Welcome back! Today we are covering original stories which may not be as easy as first time writers may think. Original stories take a different angle to a familiar concept. Though they avoid cliches, overly familiar phrases and stereotypes, and overused tropes. Tropes or character tropes refer to common attributes or even entire stock characters.

For example, the damsel in distress. This is a very common female character trope. This character is very passive and exists mostly as an object for the hero to save. Even different versions of this character who become more interesting are still apart of this trope. Think of Fiona from Shrek and Princess Leia from Star Wars. You could also think of any princess from any bedtime story you’ve ever heard, waiting for their Prince Charming to come rescue them.

Another example would be the femme fatale. This is they mysterious and seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to seduce and entrap her enemies. Think of characters like Natasha Romanoff from The Avengers movies or Catwoman from any of the Batman movies (tell me your favorite Batman in the comments below because I want to start chaos).

The girl next door is another good example. This is the small-town girl with a heart of gold, basically the opposite of the femme fatale. This character is innocent, kind, and wholesome. They are usually the top choice for the male protagonist’s love interest. This makes me think of every version of Cinderella, or Mary Jane Watson from Spiderman.

One last example of familiar tropes is the chosen one. This is very common in fantasy. This characters identity typically revolves around a task that’s been set aside for them, which they typically pursue without much hesitation. This character may often be an orphan. Think of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Harry Potter from… well, Harry Potter.

These are just a few commonly used character tropes you should try to avoid when writing an original story. In addition to that, you want to try and have the most authentic storyline as possible. So, here are some cliches you should try to avoid.

Again we have the chosen one. This is the storyline that there is only one hero who can save the world. Because this is used in various genres, your audience will already know the protagonist will eventually step up and be the hero everyone needs. Predicting such a large part of your story can make the story boring to the audience. Think of most superhero origin movies.

Another cliche would be the love triangle. This is used famously in romance stories. This is where one character falls in love with two people and later has to choose. This can become very repetitive for your audience which will later lead to losing their interest.

Avoiding these cliches and tropes can see impossible so here are a few tips to help.

Try using your life as inspiration. Pull from an event that happened in your life, your upbringing, or even base some character off of people in your life. Famous producer Shonda Rhimes used her mother as inspiration for the character Dr. Miranda Bailey in Grey’s Anatomy.

Plan your character development. You don’t have to stick to this plan, but it can be helpful to have a road map of growth and conflict for your character. This way you aren’t forced to use any of the cliches or character tropes above since that would be the “easy way” out.

Change the context. Again just make the story your own. It’s not uncommon to be influenced by previous works, though there is a difference between plagiarized and inspired by. There are various elements within a story you can rearrange and play with to make it your own.

I hope these tips were helpful. Comment below any questions and your favorite Batman (for chaotic purposes).

Share this with friends to spread the chaos and tips!

See you next time!