A Penny For Your Thoughts: Cliches and Tropes

2 Responses

  1. niccihaydon says:

    Absolutely right! Cliches and tropes are everywhere, because when it comes down to it we are creatures of habit and we like what we like. A lot of shows hook us because we like the direction that the show takes. If we tuned in and Sam and Dean Winchester were cooking meth, we’d be a bit pissed off, because we expect them to encounter something supernatural that they can’t immediately deal with, then later they learn what the need to do and defeat it. Similarly, if Walter White in Breaking Bad suddenly had to drive away a ghost with a rocksalt shotgun we’d never watch that show again.

    Most people agree that there are only a limited number of storylines anyway – we twist them this way and that, but it all comes down to the same few ideas. I say, take an idea and run with it, who cares if it’s been done before?

    • Mischa Eliot says:

      Exactly! It isn’t the cliche or trope that matters, it’s the way the author spins them into something new. Something bold. Something other authors wonder why they didn’t think of it.

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