I recently read a post on The Orphan Protagonist Cliche: Why is it Still Used? - and it started up the wee cogs in me brain a-thinkin'.
WHY? Well, because I am so guilty of this. . . My WIP, Safia, is this way. . . But I also have a concept story that's been in my head for a year or two now, as well as some excerpts on paper, about an orphaned girl who becomes the youngest prima ballerina at one of the largest, internationally-known ballet companies in the world. So yeah. She is an orphan, raised in an orphanage (a good one, mind you, with people who actually loved her - which also happened to fail in finding a family for her. . . [CLICHE]), where she discovered her passion for ballet. Once she comes of age, she moves, rents an apartment for herself and her giant wolfhound, and. . . this part of the plot is rather unclear, but there's a chance she must give up her dreams for a while and help this top secret, secret agent, and they possibly fall in love, and he drags her in on some kind of dangerous adventure, and. . . well, ya know. . .
Anyway. . . The post I read certainly got me thinking. Why is it so much easier to simply do away with the parents (or at least one), allowing your protagonist full control of their own lives, than to actually have characters with good, strong parental relationships? Simple. The article said it best: ". . .One of the easiest and most convenient ways to get rid of that authority which would otherwise prevent the children/teen MCs from going on their perilous adventures is to kill the parents before the book even starts." And it is so true. You see it in numerous books and films: Harry Potter series, basically all faerietales (or a majority of them), Storm Siren series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Disney's Frozen, Big Hero 6, Guardians of the Galaxy, Lilo & Stitch, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, just to name a few. I'm sure we could add more. :]
So, what should we do?
Or so to speak. (Even that phrase is beginning to sound a little cliche.)
Think OUTSIDE the norm. Add flavor to the characters and their backstories. Maybe the antagonist of your story is actually the parent of the MC (main character), and don't they know it! Can they then lead their wicked parent to the good side? Or is there no hope? (That could be a terribly sad tale, or tweaked into a rather lighthearted, humorous novel - a great idea to try!)
What if your protagonist recognizes that his/her parent(s) have a great store of knowledge and decide to bring them with him/her on their great adventure to uncover stolen treasure, hack a spaceship, or solve a murder mystery?
I believe this one has been done a time or two, but maybe your MC's ultimate mission is to rescue his/her parent from parentnapping kidnapping or voluntary surrender. And all along the way they learn just who their mum or dad really is.
There is no limit to your creativity - except, of course, it be yourself.
I love Pinterest, y'all. Here's some more ideas just cuz:
Spice it up!
But keep in mind there are instances where possibly no other options exists for your particular story, and your MC's adventure must begin without parents in the picture. Whatever the case, be unpredictable. Make the story YOURS.
So, what of you, me lovelies?
How would YOU spice up a story, recreate a cliche, or choose to be unpredictable?
I wanna know!
I'm all for killing *most* cliches. There are a few that I won't consider killing - for example, the "good always wins" cliche.
ReplyDeleteI love cliche benders too! There are some really awesome ones on Pinterest.
Catherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
YES TO ALL OF THIS. I used to be sooooooo guilty of writing cliches. I CRINGE at memories of things I wrote. *shudders* It was ridiculous. XD Annnd I'm still guilty of it. BUT, at the same time, I'm learning how FUN it can be to totally flip cliches upside down. There is so much story inspiration there. I loved ALL your ideas of ways to turn the "absent parent" cliche on its head. A big reason I love Bryan Davis' Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series is because the parents are HUGE parts of the plot and very involved. It's so unique and great! We definitely need more parents in fiction! (Even though I'm totally guilty of killing off parents still... *COUGH*)
ReplyDeleteAnyways! This post was fantastic and very inspirational. Now I want to go and think up fun, upside down cliche stories! ;D
Catherine: I AGREE. Most, definitely. There are some exceptions, of course! And YES!! Good MUST ALWAYS win. I like that, "cliche benders" - that's a great way of putting it! Thanks for commenting, girlie!!
ReplyDeleteChristine: Haha! I STILL cringe at my writings! There's so much I have to learn about this whole writing thing. But I don't think you write in cliches at all. Your stories always seem so refreshing and unique! It is definitely fun to flip the cliches. YES!!! That's an AMAZING series!! I can't believe I forgot about it! They did have an incredible part. :D Haha, so am I! Thank you, m'dear! So glad you enjoyed this.
*casts nervous glances at all the cliches I've written*
ReplyDeleteSO MANY DEAD PARENTS. It definitely is a challenge to write certain kinds of plots without wanting to resort to that though, given that most of the characters' adventures are too dangerous for most parents to say "Go for it!", hehe. But it's also the perfect story trope to try to spin into something entirely new and different. (I really like the idea of a humorous tale of a child trying to turn the villain parents to the good side... ^_^ )
This is such a great post! I think one of my favorite ways to utilize this in storytelling though is to give the main character a figure who is sort of parental—someone who does want to look out for them and who does want them to make wise choices and maybe not go disappearing on some quest without being properly prepared. (Which is sort of its own trope too, in some ways, now that I think about it....)