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[kenzie-blossom]

The Top 10 YA Tropes/Clichés & How to Avoid Them

by So You Want to Write, formatted by Writerthreads

1. THE PROTAGONIST IS AN OUTSIDER

“I’m not like the other girls”

The world just doesn’t, like, get her. Maybe she’s awkward, weird, or super-smart. She reads Proust and only eats dry toast. She’s definitely not a cheerleader and has maybe one close friend (who’s also not cool).

How to avoid it:

Don’t be afraid to write a protagonist who’s popular, who moves between social circles, or who is perfectly average (except for, you know, being thrust into this fantastic adventure.)

(If you want to know more about why you should avoid this trope, read my essay on this in one of our earlier posts.)

2. THE PARENTS ARE DEAD

“They died in a horrible golfing accident…”

Or, dad skipped town, and mom works late at 3 jobs, 7 nights a week. Your main character’s an orphan? Never heard that one before. Do your characters come home after a 2-week odyssey without a, “Where the hell were you, the police have been looking for you!?” That’s weird.

How to avoid it:

It’s not impossible to imagine a wild, supernatural, dangerous and epic adventure in which the protagonist has regular parents. Heck – maybe they even aid the good guys in some way? Or maybe they’re just comic relief.

3. ALL ADULTS ARE USELESS

“Did your mom pass out drunk on the couch again tonight?”

Sure, some young readers are angst-y tweens who get their kicks from reading about parents getting their comeuppance, but we’d wager that most of the ones who are reading have a fairly decent rapport with ole’ mom and dad.

How to avoid it:

Let’s see some adult characters with agency for a change. It’s possible to build a world where the teenage protagonist is a formidable force and who also plays well with adults.

4. TOKEN DIVERSITY

“Hi, I’m Cheng, and I’m really good at math.”

Daily, YA readers come into contact with friends who have a different skin colour, culture, disability, family arrangement, and sexual orientation from them. They are surely capable of relating to a story involving non-white/handsome/fit characters. Publishers are clamouring for this kind of diversity, but don’t be the cautionary tale that writes in a token character for the sake of it!

How to avoid it:

Write diverse characters, but make them believable. Do you research: talk to someone of that lived experience. Your characters should talk, act, and even think the way that someone who is X would. Don’t force it.

5. YE OLDE DYSTOPIAN WORLD

“Hey do you mind just leading this insurgency for a quick sec?”

War. Really Bad War. Everything’s different now, bad different. This government sucks bad, gotta start a rebellion. Nope, it can’t be done peacefully – gotta be overthrown. Sure, this was an interesting premise in The Hunger Games, but nobody wants to read 50 books with that same basic plot.

How to avoid it:

Ask yourself – what is the story that only you can tell? Start with the problem or challenge your protagonist is facing, and then write out 25 ideas for the basic structure of your world (Hint: it doesn’t have to be all bleak and broken.)

6. PROTAGONIST CAN’T SEE HER BEAUTY

“I’m just an ordinary Hollywood girl making $20 mil a picture”

She’s the family favourite and has a line up of guys at her locker. She volunteers at the orphanage and is at the top of her class. But she’s modest. “Oh, who, little old me? I’m nothing special.” She goes through the book seeing herself as a wilting wallflower despite her incredible feats – until some guy shows her how special he is by falling for her. Please – spare us the 20th-century prince charming thing.

How to avoid it:

Show us a girl (or guy) that doesn’t need rescuing. Write a character who is actually quite comfortable in her own skin, thank you very much. She can still fall in love, but she doesn’t need

7. HEY, MY PARENTS ARE OUT OF TOWN. HOUSE PARTY!

“Whoa, you have a hot tub, dude?”

I did actually throw a party EVERY time my mom left town. But the house never got trashed and nobody ever got pregnant. That scene where everyone’s arriving at the upper-middle-class mansion, the protagonist not sure if he’s going to go in, and some kind of conflict ensues, has been done. While we’re at it, nobody wants to read about prom again.

How to avoid it:

Put your characters in one of the billion other settings that a teenager might find himself in: stuck at a little brother’s birthday party? Being the elderly neighbour’s dance partner for $5 an hour? Identifying bodies at the morgue? Get the story out of the parents’ liquor cabinet.

8. FORCED ROMANCE

“There’s something about the way your abs are glistening that makes me want to have your babies”

Have you read a story where a character serves absolutely no purpose except to look pretty and be some kind of one-dimensional love interest for the main character? That’s the calling card of a lazy author.

How to avoid it:

By all means – write romance into your character’s life, but his beau doesn’t need to be a walking mannequin. Think about how this other person can drive the plot, or aid the protagonist. You can steer right around the “love at first sight” angle. While we’re at it, let’s drop the “best friend turned lover” trope.

9. I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!

“Flunked algebra, but I’m going to defeat the greatest evil the world has ever known”

Main character is just a REGULAR GUY™ but finds out TERRIBLE SECRET™ revealed by FATALISTIC PROPHECY™. Protagonist may or may not have SPECIAL POWERS™ that must be used to SAVE THE WORLD™. Oh, and he finds out in the last chapter he’s of royal blood. Your readers are already considering suicide by paper cuts.

How to avoid it:

If you really need to use this trope (since it works so well) don’t just write another Harry Potter; come up with an interesting variation on the theme. Maybe your protagonist’s uniqueness is ordained not by fate, but because he trained his whole life in a special skill?

And the Top YA Trope Award goes to…

10. THE LOVE TRIANGLE

“Betty or Veronica?”

Your main character needs to find the Trident of Poseidon to complete the 12 Tasks of the Merovingians, aligning the Stargates and thwarting the Arachnid invasion. Also: hormones. Should she go for the guy with the 6-pack or 8-pack? The popular blond athlete, or the brooding brunette anarchist?

How to avoid it:

Love triangles are the most overused YA plot device by an order of magnitude. Unless this unholy trinity is integral to your plot (and why would you do that to your book?), don’t force it into your story. Your story might not even need any romantic sub-plot, but if you choose to include one, it need not be this dusty has-been. Get creative.

[kenzie-blossom]

Writing Prompt!

[INCORRECT QUOTE ADDITION]

Character A: Promise me you won't laugh?

Character B: Promises are an illusion made by people who are insecure and have unrealistic mindsets. Be prepared for laughter.

[kenzie-blossom]

ma'am those are my 15 emotional support wip research tabs

[kenzie-blossom]

Hello! I’ve been wanting to start writing a story about an enemies to lovers academic rivals kind of thing but I don’t really know where to start, do you have any suggestions? <3

Writing academic rivals to lovers

masterlist. main navigation.

@bluebxlle_writer on Instagram

Ooh good luck with your writing!! Rivals to lovers is actually one of my favorite romance tropes, so I'll be glad to help <3

1. Establish individual characters

This isn't related to the romance itself, but I'm mentioning it because it's still a really important aspect to consider. Before writing their relationship, establish their individual characters first - their personalities, their views on the world, and how they became academically smart.

I especially love it when they contrast each other. Maybe one is naturally smart, while one had to study and work 24/7 for their education. Or maybe, one loves studying and actually wants to get the highest grades due to their own desires, while the other hates studying and only strives for achievements because they want approval from their parents.

2. Bonding moment

Sometimes, rivals falling in love might seem a bit unrealistic. To make their relationship believable, make sure that they have the potential to get along. Give them similar interests or views that they can bond over if they put their rivalry aside.

Give them a bonding moment, where they can take time to know each other better and realize that they've grown fond of each other. Maybe they have to work together for an assignment, or they meet outside school, and realize that the other is actually a pleasant person to be with without all the fighting. (Bonus points if they're reluctant to spend time each other at first, but then grew to enjoy it!)

Also, take note that they shouldn’t fall in love right away after the bonding moment. A lil cute crush is always harmless, but instant love will be unrealistic. Before you write the start of the characters’ romance, make sure you establish that they’re starting to like each other as a person. No romantic attraction here - just two rivals who are beginning to realize that the other isn’t as bad as they originally thought, and enjoying each other’s company day by day.

3. Realization

When and how did they realize that they've fallen for the other? Maybe it's when a character was willing to sacrifice their victory only to help their rival. Or maybe it's when they stood up against their rival's parents, saying that their child should be able to do what they want.

You can be creative, but please, PLEASE, do NOT make it caused by physical contact. Touching someone won't make people fall in love. If they do, then they're just horny mfs. If you wanna write physical tension, go ahead, but do it AFTER the romantic attraction happens.

4. After the realization

After realizing that they like their rival, what do they do? They might either confess their feelings after being certain about them, or deny them instead because they can’t imagine the idea of liking a rival. They might even be clueless and not realize their romantic feelings in the first place. What your character will do about their feelings depends on their personality, so this is a chance to establish their individual characters too.

If they eventually end up dating, it'll be good to keep a portion of their rivalry, because the rivalry won't just, vanish when they fall in love. Just make it a bit more lighthearted (eg. ocassionally losing on purpose for the other character).

5. Avoiding toxicity

Although not as much as enemies to lovers, rivals to lovers relationships has a good chance of being toxic. Here are some ways to avoid it :

• Although rivals, they should be able to respect each other as a person and acknowledge their strengths.

• They also shouldn't bring each other down, whether mentally or physically. To make it healthy, rivals should want to be better than each other, but never bring each other down.

• They should NOT abuse or bully each other. They can tease and mock each other, but never romanticize bullying.

• They should also apologize for their past mistakes to the other.

An example of a healthy and well-written academic rivals to lovers relationship is Anne and Gilbert from Anne with an E or Anne of Green Gables. They often annoy each other and always compete, but they still respect each other and are always there for each other through hard times.

[kenzie-blossom]

being a writer is having your search history consist of excessive baby name sites and wikipedia rabbit holes about witchcraft and mythology and murder and having people watch you research the above with growing concern

[kenzie-blossom]

How to come up with a story title

By Writerthreads on Instagram

I’ve identified a few types of story titles, and I’ll briefly describe them below:

Common saying/phrase

Eg. When the Cows Come Home, Cruising for a Bruising

Usually, the saying might describe the events of the book or mean’s something

Something with a character’s name

Eg. The Redemption of Fletcher Cheung (my old title), Harry Potter and the _______

Or literally the character’s name

Eg. Oliver Twist, Doctor Strange, Hansel and Gretel

A location

Eg. Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Secret Garden

Choose an location where a part of the plot takes place. It would help if that location has a unique name (eg. Earhart High School would be boring).

A memorable line

Eg. The Stars Are Burning (my WIP), To Kill a Mockingbird

Use a memorable or important line, or a version of it. Bonus points if it’s in the first or last sentence of the book!

Use an allusion

Eg. These Violent Delights, The Grapes of Wrath

An allusion is a reference to or a phrase taken from an external source. The title usually alludes to something in the plot or a main theme.

If all else fails...

Use an unusual word

Warning: this makes the title less memorable, imo

Use a song title or lyric

Warning: copyright?? Also it might be a bit cliched.

Now that we’ve covered the main types of titles, let me give you some advice on book titles;

Long titles

They’re hard to remember and hard to type/say, which reduced visibility. Try to shorten the title if you can :)

Make it interesting

Eg. Gone With the Wind

Titles that use poetic language, vivid imagery, or a bit of mystery tend to be alluring to potential readers.

Use alliteration

Eg. The Count of Monte Cristo

Alliteration is especially popular because it’s punchy and sounds good lol.

Anyways, this is all I can think of! Comment below your book title(s) and anything I’ve missed.

[kenzie-blossom]

are you a writer? or are you just a burnt out gifted kid with a million half-formed wip ideas and the motivation to write none of them?

[kenzie-blossom]

my villain origin story is realizing how many words i have to write just to get to my favorite scene

[kenzie-blossom]

i think the most exciting thing about writing is that you never actually know what's going to happen next. even when you plot things, there are always plot twists you didn't see coming and lines of dialogue you didn't expect and you do genius things accidentally and it's like no matter how much you write, you never run out of ideas.

[kenzie-blossom]

if you wrote 1K words today: nice job!

if you wrote 500 words today: great work!

if you wrote 100 words today: that's awesome!

if you wrote 10 words today: i'm so proud :D

if you wrote 0 words today: you're doing amazing :)

no matter how many words you wrote today, yesterday, even in the last year, you're still a writer <3

[kenzie-blossom]

me: okay, time to write

me: *turns on the kettle* *makes myself a snack* *takes a shower and wears comfy clothes* *scrolls through spotify trying to find the right music* *makes tea* *opens laptop* *pulls up unfinished doc* *stares at word doc for five minutes*

me: okay i think that's enough writing for today :) *closes laptop*

[kenzie-blossom]

naming your characters - writing tips

name them after someone important

give them a name from their time

choose a name with a meaning that matches their personality

a name that foreshadows their future

name a character after someone you love

give them an unremarkable first name and call them by their last name

don't name two characters the same name, even with most reason—it gets confusing

avoid names that are too similar—"Anne" and "Anna", for example

choose names the audience will remember

research the meaning beforehand

choose a plant name

choose a colour name

invent a name by putting vowels and letters together

pick either a very unconventional name or very plain name

generally don't make too many characters or it could be confusing for the reader

choose a name associated with the character's personality

name them after a celebrity (with meaning)

name them after yourself!

pick a name you would want yourself to be named

go nameless until you find the right one—or keep switching when you feel you do

^^ try out many names

think of names from that genre

[kenzie-blossom]

I’m a writer, I say, as I look up a word I already know the meaning of to make absolutely sure I know the meaning of it

[kenzie-blossom]

if any of yall have writeblr like this so i can follow you on it

[kenzie-blossom]

to my fellow writers:

i hope you find the strength to finish that chapter, to finish your outline, to edit a bit more, to be kind to yourself

[kenzie-blossom]

I don’t understand why people don’t reblog fics but will continue liking everything.

[kenzie-blossom]

How can anyone say that Johnny was "doing his best" with Robby? Unless they mean that Johnny was doing his best to abandon Robby and ignore his existence, then yes! I agree with you.