Cliches

Optional Title: Cliches Aren't All Bad.

Alright, so we're going to be talking about cliches today. What prompted this is simple. I began rereading Eragon, by Christopher Paolini.

This book is rife with Cliches. Let's list them, shall we?

These are in no way by order of importance or the order in which they happen, just the order that I recall them.

Cliche #1. Eragon is a poor farm boy.

Cliche #2. He has a background even he doesn't know.

Cliche #3. The wise old man. Brom. He knows all about Eragon, but won't tell him.

Cliche #4. Description due to looking at oneself in the mirror. Granted, it wasn't at the beginning.

Cliche #5. Everything comes easy. Eragon is a 'quick learner'.

Those are what I can remember from the first two hundred pages.

Oh wait! One more.

Cliche #6. Prophecy.

Anyway.

My point in this is, I love the Inheritance Saga. (I haven't yet read the last one, but I just started rereading Eragon so I can read them all the way through from the beginning.) Cliche's aren't all bad. So long as you use them correctly.

If you have an interesting story otherwise, cliches are great. Just don't try to hide them. Try to disguise them as something else and SOMEONE will call you on it. Own the cliche.

Six Sentences Sunday Six

Wow! That's a lot of S's.

Anyway, I'm kind of stuck on a scene right now. Seriously thinking about rewriting it, so here's the last six sentences of it. It may change dramatically through rewrites. But this is it for now. Enjoy?

The worry that washed over Damon put his own to shame. “I mean- We think she was kidnapped.” 

“You think?” 

“Alucard. Calm down. You are over reacting.” 

“Over- You- Of all the-.” 

Damon worried for a moment when the connection disappeared. When he could sense Alucard again, the man seemed calm. Too calm. 

“Why, for the love of all that is holy, are you not over reacting?”

The reason I'm stuck is... well... why *isn't* Damon reacting in the way that Alucard is?

Bah! I'll figure something out. Happy Saturday Sunday, you guys!

NaNo Tips and Tricks 2

Late blog post cuz, you know, sleep.

Reward System

Alright, this is actually quite simple and will be a really short blog post. 

Reward yourself. 

I've never really done this during NaNoWriMo, but I will this year, and I think it will be quite effective. Other people say as much. Like Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem!

Seriously, reward yourself for writing. When you write a certain amount of words, you get to do something/eat something/watch something fun. I'll give you an example, my Reward System this year. 

500 Words- Piece of Candy. (I will be continuously snacking on fruits and/or veggies, so candy is my reward)

2,000 Words- Watch episode of InvaderZIM or Fruits Basket (I love both of them, and want to rewatch them)

5,000 Words- Watch Episode of Doctor Who. (Because Doctor Who.)

The list is not set in stone. I will probably add more steps. Like one for every 10,000 words... But I can't think of anything better than Doctor Who. And... the boyfriend just helped on that. I'm not saying any more.

So give yourself something you really want to do, and tell yourself you can't do it until you reach a certain word count. It'll keep you motivated for sure. 

And that's really all I have for today. Good luck!

Food For Thought

What kind of things will you use for rewards?

Have you used a reward system in the past? How did it work?