It's easy. It's lazy. But it's oh-so perfect. Between the MC, barkeep, and patrons with their gossip, a bar setting can set the stage and tone of the story. I would think it even more of a cliché when set within particular themes, such as one I have in the story - 1800's, seafaring, port town, etc. I can't avoid the tavern, my MC will visit it very early on in the story. Taverns were essential during that era - resources of information, news, and gossip. On an errand, the MC has traveled to a nearby port town - he will swing into the tavern for the latest news and gossip. Should I add a random scene before the bar - be less cliché? I can add a prior scene where he would visit a shopkeeper, but I fear it will slow things down.
Nah, it's fine to do it. It's all about the execution (I don't mean using a hanging outside a tavern as a scene). A bar in Tortuga in the golden age of piracy is going to feel very different from one where dwarves are carousing with wolfmen while the elves are quietly talking in the corner - until a dwarf spills his beer over them. It's like the old joke: An old man, a young man and two droids walk into a bar.... You might even consider an alternative drinking venue. For example, if it was Britain, in a coffee-house in the 1800s, where captains of East India merchantmen and Royal Navy captains are hanging out, making deals and playing bridge. That kind of scene has endless possibilities. I'd say it's a lot less cliché than the local Adventurer's Guild or local magic school.
Thanks for the input Naomasa298. The vibe I'm going for is definitely more of a "Tortuga in the golden age of piracy." The MC is in a lessor-developed area that is under occupation by an imperialist kingdom. The concept of the story is actually very pirate-esque, but within a fantasy setting. The MC will become the captain of a ship, part of a rebel group that frustrates the shipping supply lines of the dominate kingdom.
A bar is a great opening for a story. It's a reason to have characters converse, gossip, and show off their personality in a natural way. It's got a variety of variables that can make the set-up to the story fun. How do the characters react to being in a bar? Is it busy or slow? Is the character a regular or is it there first time? Tons of questions, all of them fun.
Mid-day, slow, doldrums, not very raucous. Barkeep, some locals, a couple transients. The tavern seems a perfect setting to organically reveal elements of the world, setting, and tensions. Disclose MC's mannerisms, character, and reluctance to make a change. Foreshadow events.
I'd say in that kind of story setting it's more a trope than a cliche. Just try to keep things that happen there fresh and specific to your story.
I don't think tavern scenes register too highly on the cliche meter. Maybe more so in Fantasy. I would say to be wary of disguising a blatant info dump as a tavern scene, but that goes for all openings.
Maybe think less about cliche and more about predictability. When things start to get predictable veer away into the unexpected.
And the best way I know to avoid predicatability is to develop your characters and your story idea quite a bit (using something like the Snowflake method, or the Stanislavski exercises I blogged about recently). Or if that's too hippy/trippy, then the Snowflake method, which is very similar, but presented in a much more logical, rational way. Usually the more predictable stories are the ones people haven't put much work into developing. As the ideas and characters take on depth they become very individual and very different from the expected.
This is probably a more astute observation. Taverns/bars and brothels are a staple of the stories and lore of pirates - tales of the sea and the old salts who survived it. I'm not that familiar with fantasy writing, but westerns and seafaring stories standout as having an overabundance of bar scenes. I will definitely keep this in mind. Whispered gossip and tales of lore carry a sense of mystery and intrigue - half truths from strangers. I'd like the reader to feel a sense of mystery and intrigue, so any info dumping will be base level stuff - hopefully.
Tropes can help you in your favor. Everyone has an idea of what a bar or tavern looks like - bar stools, wood floors, acrid smell, etc. To make it more meaningful, you attach it to the plot or theme, or have an action to it. I once used a tavern as an opening for a role play game. Everyone knew exactly what a tavern is and felt relaxed. Then I watched their faces fall into horror as I mention, "Oh, by the way, it's on fire." They got pulled out of their lax positions and went straight to action, and after the fire was snuffed they immediately went to investigate. Add action, emotion, or theme and you don't have to focus intensely on setting up a scene that's tropey.
It really depends on the context; an introductory tavern scene is so cliche in fantasy adventure fiction—especially stuff based on D&D—that I’ve seen multiple magazines explicitly call it out in the “What We Don’t Want” sections of their submission guidelines. I’m less familiar with the niche you seem to be writing in, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I think you’ll be fine if you can avoid the tavern scene being a mere vehicle to introduce the core cast and conflict. That’s the cliche editors are thinking of most often when they say “don’t start in a tavern”.
While not fully hashed-out, I was leaning toward making the tavern a base of operations for underground activity - hidden basement or backroom - having the same vibes as those historically used for "Shanghaiing." The MC would be oblivious to this in the opening scene. The tavern will be a recurring setting. I'm also intrigued by the tavern being more akin to a speak-easy, this would be more unique - perhaps I could merge the ideas having two locations/settings. https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/04/shanghaiing-how-trickery-and-deception.html https://www.oldwest.org/shanghai-kelly/ This is my fear - too cliché. I was also hoping the tavern would be integral to the story. I'm trying to wrap my head around this.
If that's the case, I recommend a little bit of research in putting setting into the forefront, or in writer talk, writing the setting like a character (putting more qualities into the space so it feels more alive). There are plenty of guides on how to do this (including from Writer's Digest), simply type in Setting as a character (and attach) writing tips (or novel) in your search bar. There are tools you can use to make even the most cliché bar into its own by adding a few extra details that make the reader feel like they can immerse themself into a basic setting. Some examples of traits: If your theme of the book is love: People go to this tavern to etch their crush's initials on the west wall for three days. The barkeep pretends to not notice, and doesn't have the heart to stop the rumors. If your theme of the book is loneliness: When the weather shifts to cold and there's no more coal for the hearth, people will come to this tavern with one plate and ten pale refills. Best of luck.
Making the tavern integral to the story would go a long way toward distinguishing your story from the cliche approach, though the initial hurdle of “oh, it starts in a tavern, does it?” remains.
Yes, this would be the dilemma. It also feels too easy, as if I'm cheating. I woke around 3am and laid in bed until about 5am re-working plot ideas and scenes in my head. The following is a rough re-imagining of the plot (written in my short-hand, excuse the grammar) where the initial scene is at the harbor instead of the tavern. ------------ The MC and his younger brother arrive to the port town by boat. They're waiting for their cargo to be unloaded in the harbor. The first scene is the two brothers shortly after arrival. MC wants to visit the brothel, the younger brother is not interested. Younger brother heads to tavern. In the next scene, the MC goes to the tavern expecting to find his brother. He's not there. MC gets mixed messages from barkeep and patrons. MC searches town for brother. Learns that his brother is likely captured, impressed into service, shipped off to fight in a war. MC scouts boat that the captured recruits will be placed on. Crosses paths with a motley crew of thieves planning a heist. Thieves had been tracking a valuable shipment. That shipment is to be laden on the same ship as the MC's brother. Thieves have an undercover saboteur working on the ship. The plan is to sabotage the ship once it's at sea, intercept it, steal the cargo. MC wants thieves to help him get his brother, but they're not interested. Thieves learn their own ship has been impounded in the harbor. MC has a ship, convinces thieves to join with him, make use of his ship, cooperate to rescue his brother. Blah, blah, blah... Skipping ahead, the plan is successful. Thieves get their cargo, MC get's his brother. Wrapping up, the MC and brother get revenge on the barkeep and crimps. While it's a happy ending, it's bitter sweet - the two brothers are now known criminals, wanted men. This leaves the door open for another story about the brothers. Thinking ahead, the boys become active participants in a resistance against the kingdom that is occupying their country, stealing resources, labor, and lives. ------------- Multiple POV's, twists and turns, sketchy and interesting characters, plenty of room for character development and arcs. Avoids starting the story in a tavern...
I'm just going to throw this out there and let it speak for itself. While there are several genres I don't read, I have read about 800 novels and collections of shorts. I can't think of one that starts in a bar.
Its The Hole in the Wall, off the Welsh Back, known at the time as The Backs, in Bristol. Although Stevenson was staying in the Llandoger Trow when he wrote it (also just off the Welsh Back) so it reads more like its set in that pub.
Good call! The Admiral Benbow Inn. (I didn't even have to look that up! Ha!) You made me curious, though, so I found a list on Redit of books that take place mostly in bars. I didn't recognize anything except Ulysses and The Fall, but I haven't read those, and it didn't say whether or not they actually start in a bar. Then I found a list of books on Goodreads by or about drunks, lol. I'd actually read a bunch of those, and I found at least one: The Rum Diaries starts in a bar. I was thinking The Sun Also Rises might have started in a bar, too, but I found a copy, and it was a cafe. So, I stand corrected. at least 2 out of almost 800 started in bars. I still feel confident calling it a non-cliche, at least in the various genres with which I'm familiar.
Oh, another good call! I've read the beginning, and it doesn't start in a bar. Actually it's pretty hard to tell what the settings are soemtimes. I remember one scene where the only objects mentioned are Barbicans (whatever those are). Hey, it does have the word Bar in it!
Wait, I just thought of a story that starts in a bar—written by @Madman! At least I think that was the beginning of it. Honestly though, those are the only ones I can think of. It must be mainly a D&D thing, as somebody mentioned above.
I believe Xoic nailed it earlier. In this nautical genre, it's more a trope - a very obvious and common one. The same with westerns and saloons. While you may not find many stories that open in a tavern or saloon, you'd be hard pressed to find a nautical or western story that does not include scenes with taverns or saloons. In nautical stories, this generally happens very early on in the story. So the question becomes, should the "opening scene" be a trope. While not inherently a cliché," it will likely hit a nerve or or two for some readers. Even if it is not noticeable by the reader (consciously registered), it could impart an underlying (subconscious) feeling of predictability.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just write it. You can't avoid all problems in advance, and you just need to get lots of writing time in. My early stuff is littered with all kinds of things I wouldn't do now, but the only reason I got where I am is because I just wrote a lot. I never once worried about cliches or tropes (the word didn't exist then, I don't think). I think writing in the internet age makes people too self-conscious for their own good. Just write and have fun.
Yup, Kalahastian begins in a bar. I did it mostly to tap into the familiar. I knew it had been done a lot, but to me it is not cliché, more like a setting a lot of people can relate with. My story is set in another universe with very advanced, almost magical, technology. So I wanted the reader to be introduced to this world through a setting that they could understand, before diving outside into the greater city.
