I have come to an epiphany. I was not struck by this epiphany, I did not fall into this epiphany. I have come to an epiphany. By logical conclusion.
I love clichés.
I love them more than good writing, I love them more than clever twists. Clichés make me wriggle with pleasure. That's right: wriggle.
Why did I not see this before? Every story I dream up bears their mark, and most books and movies that I truly love are fraught with them. Of course, in those works, the clichés are original, and so they're known by a different name: "classics." If not classics, then at least they're very well utilized. And sometimes the stories I love may not even be that well crafted, but they introduce me to a new type of cliché that I find wonderful.
Spies wearing trench coats carrying briefcases full of money, heroes with shining swords staging epic last stands on causeways, socially awkward underdogs embarking on quests to win true love and ultimately finding confidence (think Neil Gaiman's Stardust) . . . all of these are stories I love.
With my dying breath, I will passionately defend stories that others hate for this very reason: the Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies, Ben Affleck's Daredevil, the Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser.
My best friend has experienced the consequences of this passion when I vehemently rave to him about how much he'll like some book that really isn't that good, and my roommate has observed my tendency to extol the glories of almost every movie we watch together, because those are the types of movies that often introduce me to new styles and ideas.
So, now that I've discovered this passion, what do I do with it?
In the writing world, clichés get a bad rep. People are exhausted by seeing the same, tired old storylines. However, there are unconsidered merits to clichés: when pitching books to publishers, it's important to relate your books to successful, existing works. You also have to show how your books are different from those works, but the point is, certain kinds of stories sell.
Here's the thing of it: I have a whimsical belief that certain stories are in our blood, echoing and woven into the fabric of our species at an elemental level. It's the orphan who becomes a hero, the despicable villain who is brought to justice. We love those stories, and we can't always explain this love.
The stories that make us cry.
The stories that inspire us.
The stories we never forget.
The world needs these stories. People need to see someone fall into real love, not just Hollywood lust. People need to see someone who encounters real difficulties and doesn't give up. People need reminders of what it means to be human.
That is my epiphany.
