How do I break out of cliche and well known styles/storylines

I am personally very intrigued with mythical/ fantasy writing, but I find it hard to break out of preset molds for such writing like the 12 step hero's journey, or other structures that feel cliche and boring to read.
recently I started writing a fantasy book which was inspired by Beowulf, and had Celtic/ Anglo-Saxon elements which would follow an unsuspecting hero whisked away from his home on a quest, the book would end with the defeat of some sentient evil, but overall have amazing worldbuilding. Upon rereading the first few paragraphs i discovered I rewrote the opening to the Hobbit. How do I escape? I end up falling into prewritten plotholes so to speak?

it would be a great help if someone had some ideas on where to find inspiration for plotlines as such.

 

This is a hard one. It is said that everything has been written. That may be true if you only look at the basic structure of stories. So, how do you overcome the basic structure? Restructure it. Turn it upside down maybe? Or rip out some pieces and insert them at random spots? See what happens? The worst that can happen is that the story you experiment with won't be very readable and will wither into obscuirty. Or it may set the standard for the next thousand years of story writing?

I like to think that my own universe is original, but it's basically a blend of things that already exist. I stand on the shoulders of giants, and I am an ant. My story structures are also just a blend of things. I am sorry I can not give you a better answer. This is an interesting topic.

 

I think this is a very interesting way to view things, especially plot structure. I think experimenting with it is a good idea, maybe unreliable narration and a wishy washy timeline would do this story some good. thanks a ton

 

You wrote about a hole in the ground? That's how the Hobbit opens.

A few things need to be explained a little more clearly here. In what way, or on what level do you think your opening is like that of The Hobbit? Not on a word-by-word level I'm guessing. So how is it similar?

 

well, I opened in a Star Wars like manner developing scale in the world, followed by a deep description of his home, which felt to me reminiscent of the Shire and Bilbos Hobbit Hole. Interestingly when laid out like this and directly compared it doesn't seem so similar. Perhaps Tolkien's legendary work with familiar monsters and creatures made my work feel ctr C ctr Vd. perhaps I just need to take a different route plot wise moving forward?

here is the original opening I wrote:

Over the hazy Ironcore Mountains and through the deep drowning mines where the fabled goblins slave away under the watchful eye of the dwarven council, and far far way in a peaceful hamlet in the house next to the bejeweled hut of the fraudulent druid lived a spry young man who had nothing on his mind apart from breakfast, and a much anticipated gathering.

It was Afterall Gildin Brond's 22nd birthday. His well stocked pantry called to him from between his bathroom and frigid stone kitchen. A carpet was laid out stretching proudly, with boisterous patterns in Ruby and onyx thread, from the threshold of his home at the feet of a strong wooden door. a Door built by his father, Bildor Brond, embedded with the family crest and made rigid with iron bars, now rusted green from the weathered copper coat. The carpet continued to the back door which when open, as it often was, looked out over the rest of Cobbleston, and particularly into the front garden and kitchen of one Petunia Parleywey, a decendant of the famous Privateer, Sir Blayarden Parleywey. The Parleyweys though not entirely human were accepted as refugees after sir Blayardon was hanged for piracy, but primarily they were respected for their enormous hoard which was hidden away on some Western isle.

On this morning, one particularly fine wheel of darkened Caciocavallo called to him, he had bought it to age about 18 months ago from a town called Dariyon just over the planting fields of the half Elvish Lord Granin.

Life was simple in Cobbleston, Gildin thought to himself as he lit a fragrance and watched the sun from the Eastern balcony complete its global salutations, rescinding its bladed rays which pierced the foggy morning air which lay over the sleeping town like a blanket.

this is all I have so far, I know some of the names are cheesy and on the nose but its a work in progress. No the druid will not play a Gandalf figure, but instead a moral foil in the beginning portion, and will hinder Gildin's noble intentions. And Petunia will not be a love interest, I don't plan on including any, but her family and gold hoard will at some point come up again in the story.
please hit me with any feedback (this is also the first time I've transcribed this from my scribble journal so please forgive grammatical issues and other things)

I went back and reread the first few pages of the Hobbit, and I think I was just nervous because I drew some inspiration from Tolkien's description of Bilbos Home. Other than that i see this piece in completely different light. thank you.

 

Is it really the structure of a story that makes it cliche or boring in your opinion? I'm not really sure how the structure of a story can be cliche. Or maybe that's just my opinion since I don't really think it's the structure of a story at fault for something being cliche.

That being said, story structure can be a lot of fun to play with. I do think with writing there is a lot of trial and error. And there is nothing holding you back from experimenting all you want. Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but if you don't like a certain structure or storyline, just don't follow that or use that.

 

well of course the actual material does matter, I think you are right. Personally maybe the material I'm writing seems chewed up particularly since I've only bene reading it for a while. but I think by experimenting with structure I can bring something new to this.

 

How far along are you in your writing journey? How many years have you been writing, how many stories have you finished? If you're pretty much a beginner don't worry about it. In fact copying and emulation are totally legit ways of learning. You need to write a lot of words before you'll reach a level where you need to worry about getting published. In the beginning just have fun with it. I emulated the styles of some of my favorite writers when I was getting started, and I learned a lot from it. It takes quite a few stories until you've learned your stuff well enough to have your own approach and style.

 

well then I'm happy to say I've only been writing for about three years, and I have not yet finished a single story. Thank you for your encouragement and perspective it has really changed the way i see this piece.

 

I started writing, entirely for fun, when I was 9 years old. I did pretty much of it (can't say I finished much, but there were a lot of beginnings) up through my twenties and into my early thirties. Honestly, it wasn't until I was somewhere in my mid-to-late twenties before I started to get fairly good. But of course I started as a kid—I can't say how long it would take if I had started when I was already in my twenties and a lot smarter than the kid I used to be. It might have only taken a few years to make all that progress rather than two decades.

I see you're 17. I think you're doing quite well considering that. And you seem to have a good grasp on what we call SPaG—spelling, punctuation, and grammar. More than that, you're crafting some pretty lengthy sentences, and they seem to be well-written. So you've got the basic skills necessary, it's mostly just a matter of writing a lot.

The way I see it there are two components to learning a skillset like writing—experience and theory. I didn't even really look into theory when I was writing as a teenager, or at all really until many years later. In fact most of my learning about structure and other theory has been only since I joined here four years ago. You pick up a lot just from doing a lot of reading and writing. Copying or emulating the work of some of your favorites will help you develop along the way. Possibly you learned how to turn sentences so nicely from Tolkein, or maybe a few others?

 

Even what you think of as a simple story structure is tremendously difficult to write, at least the first time. If you give it that credit it deserves, you might be more likely to finish the story too.

 

the usual places - what you read, what you observe, your take on things, things that catch your imagination. Then mix it all up and see what you come up with!

I think a reader comes to rely on certain structures in fiction, but that in no way precludes originality. There's a reason the Hero's Journey is done so often. It works, and there's probably a million ways it can be interpreted.

 

wow thank you so much! Id say I started writing when I was 15, and yeah I've always been big on reading, but I know I have a long way to go. Tremendous respect for people like you who encourage writers to keep going.

 

Yep! You don't have to worry about 'copying' other people, just as long as you don't copy whole paragraphs at a time and turn your story into Tolkien, or Pratchett, or Robert Rankin etc.

I'm in the middle of planning the framework to my 9th novel. I've learned a lot from Tolkien and Pratchett, and quite a bit from Raymond Chandler and his original metaphors and unusual ways of describing the world. (Doug Adams also had some unusual metaphors).

Tolkien's characters had a very fancy way of speaking. If you want to avoid "Tolkienising" your story, don't have your characters hi-falutin' all over the place. (Especially don't do it if your characters are not well-educated). To give a simple example, use "Goodbye" instead of "Fare you well" etc.

Another good tip is this: use your MC's (Main Character's) five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. If he's in a new place, describe what he can see, hear, touch, smell and/or taste. Not all of these will be relevant, and that's OK. Just describe your character's world, in as much detail as you can.

Let's say he's entering the King's Palace(TM). What does it look like? The stairs, the guards, the torches. The tables, the wall coverings, the chairs. Now the chamberlain is offering him candied grapes. What does the chamberlain look like? What does your character feel? Is he awed by the grandeur of it all, or is he used to it (yawwwn?) Is he intimidated by the guards, or are they old friends?

Now the King orders your MC to sit and listen. He's offering your MC a job. What does your MC think? Is he suitably humble ("Yes, Your Majesty"), or is he indignant - this jumped-up parvenu was nobody a couple of years ago, how dare he... etc. Of course, your MC's reaction will depend on who he is. Is he a farmer? A merchant? A nobleman? A priest? His mode of speech will depend on who he is. It's simple: a farmer speaks differently than a priest, etc., because different people see the world differently.

See how easy it is? Don't be afraid to experiment. Different minds, different voices, different ways to speak. Good luck!

 

I love the way you explain this, thank you! (Hi-Falutin')

 

I think it starts with a "what if"....
Honestly, every story has been written a hundred ways over. but what makes a lot of them different is the "what if" factor.
For Example, The Last Airbender was the classic Heroes Journey story. Reluctant hero called to action, meets wise people along the way that guides him onhis journey. Saves the world.
Then you have The Legend of Korra. It felt like (in my opinion) the conversation around it was "what if we make her an eager hero? what if we make her strong and confident and without flaws right out the gate" [insert opening scene of little Korra saying "I'm the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!]... where would her story take her? what, then, is her journey? Where Aang's call to action was Zuko's attack on the Water Tribe (or discovering the air benders had been destroyed), Korra's call to action took longer to realize. Hers wasnt to save the world, it was to save her bending and become relevant to a society that evolved out of a need for an Avatar.
also my opinion: i feel like a lot of hate over the character and the show was how much her story strayed from the heros journey trope. She was reluctant to listen to wisdom. she didnt have a group of "wise elders" around her, there was nothing she could learn from her Avatar Gang. All of it was internal.
Interesting deviation, honestly.

With all that being said:

start going down the rabbit hole of "what ifs"
take well known plot points and think about its antithesis.
Take a distinct story style (Beowulf, for example) and try write it from the style of, lets say, Stephen King.
These are all exercises, mind you. Something to get the wheels turning.

Xoic had mentioned that he was writing since he was 9. Its pretty much the same for me. I think the best part about writing so young is you have a lot of questions and a lot more opinions. you arent so stuck by whats already been done and you want to challenge what already has been done. That's what eventually led me to write fanfiction. I wanted to write the story better. I didn't like how it ended and used the "what ifs" to continue the story the way I felt it should have gone-- more action and adventure and mystery. less drama and love triangles, lol.

 

interesting angle, also I love both shows. I guess the what if is really what drives a story; right? I haven't really found a writing process yet, but I've been mostly working as a discovery writer, and to be honest that what if does drive what my characters do.

 

I would say the human mind is pre-conditioned to think in certain mythological patterns. Comparative Mythology aside, correlation is not always causation, and yet there are similarities between the cultural stories of civilizations as different as the Aztecs and, say, the Ainu. Certain symbols and story beats are simply universal in their resonance. And as the saying goes: "There is nothing new under the sun." Originality does not stem from using materials others haven't used, but from combining these materials with your own personal experience, taste and preoccupations.

 

Cliches and tropes are there for a reason. What would a Bond movie be without him being at the mercy of the villain, then escaping? Or the mentor from the hero's journey. There are certain things that readers expect, and often look forward to, if for no other reason than to see a new take on the events.
If you are writing for yourself then it doesn't matter. If you are looking to publish, then don't ignore reader expectations.

 

These things are only boring (or even noticeable) if they're poorly done. When the story is well written, it propels you along and you don't pay attention to things like that, or if you do notice them (something a writer might do, but most readers wouldn't), it won't bother you.

Does it bother you when stories use stale old formulae like proper grammar and spelling? It's been done countless billions of times, surely nobody wants that anymore!

 

These things (like the hero's journey) aren't stereotypes, they're archetypes, meaning they exist deep in the unconscious and show up in our dreams, fairy tales, myths, legends, and stories. They never become stale, because they're modeled on the way we think. They weren't invented, they were discovered.

But you want to be careful not to get too caught up in some particular formulaic version of it, as presented in a book. Authors try to make money by turning it into a formula, and then some people use it exactly as presented. This is when it becomes boring and very obvious. Writers need to absorb the information and then present it in some fresh way, not step-by-step according to some outline. Think of that stuff as a way of coming to understand how it works, and then find your own way of expressing the universal truths contained within it.

 

I still have, somewhere, my first book. I started writing it when I was 13 and it is a bad mashup of Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings with elements of the Legend of Zelda video games. I even tried to write, as 21st century American teenager, in C.S. Lewis' English accent. I can barely stomach thumbing through it for anything but amusement purposes only. But bad as it was, tropes, clichés, and downright copy-cat scenes, it is part of my journey. As are all the other OMG awful to middling things I have written between 13 and 43. I am kind of grateful I started out when I did because YouTube didn't exist with the million "experts" who make more money telling others how to write than writing themselves, because their advice to new writers about avoiding all tropes and clichés is, in my opinion, rubbish. Write what you like, finish it, put it on the shelf and let it collect dust as you use it to propel you on to the next and improved project. Eventually you will develop your own style, but it all comes with time and experience--experience you are only going to get through practice.

 

This is similar to a writing exercise I have seen mentioned in several places. Where you take a scene from and existing work, and rewrite it trying to copy the style.

 

One thing I tried is to just write down whatever came to my head, no matter how stupid or inane. With that method, I ended up writing a story where a guy debates a sentient rock about why that rock shouldn't rule the world. Fun times.