Character Resources discussion
Avoiding Clichés
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Clichés: What NOT To Do
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(Am I allowed to post comments here, Kenz? If not, I owe you a sincere apology.) I just noticed that Harry Potter is an exact combination of hero and orphan. Well. except for the few points which relieve him of Gary-Stu status: his anger issues/volcanic temper (he should go into counseling for those, seriously), stupidity, and slight weakness for temptation.
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My view on this is that these aren't things you CAN'T do, they're just things you definitely want to think about before doing...
You see, a lot of published and successful authors have these type of characters. I personally don't think J.K. Rowling is one of them; Harry has enough flaws for him to be a realistic character. But there are others *cough*Twilight*cough* that are quite popular and successful even though (in my opinion) they have Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters.
Ѧℓ℘♄α wrote: "You see, a lot of published and successful authors have these type of characters. I personally don't think J.K. Rowling is one of them; Harry has enough flaws for him to be a realistic character. B..."Exactly. Bella is 'plain', but good-looking enough to attract the romantic attentions of a centuries-old vampire? She's got 'brains' but tries to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff after Edward leaves her? Really, Meyer? I do admit, I hate the 'fallen angel' cliché. It is way overdone, both in anime/manga and teen paranormal fiction, the preponderance of the latter of which I detest with a passion.
I haven't read farther than the first book in Twilight, and I skimmed over most of the last part of the book anyway. It didn't hold my interest. But yes, that's what I mean. Bella is said to be plain but the entire teenage male population of the small town she moves to is suddenly attracted to her.
I only
That's exactly why I read the first one a few months ago, actually. XD
Ugh, Twilight. Don't get me started. I read it because it was getting a lot of hate from people that hadn't ever read it, so I thought I would read it for the sake of having a valid opinion of it. I only read the first book. It was, in fact, terrible. Love triangles bother me in any book, but this one was just awful, Bella was whiny and everyone else was a flat, cliche character. Returned the book to the library and never bothered with it again.
Agreed. The way Bella whined about everything (she complained about the freaking weather a million times) really got on my nerves.
I cannot tell you how many times I facepalmed while reading this. I only got passed the first book, and I skimmed the last half of it because I couldn't take any of it anymore. I looked up jot notes on the rest of the series, and the ending that the series is supposed to have is terrible! Does Jacob really become soul mates with a vampire baby that whiny Bella has? How stupid.
It's not only stupid, it's also creepy. Isn't that pedophilia? I mean, he's, what? Seventeen? And the baby is a...baby.
Okay, any thoughts that I had left of possible reading Twilight have completely gone. :P What makes it so popular to everyone else if this is what you guys think of it??
Because it's romance. And because a lot of uncertain teens relate so easily to Bella, and wish they could be her, because Meyers portrays Bella as thinking she's plain and normal, when she's actually smart and perfect. In a way I think every angsty girl wants to be like Bella, and to have everyone center their lives around them despite their feelings of insignificance. And in some ways most woman still feel like that, so that further increases the popularity. The people that don't like the book either respect themselves and don't fall into such ludicrous fantasies, or simply despise it for its mainstream popularity and simply deny liking the series. :p either way, a lot of authors are cliche, but Meyers serves as the best example of a ridiculous writer.
Oh. That makes a lot of sense, sadly.
It's wish-fulfillment, really, on the part of the author. When I was reading it, I was hit by how much it read like a teenage girl's fan fiction. In fact, I've read lots of fanfics that are better than Twilight.
I'm usually okay with romance books. As long as it has believable characters and a good storyline, I don't care. But Twilight was basically hundreds of pages of drilling into your head that Edward and Bella love each other, nothing else. I have read amazing fanfics where the authors of those deserve to be published, but instead, this crap got published. I was honestly not born with enough middle fingers to express how I feel about this book.
Jojo wrote: "I'm usually okay with romance books. As long as it has believable characters and a good storyline, I don't care. But Twilight was basically hundreds of pages of drilling into your head that Edward ..."Haha! I love that last sentence.
Clichés: What NOT To Do
• The Classic Hero (Brave, handsome, and has a tendency to save kitties from trees. Bonus if he's good with swords and used to be a farm boy.)
• The Classic Damsel-In-Distress (Beautiful and completely useless. Has no idea how to do anything for herself. Submits woefully to her downtrodden position.)
• The Princess (Beautiful, docile or snobby, and likes elegant gowns. Bonus if she has blonde hair.)
• The Prince (Snobby, handsome, brave, or sweet—no matter what guise you put him in he's still a prince.)
• The Loner (Rugged, silent, and tortured by his past... we've read him a million times.)
• The Amnesiac (Especially if she's royalty, a powerful mage, or fulfils a prophecy.)
• The Orphan (Especially if he's royalty or the one to fulfil a prophecy.)
• Royalty (We're just tired of royalty, okay?)
• The Woe-Is-Me ('Mummy just died and daddy wants me to be just like him but I just can't because I'm afraid and what will I do and I think I'm gonna cry...')
• The Seductress ('You are rugged and handsome and even though you have a wife at home I will tempt you with my sex appeal because I am beautiful and like to wear leather thongs.')
• The Fallen Angel ('I've been cast from Heaven, my wings are broken and I will despair.')
• No Emotion ('Blink. Blink.' Volkyns and Elves are particularly good examples.)
• Villain's Sidekick (He falls for the hero and betrays the villain. Or he's an idiot who always screws things up but is forgiven every time.)