cliched plot devices , anyone?

[grimreaper]

Yesterday, I came upon this article.
The Well-Tempered Plot Device: Nick Lowe

The author here mentions and classifies several types of plot devices that have been used over and over again in the SF/F genre in different forms.
After reading this article , I was left wondering ,"does it really matter if I use these or similar plot devices in my story?". I don't think it does. After all , who cares if an author uses a plot device to justify a point or two , or an odd adventure a character has to go on. So long as he/she does not do it too often , that is.

Your views please , if you wish, both on that article and on that one interminable question , "How often is too often?"

 

[CupofJoe]

For me, clichés in writing are a bit like chords in music...
you can get away with using only three chords and have a great musical career – the trick is not to use them to the same beat in the same order...

 

[Steerpike]

you can get away with using only three chords and have a great musical career

Ramones. Or, by adding one:

 

[Steerpike]

Yes. You can use any of these "cliched" elements and still have a great story. You have to be cognizant of what you are using and how readers might react to it, but great writers can make a brilliant story with them.

 

[Feo Takahari]

The question, of course, is whether you're a great writer.

I would never write a story based in fatalism, not because of my disbelief in fatalism (I disbelieve in magic, and I still write about it), but because I don't think I, personally, would be able to write a good story involving it. What skill I have relates in part to characters in unexpected situations making unexpected choices, so if I take their choices from them, I take my skill as well.

On the flipside of things, I am ready, willing, and capable of writing a collect-the-coupons plot, because I think I can make interesting coupons. In fact, my current story is of this form, specifically the gotta-kill-em-all subtype--three heroes and three monsters, each monster a counterpart to a hero--and I think it's turning out well, because I've been able to use the fights to illuminate the heroes' pasts and beliefs.

To sum it up, I care if you use cliches badly, whether they're occasional or not, but I have no problem with cliches used well. Just practice enough to learn what your skills are, and don't be afraid to rewrite if things aren't working out well.

 

[yachtcaptcolby]

Don't hesitate to take those cliches and use them to your advantage. Cliches can be very useful in making your reader think one thing when you're actually planning to swerve into a surprise. Subverting certain tropes can win you a lot of brownie points with readers and editors alike.