Got cliche’?
The cool thing about writing speculative fiction is that it’s all in your head. The only rules are the ones you make up. With fantasy, you can be as creative as you wanna be.
Ironic how most of it is full of cliches.
Vampire fiction in particular seems prone to it, from the old fashioned wooden stakes ‘n holy water, to the newfangled demon-with-a-heart-of-gold.1
As I write my own fantasy fic, I’m struck by how easy it is to think in stereotypes. Perfectly understandable, given the number of stories on the subject that I’ve consumed in my lifetime, but annoying nonetheless.
You think you’ve imagined a clever, unique twist on something, then remember you read it in an Anne Rice novel in 1987.
The only thing more vexing than a cliche is a stupid cliche. You know, the old chestnuts that have stayed popular, despite the fact that they carve plot holes a mile wide.
I hate it it when I’m reading about the vampire who got turned into crispy critter because he didn’t tell his minions to board up the windows in his basement lair. Sheesh!
Paranormal writers need a primer, a kind of Higher Common Sense for the modern vampire. Oh wait, that’s already been done.
3. The Hero will come armed with holy water, a cross and a stake. I will come armed with a 5.56 mm assault rifle and grenades. If the Hero has to cross open ground, there is no better way to reach out and touch someone than with a sniper rifle.
Technorati Tags: writing, vampires, speculative fiction, paranormal fiction
- Don’t get me wrong, I love me some David Boreanaz. I wouldn’t kick that out of a coffin. [↩]
One Response to “Got cliche’?”
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I knew you loved David Boreanaz. It’s like I said after seeing Brad Pitt and Antonio Banderas in Interview With The Vampire - “If that’s what the undead are like…..BITE ME!!!”