Nod my Head - A Writing Guide for Wattpad Writers

(26) 12 Worn-Out Cliches In Young Adult

1. The Obscure Prologue
This seems to be a requirement for beginning any YA novel. Often a vision or dream. Basically tossed in to arouse interest with a vague, cryptic scene or a punch of random action because what if the reader bails before the author gets to the good part?? Almost always unnecessary to the story.

2. Love Triangle
These are a staple in YA. Why, I'm not sure since they seem to frustrate many readers to no end. Yet books with love triangles continue to do well, which is probably why we're stuck with them.

3. Beauty Blind
No one likes a heroine who bemoans about how hideous and repulsive she is when she's actually gorgeous. Despite her friends and family telling her she's beautiful, she will insist she is ugly. That is, until the Love Interest comes along and she is shocked that he is attracted to her. Suddenly she realizes she is beautiful after all! *eye roll*

4. Insta-Love
You know the drill. Girl sees boy. Boy sees girl. Their eyes meet. BAM. Instant, undying passion and devotion. They would die to be together! Even though they've only known each other for like 5 minutes.

5. Mr. Tall, Dark & Perfect
Not only is the love interest super-model hot, but he's also perfect. Because heaven forbid the heroine fall in love with a man with flaws! I'll take a fixer-upper any day.

6. The Brooding Bad Boy
Closely related to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, he is also super-model hot except he is tragically flawed. He has a dark, secretive past and is no good for the heroine. But she pines after him because she is inexplicably drawn to his irritable, brooding personality. The bad boy has the emotional range of a teaspoon and won't let inferior emotions such as happiness dull his swagger.

7. Royal Realization
Surprise! The hero/heroine was a prince/princess this whole time and didn't even know it! This might have been a good plot twist if we hadn't seen it coming from page 1...

8. Undiscovered Powers
This has become a staple in YA fiction. The hero suddenly discovers powers he never knew he had, usually when he comes of age.

9. The Problem With Parents
The death toll of parents in YA is staggering. If the heroine's parents are lucky enough to be alive, they're often negligent or clueless. Or, she is living with abusive step-parents, guardians, etc. Where are the normal, happy families in YA?

10. The Trilogy

Is there some unwritten law that every YA novel must be a trilogy? They're popping up everywhere these days, and it's getting kind of tiring–not to mention time-consuming.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good trilogy, but the problem is too many trilogies tend to go downhill and should've stopped at the first book. Must we make *every* story into a trilogy?

11. The Chosen One
Not to be outdone, the Chosen One is also a popular choice in YA. The hero or heroine is the *only one* in the entire universe who can defeat the villain and save their world. Usually they have been destined to do so because of a prophecy.

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have my hero save the day because he found the strength to do so on his own, not because of some mystical prophecy.

So does this mean you can never use any of the things on this list that have been deemed 'cliche?' I don't believe so! It's true that everything has been done so many times that everything more or less starts to feel somewhat cliche, and it's hard to be original.

12. Abusive Main Love Interest
"Dan" is attractive, mysterious, and incredibly freaking abusive. He forcefully chases the main protagonist into the relationship, and sometimes there is even a rape scene disguised as something romantic (every Wattpad story ever). He gaslights her, yells at her, and there's sometimes even one time he has hit her. My favourite (sarcasm) are the kidnapped protagonists who fall in love with the kidnapper.