I'm an urban fantasy and paranormal romance author. But, for some reason, my darling muse has decided she would make me obsess over a YA idea - seriously?! This got me thinking about the different types of books, which then fed the research of cliches. Here are a few of my favorites (typed with a dash of sarcasm)...
1. The love triangle - The sweet, kind natured boy wants the shy girl. But, so does the bad boy. Every YA book I've read has a similar love triangle. Gotta tell you, in all my years of life I've never had this type of love triangle. Hell, I don't think I've had any type of love triangle. But, it's fiction, fantasy, make believe. Therefore, we allow it, forgive it...even crave it. Need an example? Bella, Edward, Jacob....'nuff said.
2. YA in general - Okay, not so much a cliche as a hot trend. Adults everywhere are reading YA novels, therefore, authors everywhere are punching them out. Why? Is it like reliving our teen years? Don't know about you but I have no desire to do those years again!
3. Immortal lovers - So these creatures - usually vampires, and almost always male - fall for the shy, sweet girl and pledge their everlasting love. Sooooo, this 100 something year old creature who poses as a teen falls for a teenage girl, who just happens to have the maturity to know she wants to spend the rest of eternity with said boy? Yeeeaaah....I thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my boyfriend at sixteen - until we broke up and I moved on. Need an example? TWILIGHT! Love the books, love the movies, love the concept, but now, every book is doing something similar.
4. Hot guy/Gorgeous girl - Really? Every main guy is studly, hot, and usaually a jock. Of course, we find out later he's actually insanely intelligent and sensitive. The other side is the female...always so beautiful, yet she thinks she's plain. And the females are almost always shy. Enough already! Not all girls are shy and awkward, regardless of age!
5. Unknown, yet useful magical talents - How the hell did you go through life not knowing you could become invisible? Why is it these talents only manifest themselves when extremely useful and convenient?
6. Happily ever after - Yeah, yeah. People want their romances to be happily ever after, or happily for now. Can't we skip the falling-in-love-in-two-days thing? Can we avoid instant attraction, fall in love at first sight, and spend all of eternity together? I've yet to meet a single person who fell in love quickly and actually lasted.
Do you have any hated cliches? Let me know if I missed any crucial ones...
I HATE the misunderstanding that could have been avoided by a simple conversation. Yes, Dad, we are hand-fasted, so you don't need to call my baby a bastard anymore and keep trying to find a husband for me--I already have one. (Sorry, that's from a specific book that I love, but that one thread drives me NUTS every time I read it). I mean, really? Do people not say simple things that could clear everything up in real life? Yes, misunderstandings happen, but make them realistic, not just because someone didn't tell the other something that is so obviously an important fact.
ReplyDelete(I don't normally read historic fiction, hate it in fact, but the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is AMAZING. That misunderstanding I mentioned above is from Drums of Autumn, book #4)