Avoiding Clichés in Fiction: Three Types and How to Twist Them

Clichés are not limited to tired phrases. They also appear in plots, characters, settings, and emotional beats. A familiar element is not automatically bad, but when readers can predict it before it arrives, the story loses energy. The solution is usually not to reject every familiar idea. It is to add specificity, consequence, and an unexpected turn.

Originally published February 16, 2012. Substantially revised and expanded July 2026.

1. Clichéd Phrases

A phrase becomes a cliché when it has been repeated so often that it no longer creates a fresh image. “As skinny as a pole” communicates the idea, but it does not make the reader see this particular person.

Try replacing the general comparison with one shaped by the viewpoint character, setting, or mood:

He was as thin as an icicle that had survived three warm afternoons.

The new version does more than describe size. It suggests fragility and creates a seasonal image. The best replacement is not always more elaborate; it is more precise.

2. Clichéd Plot Points

Readers recognize familiar story machinery: the chosen one, the last-minute rescue, the secret royal heir, the villain who explains the entire plan, or the misunderstanding that could be solved by one honest conversation.

Instead of asking, “Has anyone used this plot before?” ask, “What consequence, reversal, or point of view would make this version mine?”

• The knight does not save the horse; the horse saves the knight.
• The chosen hero refuses the prophecy, and the overlooked companion must improvise.
• The secret heir already knows the truth and has spent years avoiding the throne.
• The villain gives the speech because the hero deliberately needs more time.

A twist works best when it grows from character rather than existing only to surprise. The horse should save the knight because the horse has been trained, established, and given a meaningful bond with the rider—not because the author needed a random reversal.

3. Clichéd Characters

Stock characters are useful shorthand, but shorthand cannot carry an entire person. The wise old mentor, comic sidekick, brooding prince, pointy-eared elf, and ruthless business executive all need details that complicate the first impression.

Begin with the expected role, then ask questions that create friction:

• What does this character want that contradicts the role?
• What skill would surprise the other characters?
• What belief makes the character difficult to categorize?
• What does the character misunderstand about themself?
• What ordinary habit makes the character feel lived-in?

An elf who loves baking is still familiar. An elf sculptor who dreams of flight, resents forests, and secretly builds dangerous gliders gives the story more possibilities.

Use the Familiar on Purpose

Some familiar elements are part of a genre’s promise. A mystery needs a question. A romance needs a developing relationship. A quest fantasy usually needs a journey and obstacles. Readers do not require you to remove those foundations; they want you to build something distinctive on them.

A useful revision method is to highlight anything that feels inherited from another story. For each item, choose one of three responses:

1. Keep it because it is necessary and effective.
2. Specify it with sharper sensory, cultural, or emotional detail.
3. Twist it by changing who acts, what it costs, or what the audience expects the moment to mean.

A Quick Cliché Test

Read the scene and pause before each major description, reveal, or decision. Write down the first outcome that comes to mind. If your draft always chooses that first answer, try listing five alternatives. The first two may be predictable. The fourth or fifth often contains the detail that makes the scene feel new.

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Find more practical craft exercises at Fiction Fundamentals. For manuscript feedback and other publishing-project support, visit Professional Creative Services.