Writing No-Go List

Hey folks. For starters, I want to emphasize that the following is an attempt at satire. It was inspired by a skit I recently saw on the Baroness Von Sketch Show (good show, btw!) about a writing class where they are hoping to avoid the usual cliches. It got me thinking about sci-fi cliches, and what I would tell a writing class if I were in charge.

I would love to teach such a class and someday. And so I would consider the following list canon if anyone were to actually look to me for writing advice.

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Hello, students! Due to an overabundance in the marketplace, we will no longer be accepting submissions based on the following topics:

Killer robots
Misanthropic robots
Robots struggling to understand human emotions
Evil AIs
Evil aliens
Evil corporations
Benevolent aliens being saved by a human (aka. no Avatar fan-fiction!)
Aliens that are the crude analogies of human societies
Aliens that look like humans and speak perfect English
Time travel as the solution to everything
Dark futures that are dark because it’s the future
Dystopian worlds where technology is used entirely for evil
Dystopian governments that exist only for the sake of advancing the plot
Superheroes, mutants, or “gifted” types
Teenagers being forced to compete in gladiator-style combat
Teenagers being classified and persecuted if they don’t “fit in”
Teenagers who are “special”, saving the world
Teenage witches
Teenage werewolves
Teenage vampires
Love triangles!
Magic academies
Teenagers with magic companions

In short, don’t write about anything that has been done to death or just because it’s popular right now! You want to be as creative and original as possible, right?   Consider writing something that has the following:

Thoughtful commentaries about modern society
Aliens that are more than just a projection of human folly
Relationships that are deep and complex
Female leads who aren’t “confused” all the time
Female leads that aren’t always in need of rescuing
Characters that have at least two-dimensions
Bad guys that have motivations beyond simply being evil (no “Evil the Cat” stuff)
Good guys who aren’t pure in deed and motivation (no crude hero stuff)
Dystopian governments that exist for a reason
Dystopian worlds that became a reality for a reason
Insightful stories that explore the good and bad effects of technology on society
Stories where robots and AIs think about more than killing all humans
Stories that are about things other than white American dudes!


Stories told from point of view of someone other than white American dudes!
Stories that make you think and don’t have heavy-handed messages
Stories that include a surprise or two!

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What do you think? Too harsh?