jaunthie | Friday memage - writing cliches

Gah. It's been a long day on top of a long week. So I'm going to indulge in an interesting-looking writing quiz I stumbled across. Feel free to play along.

Cliché Meme - You know it's true. If you write at all, you've probably written at least a few stories that contain one or more clichéd plot devices. Take a minute to copy and paste the list below into your journal. Bold the clichés you have written, and italicize those you've considered writing. If you're into it, add one to the bottom of the list that we missed, but you didn't. If you're really feeling like taking a deep, dark look into your writing history, add comments.

Genderswap: Nope.

Bodyswap: No, although I've thought about it, and might do it if I could ever come up with an original-enough take on it.

Drunk!fic: Uh, I'm assuming the ! in the name means something, but since I don't know what it is, I probably haven't done it. I don't tend to write about drunk people, or use drunkeness as a convenient plot device/confessional, if that's what you're asking. If you mean have I ever written a story where characters acted drunk for one reason or another, the answer is yes, but I doubt that's the intent.

Huddling together for warmth: Yep, guilty, on multiple counts.

Undercover in a gay bar: Nope, but now that you mention it...

Pretending to be married: Not that I recall.

Secretly a virgin: Uh, what the heck? No. Can't say this one has ever occured to me.

Amnesia: Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever gone this route, not even in my early-childhood writing days. Not in the classic sense, anyway. I have had characters who have supressed specific memories, but that's not the same thing. And then there were the characters who forgot everything about themselves, including being human, but that's because they'd been turned into birds. Again, not the same thing, but it has some similarities, so I'll italicize this one.

Cross-dressing: I have a plot bunny that has a fun twist on this. He's been hopping around for a while. Maybe one day I'll actually try to catch him.

Forced to share a bed: I'm sure I have. Who hasn't done that?

Aliens make them do it: Aliens per se aren't really my things, so no to that specific outside influence. Gods, demigods, random spirits, and/or magical curses though - been there, done that, enjoyed the heck out of the trip.

Wingfic: I have NO idea what this is.

Mpreg: I'm guessing this means male pregnancy. Nope, not interested.

Mistakenly assumed to be gay: Only as an incidental side joke, not a plot point. I'll compromise and italicize.

Let's play truth or dare: No. Hated that game as a kid, don't have much use for it as a plot device.

Mary Sue fic: I've been writing stories since I could spell. Of course I have.

Aphrodisiacs: Yes, although it was more one-of-many-side-effects, and it did not result in sex (or even anything risqué).

Curtainfic: I don't know what this one is, either. Clearly I need some kind of online dictionary of literary clichés.

Hurt/Comfort: Oh heck yeah! But is it really a cliché if it's just part of the story and not the main point? (Not that I haven't written short stories that were pure h/c, just wondering if this is rather too broad a brush.)

Apocalypse fic: I don't *think* I've ever written about the actual end of the world (whatever that might be).

Someone has a baby: Uh...if I have, it wasn't a major plot element.

Baby!fic: And this is a distinction with a difference from the one above how? I have no clue.

Telepathic soulbonding: Guilty.

Werewolves mate for life: I don't think I've ever written about werewolves, period, much less what their sex lives are like.

PWP: Yeah. For birthdays, and because someone asked me to.

So I know most of the people who read this blog are writers, or have been fic-writers at some point. Anyone want to play along?