What is the worst Charcter Cliches you can possibly name?

The hidden talent with terrible stage fright who learns to conquer her fears and share her talent for better self confidence and well being of others.

 

Half the contestants on X Factor then, yea

I know it's not a novel cliche, but the people who go on X Factor with that, so nervous, don't know good they are bs . . . . that's a cliche I dislike

 

Even worse, the people who think they are so awesome at singing and are really dreadful.

 

Those people are the only reason I watch the show

 

This. The "nerd" stereotype is the one that bugs me most (maybe because I'm a computer engineer by trade). It always seems that the computer expert in any story has to be a fat, schlumpy, socially-inept and somewhat repulsive glasses-wearing NERD. Preferably with pimples. And he never does his laundry.

I have met many, many brilliant computer people who are good-looking, well-groomed, well-dressed, socially wonderful guys, with many interests and talents beyond computers, but it seems that in fiction (hack fiction, at least), they don't exist. Argh.

 

There are no character cliches. There are predictable archetypes, best cured by them taking unexpected turns.

 

The guy who's relaxed back, eats a lot and is dumb, silly but still manages to save the day anyway. Usually in most Shounen animes -__-

 

Speaking of animes, all of the females are flawless - Big doe eyes, long flowing hair, and abnormally large chests. LAME. Nobody looks like that.

 

Not all females ;D But there is always a character with big boobs in most anime. Well, it is anime, so ofc they're going to have big eyes lol

 

We're just having a fun discussion. And I see your point, but at the same time, there really are certain things that've been overdone so many times, in the same ways, they make the reader groan "not again."

 

Hahaha oh dear... that is, indeed, the premise of my novel!!! Ahh well, I always knew I wrote tonnes of cliches... I don't mind lol.

As for what someone else said, the girl who couldn't do things because of the times she's in - Mulan is definitely an exception! It was the first EVER story written that promoted gender equality in China - I mean, that's gotta be worth something! Besides which, it's more than prose - it's a famous poem. Chinese poetry is damn hard to write - 100 times harder than modern day English poetry - I only wish I could write in Chinese!

And anime - whoever said that - you should watch Princess Mononoke Try that on for doll-like anime girls. I dare say few anime characters have as much character, dignity and sass as the creations of Hayao Miyazaki!

Cliches... I do hate the anime cliche of "Save meeeee!" girls - many scream and cry and they're just pathetic. They're ALWAYS the key to every adventure, supposedly the most powerful of everyone and is the only special person who can use a certain weapon or power. But somehow, even though she'd been bestowed with such things, she's always cowering in a corner, eyes wide, her little mouth slightly parted and her hands earnestly clasped before her and she watches intently the battle which her lover (who has not yet express his love for her, though he would die for her) is fighting to the death in, all for her sake.

There, anime cliche - look into the anime genre geared for girls - they almost always fall into this category!!!

 

Mallory, for you it is a fun discussion. I cannot be sure everyone is participating in that same spirit.

I have seen plenty of evidence of developing writers who really fear their characters or storyline may be cliche. I think it's important to challenge that crippling fallacy.

 

There are so many to name but I can't stand the dumb guy who makes a bet with some of someone to get a girl. Then he falls in love with the girl, she finds out, he apologizes and they live happily ever after. Hate that one

 

Someone out there is reading this thread and weeping quietly to themselves.

The issue really is that any character archetype not played to some subversion of itself in this post-modern age where everyone and their dog is writing and a gajillion books are published now looks old-hat, and quickly over-used. Creativity these days is mostly about pulling off something which when described in plain terms sounds like everything else, but in a way that makes people think it was worth their money. People will gamble on this since everything sounds samey these days, which is why disappointment often runs high: you can't know how something will play out until you read/watch it, since with the mass of creative output, there's just no way for every single person to come up with new twists.

In any case, character archetypes that bug me are the typical american high school student ones because on my amateur writer's forum I admin, 90% of the stuff posted there is nervous first attempts starring self-inserts, and as admin I feel obliged to read *everything*. :/

 

I hate when people make characters who are perfect, except for a little clumsiness, as if clumsiness is a fault and not usually used as a humor device in fiction that endears you more to the character rather than causes you to hate them.

 

Extending this further, I hate what I call "game balance" flaws in general. The author creates a character who's perfect in every way, an obvious wish-fulfillment character, the kind that annoys me immensely. Then he tacks on a few random flaws because someone told him that a character needs flaws. Yes, a character needs flaws, but they're not things that you pin to a finished character like ornaments on a Christmas tree.

ChickenFreak

 

Let us say for your sake we are talking about character types we are sick of hearing about.

For me, a main character who is an orphan is very much an off-put or has had one parent die before the start of the novel. It seems like the author is trying to get you to automatically start sympathising with the main character right off the bat.

Not fond of the pretty girl type whether she's good or badass and acts like she doesn't know she's hot. I like my characters to have flaws in any case. British characters seem to be the best for this.

The strong, silent type is something I wouldn't mind seeing or reading a little less of either. Brooding characters only go so far with me.

 

Female pirates who have a reputation for being terrible and powerful and nasty but are really just feisty girls who never actually hurt anyone and have just managed to manufacture a reputation for themselves.

I mean, I like reading these books (occasionally), but it is so overdone - for once I'd like to see a blood-thirsty pirate queen who really did kill almost everyone they attacked, leaving only one alive to spread the tale.

Orphans are commonly used in children's books because they remove the parental element - if you wanted to write a realistic children's book and something strange was happening - most kids would go to their parents for help, so remove the parents from the equation (or make them dysfunctional) and voila, no parents to get in the way of the plot.

In my story the main character is an orphan who is also the rightful heir to the throne. But hopefully the other plot-points (setting, characters) will be enough to remove from it the cliche aspect. In fact, I'm half tempted to throw in some other cliches too, but I can't bring myself to write a prophecy. Prophecies are a very weak plot device.

 

The hot, ass-kicking heroine in a revealing outfit (Xena Warrior Princess, Psylocke in X-Men, Silk Spectre in Watchmen, etc).
The slow-witted, over-weight comic relief who only thinks about food (because we all know IQ is inversely proportional to body fat).
The beautiful and popular author/reader stand-in (makes me wish the villain wins!)
Most super hero characters.
Nerds who are boys, are smart, wear glasses, have asthma and look weird. (This cliché is so stereotypical, that just changing the nerd boy to a nerd girl makes it feel fresh.)
In anime: cute, giggly girls. (Apparently, there are no average-looking girls in Japan, and at least half the population is between the ages of 12 and 20)

 

^ Yes; that's the thing I hate most. The Prophesised Character. It is THE most lame plot device ever created. Why the frack should we ever worry about the character, the mission OR the world even; when we know for a fact, straight off, that this character it "destined" to save the world from the evil dude or destroy the big horrid dragon or whatever. Not to mention that these characters who are the subject of the prophecy are always humble and like 'oh, it can't be me' 'I can't do this, I'm not good enough to save the whole world ...*emo*'

If I was a prophecised character I'd probably swagger around like: 'Yeah, that's right: worship me bitchez; I'm just that special'. 'Legion of big bad's minions? No fookin' problem- let me just get out my super-awesome-prophesised-to-defeat-the-dark-lord powers and I'll blast them to the seven hells...'

And so on... See; how funny would that be? (or perhaps if a prophesised character actually died or failed to fulfill the prophecy and the remaining char's had to find a way out by themselves... I'd read that!

 

Or like this:

"Prophecy? Oh, we just made that up so the peasants would follow him. What? He walked right in front of a dragon because he thought he was invincible? Oh well, now you have to help me find a new idiot!"

 

Well, this might apply to scripts more than books, but I am so tired of these characters ...

The self-assured career woman who can never find a suitable mate, always choosing Mr. Wrong even though Mr. Right is right under her nose.

The Mr. Wrong character who is always overtly good-looking but egotistical and will inevitably break the career woman's heart, usually in a humiliating, public fashion. This character is always phoney in his motives, shallow and rich.

The Mr. Right character, who is way above average looking but somehow the career woman misses this. He is never rich and must win the woman over with his supposed subtle good-looks and honesty. :/

Career Woman will fall in love with Mr. Right, but of course somewhere in that relationship she will make some huge mistake such as canoodling with Mr. Wrong right in the exact spot Mr. Right walks past. Mr. Right will be furious with career woman, and Career Woman will drop on her knees and beg him to forgive her. There will be a showy scene where Career woman displays just show much she needs Mr. Right back. He will of course take her back with open arms. Cue something humiliating happening to Mr. Wrong. Career Woman and Mr. Right get married. The end.


ugh.

 

YAY for Brits You should read Henning Mankell's crime novels. His character Wallander is still one of the most human characters I've read in a bestseller!

Is Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander a cliche, or not, out of interest?

To be honest, I think every character is "typical" or "cliche" in some way - it's all on how you write it anyway. A man who loses his temper and loses his wife can be a cliche (think detective stories) but when written well, that just makes him human.

 

With all due respect to the British and her might during the Napoleonic Wars:

I'm very tired of reading about the young naval officer who's shy, reclusive and has trouble hanging onto women because they either leave him or are dead. Bonus: He's an orphan who came from a terrible orphanage run by a cruel orphanage master. Yet despite all the crap he endures from his superiors (some who actually want to see him die even though they're all supposed to be on the same side), he perserveres and rises through the ranks as the sole shining star.

I'm also tired of reading about...

#1- Sci-fi involving a stubborned council and the lone military officer who is trying to save the universe.

#2- The cruel tavern owner who beats up the poor orphaned hero (or just generally treats the hero like crap). (realizes he's now talking about one of his own characters.) MEEP! O___O (scrambles to rewrite the guy's character)

#3- The angsty assassin.

#4- The torn outlaw trying to redeem himself. (Though that didn't stop me from enjoying Red Dead Redemption even though that's the entire plot.)

#5- Characters that exist only as national stereotypes: The gunho, brash American who shoots first and asks questions later. The civilized Brit who uses his clever wits and charm and has a chronic obsession with tea. The honor-bound Asian who's probably out for some non-specific revenge and fights with ninja weapons. The down-to-earth Indian who is fighting for "the spirits of his ancestors". It's okay to have characters from different nations, but I'd like to read about the characters, not national stereotypes.

#6- The jock is a brute and exists only to pick on and humiliate the geeky protagonist. In my story, my jock (a baseball player) is actually a kind, compassionate person and he IS the protagonist!

#7- Dad is a football nut but son isn't. Dad hates son because of this and treats him like shit. Why can't there be a story where football nut dad doesn't mind that his boy doesn't care about the sport? Also, is there any story where the dad hates football, but the son loves it?

 

Wow I think almost every book I've read or movie I've watched has had at least something mentioned here.
Besides the Mary Sue/Marty Stu I can't think of anything I hate all that much. It really depends on how well it's written.