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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

How do I make the downfall of a character moving without being cliche?

Asked by: Jaime Neal

How do you make a character less cliche?

Here’s how to avoid character cliches in your storytelling:

  1. Focus on Your Character’s Origin Story. …
  2. Go In Depth With Character Description. …
  3. Give Your Characters a Range of Emotions. …
  4. Give Your Character a Sense of Motivation. …
  5. Give Your Character Fears and Flaws. …
  6. Give Your Character Strengths.

How do you write characters that aren’t like you?

4 Essential Steps to Making Your Protagonist Real, Even When They’re Nothing Like You

  1. Recognize That “Nothing Human is Alien to Me” …
  2. Develop Your Character Through Backstory. …
  3. Focus on Distinctive Physical Traits. …
  4. Have a Friend Read an Interim Draft.

How do you get the audience to take care of your character?

Here are five ways to make readers care about your characters:

  1. Make Your Characters Need Something. …
  2. Make Your Characters Take A Stand On Important Issues. …
  3. Make Your Character The Underdog. …
  4. Give Your Characters Idealistic Qualities. …
  5. Give Your Characters Formidable Foes.

How do I stop being cliché?

The best way to avoid cliché is to practice sincerity. If we’ve come by sensational material honestly, through our own personal experience or imagination, we may rightly claim it as our own. Otherwise, we’d best steer clear. Our stories should be stories that only we can tell, as only we can tell them.

How do you subvert a cliché?

1. Subvert archetypes to avoid character clichés

  1. Identify a list of character clichés usually associated with their type (e.g. ‘warrior’ equals ‘strong’).
  2. Think of how stock character types (such as “mentors”) have typical behavioural features. …
  3. Then create a character to fit that mold perfectly…

How do you write no sounding on cringe?

6 Tips to Avoid and Fix Bad Writing

  1. Read Out Loud. This is the first step to checking your piece for awkward writing: read it out loud. …
  2. Shorten Your Sentences. One of the best ways to avoid awkward writing is to take out every unnecessary word, phrase, and sentence. …
  3. Be Specific. …
  4. Re-Word. …
  5. Tighten. …
  6. Delete.

What makes a character unlikable?

If the audience can’t stand your main character, then they probably won’t get very far in the story. We call this critical factor a character’s “likability.” We’ve previously described how you can make your character likable by giving them sympathetic, selfless, and interesting traits.



How do you write a shy protagonist?

At least in American culture, we tend to uplift and celebrate the extroverts, so it’s not hard to find examples to draw from.

  1. GIVE THEIR INTROVERSION A BACKSTORY. …
  2. USE INTERIORITY. …
  3. GIVE YOUR CHARACTER A CONFIDANT. …
  4. THROW THEM OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT.

How do you avoid flat characters?

Thankfully, there are ways we can avoid writing characters who will fall flat with audiences.

  1. Don’t make them stupid. …
  2. Don’t make them all one thing. …
  3. Give your villains redeemable qualities (and vice versa) …
  4. Don’t rely on specific physical descriptions. …
  5. Don’t choose race/gender simply for diversity. …
  6. Don’t reveal every detail.

What is the most overused cliché?

Popular Clichés



  • All that glitters isn’t gold.
  • Don’t get your knickers in a twist.
  • All for one, and one for all.
  • Kiss and make up.
  • He has his tail between his legs.
  • And they all lived happily ever after.
  • Cat got your tongue?
  • Read between the lines.

What are some good clichés?

Examples of Clichés in Everyday Language

  • read between the lines.
  • play your cards right.
  • it’s an uphill battle.
  • better safe than sorry.
  • you can’t judge a book by its cover.
  • bring to the table.
  • low-hanging fruit.
  • the grass is always greener on the other side.

What is the most annoying cliché?

Top 10 Most Annoying Cliches

  • 8. ” I’m Not Even Joking”
  • 7. ” With All Due Respect”
  • 6. ” Giving It 110%”
  • 5. ” The Fact of the Matter”
  • 4. ” Yeah, No”
  • “You Know What I Mean?”
  • 2. ” At the End of the Day”
  • 1. ” Turned Around and Said”

When should you avoid clichés?

When you’re writing on a more formal level, it’s better to try to avoid using clichés. They tend to annoy people, especially if they’re overused, and they may even create an impression of laziness or a lack of careful thought.

Is Silver Lining a cliché?

Testament to the persistent optimism of many British people is the cliché “every cloud has a silver lining”, and we felt it would be an uplifting note on which to end this article.

Why should you avoid clichés?

Why should you avoid using a cliché when giving a speech? because the audience might get bored and stop listening.



What are some clichés to avoid in writing?

Countless clichés in writing exist, but the savviest writers know how to snuff out trite sentences and overused character tropes.
Figurative Clichés to Avoid

  • Fit the bill.
  • Just the ticket.
  • Better late than never.
  • Down in the dumps.
  • End of the world.
  • Weeding things out.
  • A loose cannon.
  • Putting your eggs in one basket.

What is the opposite of a silver lining?

Opposite of an advantage or a characteristically favorable point. downside. disadvantage. defect. drawback.

Has a Silver Lining meaning?

Definition of silver lining

: a consoling or hopeful prospect.



How do you use silver lining in a sentence?

Silver-lining sentence example

The sky is a silver lining of every cloud. The pressures can be relentless, and finding a silver lining in the clouds of worry that fill your days can be difficult. Every cloud has a silver lining – more shopping time! However, there really is often a silver lining in a cloud.

What is the synonym of silver lining?

a consoling aspect of a difficult situation. “every cloud has a silver lining” synonyms: bright side. type of: consolation, solace, solacement.

What does a break in the clouds mean?

9 n-count If there is a breakin the cloud or weather, it changes and there is a short period of sunshine or fine weather. A sudden break in the cloud allowed rescuers to spot Michael Benson.

What runs deep mean?

very strongly Fear



Definition of run deep
: to be felt very strongly Fear runs deep in this small town. Her love for her family runs deep.

Whats another saying for there is light at the end of the tunnel?

“It has, at times, been difficult but he can see a light at the end of the tunnel now.”
What is another word for light at the end of the tunnel?

hope belief
fancy rose-colored glasses
light at end of tunnel trust
assurance credence
certainty stock

Is light at the end of the tunnel a cliche?

The end of a difficult situation or task, the solution to a difficult problem. For example, It’s taken three years to effect this merger, but we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This metaphoric expression dates from the 1800s, but became widespread only in the mid-1900s.

Is light at the end of the tunnel a cliché?

The phrase a light at the end of the tunnel is a noun phrase referring to the hope for an end to a difficult time and is often expressed as see the light at the end of the tunnel.