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- CLICHEBEGONEVANDERHOOFT
Clichés are a problem with which every author contends at some point, which can muddle and drag down a perfectly good story. In this workshop, you’ll learn why they happen, why they–generally–do not serve your writing, and how you can replace them with stronger, more original, and more succinct choices.
- Outline
- Week One: Defining clichés and explaining why they happen.
- We’ll look at cliché word choices and phrases (“a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” “butterflies in the stomach,” etc.).
- I’ll explain why they happen (typically because these were once stunning, original choices that people likely kept copying and repeating until the originality wore off).
- Homework: identifying cliché phrases and words in 10-15 sentences and rewriting them.
- We’ll go over the difference between archetypes and cliché characterizations. Basically an archetype is a character or storyline that reoccurs throughout culture and history (e.g. the flood story that so many cultures have; the many cultural takes on stories like Cinderella and Bluebeard); Jung’s definition of archetypes, etc. A cliché, on the other hand, is a way of writing a specific kind of character that has been done to death (the wealthy, erudite vampire; the “strong female character” who is basically a tomboy who shuns skirts, etc.)
- How to make archetypes work for you and/or how to turn clichés on their heads. (We’ll look at Star Warsas a way in which archetypes were used to create something new and groundbreaking.) We’ll also discuss how something that is initially groundbreaking can become a cliché (Anne Rice’s wealthy, erudite vampires, for example.)
- We’ll discuss familiar plot conventions (e.g. the woman who recently lost her husband/wife and moves to a new town where she finds love again) and plot devices, how they differ from clichés, and how to make them work for you without making them look lazy.
- We’ll discuss familiar plot conventions (e.g. the woman who recently lost her husband/wife and moves to a new town where she finds love again) and plot devices, how they differ from clichés, and how to make them work for you without making them look lazy.
Individual critiques, 1,000-3,000 words from interested participants and look at their concerns surrounding clichés.
Likes:
Hollie
