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  1. econcetta

    econcetta New Member

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    Is this cliche?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by econcetta, May 4, 2016.

    Long story short, my main character is insane. I've done plenty of research and I believe I'm avoiding clichés with him. I'm worried about his friend though.

    Initially his friend doesn't know he's crazy and by the time he learns he is, they're already very close. The friend is isolated in his home (doesn't have a relationship with his parents, only child, etc) so he's yearning for some type of companionship. Is it cliche if he sticks around the crazy one despite it being potentially dangerous to?
     
  2. A man called Valance

    A man called Valance Senior Member

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    If the bond between them overrides any fears he might have, I don't think it's a problem.
     
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  3. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    You make it sound like all people with psychological problems are dangerous and have no friends! That is maybe the biggest cliché here. Your vision of "insanity".
     
  4. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    There's an enormous amount of information left out of this. You realize that "insane" is several million miles away from a complete diagnosis, right?
     
  5. econcetta

    econcetta New Member

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    @A man called Valance I'm hoping to portray that. Their bond definitely would defy fears, but I just want to make sure that's believable.

    @Tesoro My apologizes, I chose the wrong wording and didn't explain much. My main character's older brother is abusive towards him and their younger sister; after a huge fall out, he tries to kill him. Throughout the book, the reader should be unsure whether his reasons for attacking his brother were justified or not, but then as the novel progresses, he begins going after more and more people that he deems as threats, despite them not doing much of harm to him. That was the 'insanity' I was aiming for.

    @ChickenFreak Do you think it'd be smart to 'diagnose' him with something before continuing on?
     
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  6. Gareth MH

    Gareth MH Member

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    I think the issue here is whats going on with the friend. If you're able to realistically characterise the friend as someone who's vulnerable enough and needy enough that they'd hang around what is potentially an abusive friendship then its not cliche.

    The issue is not with the insane character its with the one that hangs around. So you have to make them believable. If you can do that then you shouldn't have a problem. And it seems like you're halfway there as you're creating a picture some someone thats isolated. As long as you can keep that isolation consistent as well as making the reader believe that he's emotionally vulnerable enough to take the kinds of risks you're having him take then I think you're onto a winner.
     
  7. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    Nope. Been there, done that.

    Well, maybe it's still cliché, but it happens in real life. Just make sure you play up the motivation and it won't seem cliché... or at least, not as cliché.
     

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