Thread: The anti-cliche cliche

I was just thinking of how you keep something from being cliche, and is being cliche really THAT bad.

I was just thinking of a Sports related Idea I've had. the "sport" is not a normal one, but how do you tell a fictional story about any kind of sport without telling the same story? especially an underdog one.

There are a lot of factors to spin to make your story unique.

You can get hokey and cliche and turn it on its head if it's farce (ie Dodgeball) or you can add a new type of location and the people there we've never seen before (Mystery, Alaska), and overall, real, 3-dimensional characters that have real stakes in the story.

Here's the deal, we see stories that deal with the same plots and characters over and over, but part of the story telling magic is that we can tell them in so many ways. So, yes you might have some familiarity with the underdog/sports story...which is good, it will get people who like those stories to watch, but the rest of the story you make your own.

Again, think about the characters.

I agree with Wallmaker. It's about the characters. Look at how they develop and change and make sure they develop and change and make tough decisions. Your story will have conflict on many levels and the game is merely the main conflict (as it should be, perhaps) but the other conflicts (societal, relationship, cosmic, inner, and situational) will come up in other ways through scenes with your characters. What do each of your characters want? To win the game and ____? Answer this question for each of your main characters.