakes to come. For instance, start with a hero failing to bake a simple loaf of bread immediately before they are tasked with saving the world.

• Skip the Setup: Don't be afraid to skip the "getting ready" part of the day, or even the first three chapters. You can fill in the backstory later through action and dialogue, but starting in a fresh place forces the reader to immediately engage with the core drama.

Conclusion

Avoiding clichés isn't about reinventing the wheel entirely; it's about giving it a fresh coat of paint, a high-performance engine, and a surprising new turn. By adding depth, subverting expectations, and consistently focusing on specific details, you can take even the most familiar idea and make it feel like something brand new and entirely unforgettable!