I was wondering what common cliches are there in Fics?
I don't read many fictions now but I am trying to again.
I was wondering this because I plan to write a Fic where it mostly makes fun of these cliches, so I would appreciate the help.

Here.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/93192/hammin-in-equestria

The first one that comes to mind is "Twilight messes up a spell." She can't even heat a cup of coffee without pulling some human through a portal.

Also, the word "portal."

The first thing that comes to mind is people describing Twilight as 'The lavender mare', ALL THE TIME!

929516 Huh, never seen that one. A common HiE cliche is wish fulfillment. Said human getting everything they would want in Equestria. In particular, a romantic interest with one or more of the mane six, defeating some major villain, et cetera.

929524

How have you never run into that? "The lavender mare" is a mild example, but then you get some really crazy stuff like "the azure speedster" or "the alabaster fashionista" if the author's feeling creative. There's even a term for it: Lavender Unicorn Syndrome.

929529 Just never heard her described as lavender.

929515

Is wormhole less cliched?

the two that make me roll my eyes are "Alicorn OC", "Luna is best pony/victim/badass/woobie/ lover/daww/wisest/ anything else that you could put a plot line on", and anything involving the Lunar Guards usually makes them stock jock badasses with no personality.

Contact me when you're done, I love a good parody. speaking of which, you may like my story "Celestia kills Luna"

The whole Celestia has a dark secret is pretty cliche, I think. Didn't stop me from using it, of course.

929551

She's old. Makes sense that she's got tons of skeletons in her closet.

Cliches are like salt -- use too many, and your story may begin to turn people off. Use a little, and it may spice it up!

929516 well when the character doesn't know who she is its fair enough that you use it. im guessing your problem is that they use it to often

929536

929556

Cliches are like salt -- use too many, and your story may begin to turn people off. Use a little, and it may spice it up!

I completely agree. In particular I was going for a twist on an old cliche -- giving her a dark secret but trying to keep her in character. Even her victims feel sorry for her.

Likewise, having a spell of Twilight's go bad has been a key part of at least a couple episodes. It's a convenient, if unimaginative, way to get into the real meat of a story. While I haven't used it, I don't mind at all seeing it used.

The trick is riding the line between writing trick, a la trope, and a distraction for the reader that jars the immersion if the story, a la cliche.
As long as it doesn't distract, which usually means it's not well written enough , it should be fine

One cliche that I've seen far too often, to the point of getting massively sick of it, is 'Earth Ponies are oppressed and abused by unicorns and/or pegasi'. I don't really like parodies all that much; but, if there was ever something that needed making fun of, that would be it.

There's also- this is just a personal pet peeve- 'Changelings are just misunderstood'. I am so sick and tired of seeing that idea in stories since there isn't even basis for it; there isn't even a redemption episode like Discord! You rip that cliche to shreds if you use it; you hear me? SHREDS!

Eep... I like to use lavender mare in my writing. Although, just because it's a cliche, does that make it automatically bad?

What could be used as a substitute? I use it as a replacement for 'Twilight' (Twilight laughed when Rarity made a silly face at her. Rarity grinned at Twilight. "Are you drunk?" Twilight asked). Just breaks up the repetition, and I prefer using a single appellation rather than getting all flowery and descriptive every third line.

929556>>929574

I like a lot of salt.

929584

I'm afraid you have a severe case of Lavender Unicorn Syndrome. (Sticks a thermometer in your mouth.)

Don't worry, sometimes I do it, too.

929584

Yeah, using their names all the time gets silly. You could use "The librarian", for another instance.

929582

I think you'd like a future project of mine involving a certain changelin on a certain small town.

Take a look at typical "shounen" clichees, they are plastered all over Fimfic.

The only particular clichee I can think of though, is the whole "the plight of the immortal" thing. The way Fimfic treats immortaly, the guy who invents the panacea will probably be shot by an angsty bronie.

929582

Hmm... you gave me an idea...

Twilight messes up a spell. Rainbow Dash breaks her wings or gets in a terrible flying accident. Scootaloo has no parents. Lyra's obsession with humans. Doctor Whooves in general as a crossover. I guess even Sweetie Belle learns how to use magic is kind of cliche. I'd call them tropes though, for the most part. The problem comes when you are reading the story and feel like: 'Oh, right I've already read this story. I know where it's going to go.' I've used many of the above examples in various stories of mine, and they've had a decent reception. But it probably helps to be aware that they exist and are another tool in your belt of storytelling.

There is a reason they are used so much, because they make sense at a first glance. But it can soon become akin to eating the same type of food over and over again. Each time it gets a little less appealing. But some authors are able to mix it up and create an exciting new dish for the reader to partake in.

929584 You think that's bad? What about the ones where Changelings aren't just "misunderstood", they're "victims of pony oppression" and the ponies and Equestria are turned into the freaking Third Reich.

929562 precisely!

929584

Generally you want to avoid it. Use "she" or "her" instead. Your short example with Twilight and Rarity wasn't too bad. I'm used to seeing the names, so I don't notice the repetition as much. If you had said "the lavender mare" I would've been taken out of the scene.

Outside of pony fiction, it's generally known as Burly Detective Syndrome. Explained here:

Fear of proper names. Found in most of the same pulp magazines that abound with "said" bookisms and Tom Swifties. This is where you can't call Mike Shayne "Shayne" but substitute "the burly detective" or "the red-headed sleuth." Like the "said" bookish it comes from the entirely wrong-headed conviction that you can't use the same word twice in the same sentence, paragraph, or even page. This is only true of particularly strong and highly visible words, like, say, "vertiginous." It's always better to re-use an ordinary, simple noun or verb rather than contrive a cumbersome method of avoiding it.

929596

As for using terms such as "the librarian," I'd avoid those if the label isn't relevant at the time. If Rarity and Twilight are having a night out, then you wouldn't call Twilight "the librarian" because she's not doing anything relating to the library at the time. I'd still avoid it even if she is in the library, personally. The label just sounds more fitting for a nameless minor character.

929577

And, getting back to the topic of cliches, a good question to ask when you're writing is "why?" Is there an adequately-explained reason why something is happening, or is it just that way because "all stories like this one do it"?

Second-person HiE story = You're fucking the brains out of one or more characters.

929574

Likewise, having a spell of Twilight's go bad has been a key part of at least a couple episodes.

...Which ones?

We've seen her spells fail, usually through no fault of her own, and with no consequence. We saw her normally-functioning spells have bad consequences, in Lesson Zero. But we haven't really seen them go haywire or cause unwanted effects, have we? Even Magical Mystery Cure, it wasn't her spell that really went bad. It was Starswirl's 'Press 'A' to Ascend' spell that was crap, she just cast it as-is.

Twilight being a screw-up is fanon. But I might be forgetting an episode.

929509
To the actual thread topic:
Dash injuring her wings was big for a while.

And let us never forget the dark, mysterious OC with a military past wandering into Ponyville, and befriending the Mane-6! Always popular. Bonus points for romancing one.

Apparently Pinkie must absolutely shatter the fourth wall on all occasions, making constant pop culture references and possibly talking to the author or readers.

Derpy is under constant discrimination and is bullied all the time. The Mane 6 will all violently defend her.
Also, the muffins.
And she has to say 'my bad' at least once, if she's in a fic. I'm assuming failure to do so results in death, judging by how often she says it, in stories.

The CMC has apparently exhausted all non-extreme-sports or demolition-related cutie mark possibilities.

LyraBon is a thing. No exceptions.
Also Vinyl and Octavia.

929556
Much truth. Cliches became cliches for a reason. A lot of them have storytelling value.

929571

I'm open to suggestions on what other words we can use to substitute portals and wormholes then.

929652
Rift? Passage? Gate? Way? Window? Ripping-reality-a-new-one? The Patented Pinkie Pie Parallel-universe Portal Pump and Party Pod Mark 4?

929666

.... I was going to go for Twilight's Passage.

Then I realized how dirty that sounded.

929634
Lesson Zero and Magical Mystery Cure were the ones I was thinking of, but you're right, that wasn't Twilight's spell in Magical Mystery Cure. However, while you might object that the Want It Need It spell worked perfectly, I'd say it also "went bad." (I'm very careful to be vague sometimes)

929679
More like it worked a bit too well.

929582
OF all the cliches, that one would actually make a modicum of sense because let's face it, if there ever was a group to get the short end of the stick in Equestria, it would be the muggle ponies

929634
Twilight screwing up is common because
a) She's one of the only characters with the ability to plausibly bring little Anon away from his (and it is always his) woeful human existence into a land of magical ponies
b) Twilight doesn't screw up all that much compared to the rest of the cast (even Lesson Zero's shennanigans were all purposeful on her part) and it's nice to knock her down a few pegs especially after MMC

929714 That type of attitude is exactly why I want to flip it on it's head and show it going the other way. Also, in case you missed the memo, Lauren Faust herself said that earth ponies aren't 'Muggle Ponies'; they have magic of their own that helps them work the land.

Meaning that, effectively, they control the food supply for all of Equestria; not to mention, they are- barring very few exceptions- physically the strongest of the types. And without the highly obvious weakpoints like the easily snappable horn, or easily breakable wings. If anything, it would make more sense for THEM to be the oppressors.

929652

I'm open to suggestions on what other words we can use to substitute portals and wormholes then.

Stargate SG-1 called it "the ol' orifice" once, but that might put your story into the clop folder...

929778

Eh, its already in the clop folder.

I'm pretty sure its the soldiers that gave that particular name. My character's a bit too mild mannered to say that. But nice suggestion, though. I can use another character to say that.

929767

If anything, it would make more sense for THEM to be the oppressors.

.... hold it. I'm sorry, I'm going to disagree. Yes, the earth ponies do most of the food growing, but their physical advantages are nothing compared to Unicorns or Pegasi. Unicorns can easily lift them out and away. More talented unicorns could transform them to helpless plants or other animals. Heck, maybe transport them to a place where they can be easily killed or held off. Then you have the pegasi who can fly, which that alone already makes earth ponies lose. They can also control the weather, which helps in food growth and can use it offensively against any type of aggression.

Of course, knowing what we've seen in Equestria, there won't be any real oppressors. Modern Equestrian Ponies are too damn friendly with each other to cause any real large-scale friction between the sub-species.

The Fluttermac shipping is clichée I don't remember a single story were we see the mane 6 in the future without the author having ship Fluttershy and Bic Mac

929767
I think that's an interesting twist but the question is how do a bunch of farmers get a leg up on ponies who are capable of controlling the elements and performing great acts of magic? How do they get close enough to clinch the horn or break the wings when pegasi can just fly away or unicorns can just keep them at a range with magic?

Is a Resonance Cascade a clichée? Is Twixie a clichée? Is Twilight Sparkle fucking everything up a clichée?

929728
Can't say I was terribly confused on that point. It's pretty obvious why it's a plot point.
After all, 'A wizard did it' is pretty much the most popular handwave of all time, where available. And Twi is the local wizard.

I'll never get the Twi-hate, myself.
People treat her like she's one of those stereotype action-movie memetic badass characters when... well... she isn't. She hasn't defeated a single foe through main strength, except maybe the Ursa by rocking it to sleep.

Seriously. She went to school for magic. She loves it and has done it all her life. People don't fret about Applejack being good at tree-kicking. Nor would they whine if a character who went to university for, say, chemistry was a good chemist.

929516

Ooh ooh. I have one too! The pink party pony! Guess who it is!!11one

929805 The element of surprise is the only element they need to control; and, despite what the fans think, not every unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. Spike outright states in Boast Busters that most of them only have a small amount of tricks related to their special talent; Twilight is an exception to this, but only because her special talent IS magic. Things like that are not commonplace and- barring somepony with a special talent in offensive magic- most unicorns wouldn't be able to fight back all that well.

Not to mention that, with the proper motivation, pegasi and unicorns could be used to keep others of their kind in line. Threaten their families or friends, or even raise them to the point that they're spirits have been broken and they only follow the orders they're given, and you have a way to counteract anything that any resistance could throw at you.

Then there's the fact that another earth pony centric talent pool involves animals; Fluttershy is another exception, but only due to a last minute decision on the staff's part. Understanding and communicating with animals is usually an earth pony trait; meaning that, if they so wished, they could easily have birds of prey outright attack pegasi as they flew and have spies that could be anywhere if unicorns tried to organize resistances.

The whole thing makes far too much sense.

I have got a general idea what I should make fun of, Twilight messing up a spelling bringing Human(s) in to Equestria, RD breaking her wings, Celestia having a dark secret, Derpy and possible death (I some how thought of a way to make fun of that), OC which is either a Alicorn (Which would probably be Luna's and Celestia's brother) or a pony with a military history and Pinkie breaking the fourth wall (Thank you Luminary for those last two and that last one would really work well in it) Thanks for the ideas/cliches

My Fic will be a crossover of a show that you have probably never heard of called Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger which is a parody of the series it is based off, so if you know the show you can probably guess what it will be like.

929627
That's my point, I have done some of these things that people have said about, but I never do them without a good reason, it's just wierd that other people collectively had the same idea

929841
Failure is the meat and potatoes of drama though. Readers relate to a character failing at something and then struggling to overcome it. The problem with Twilight is that most of that occurred off screen. Even though Rainbow Dash is established as a good flier, we still had episodes dealing with her shortcomings and how she overcame them. That's why I like to knock Twilight down; not to watch her fall but to watch her rise again to overcome her challenges. I just wish the writers on the show would show that to us more especially now that Twilight's all horns and wings and floaty crowny things. Characters are not defined by their talents and how they react to familiar situations; they are defined by their struggle against adverse circumstances and how they deal with something they're not good at

There are some cliches in romance stories particularly in ships that have been done to death. There are a lot of cliches, so many in fact that I can't even list them since everyone else already has. But a big pet peeve of mine is making Daring Doo a real life pony, I like her better as a fictional character thank you very much. It's like saying the events of the Harry Potter series really did happen.

Allow me to drag you into a vicious website where my own Traveling Tutor has trod. Behold, the TV Tropes website for MLP Fan Fiction.

Enter and be lost forever.

929946
I've been stuck on that page and the subpages for nearly 2 straight years now. Once I ignored my need to eat for several hours/days.