Overdone Plotlines & What to Do About Them (Part One of Three)
You’re a creative genius. You’re really going to knock their socks off with this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G storyline.
Are you sure you’re original? I asked an agent, who will remain nameless, the most overused, overwrought storylines and openings. Here’s the list–
Trite Openings:
1. Bad Weather creates problems for protagonist
2. Protag wakes up from a baaaddd dream, or even a good one
3. Protag is standing on a battlefield or hill overlooking the wreckage
4. Protag wakes up drunk/hung-over and doesn’t remember what happened the night before
Trite Plotlines:
1.Girl loves her boyfriend/husband. Gets pregnant. Is thrilled & happy to tell him, but he complains about money or acts like a bachelor-cad and girl decides not to tell him. Drama ensues.
2. Girl feels like an outcast. She’s clumsy. She’s kinda average pretty. Other girls are mean to her because they’re either A.) jealous of her since the hot boy likes her for some God-forsaken reason or B.) she’s new in school and threatens their turf
3. An orphaned witch/vampire/werewolf discovers they are a witch/vampire/werewolf and then commences to uncover their parents’ deaths and how they’re linked with the all-mysterious dark half.
4. There is at least one character in your novel where there is a god/angel/demon in disguise to deliver information or carry any weak plot points
5. Boy meets girl. Boy is super hot and arrogant, withdrawn, mysterious. Girl is tough as nails outwardly, but is all warm goosh inside and a sex goddess in bed who just wants to be loved.
6. Protag is a farmhand with mysterious parentage…
7. Boy/Girl is being chased the entire novel as they try to uncover a sacred lost relic, encrypted with the secret to immortality
8. Girl/boy is a have-not in a dystopian society, which seeks to control their every thought, their every move. Boy/girl challenges authority and by their disobedience ultimately takes down the ruling class.
If you fit into one of these categories, never fear! You can always REWRITE to make your novel breathtaking, original, A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Ahh, but how does one do this? Stay tuned for OVERDONE PLOTLINES & WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM (part two).
P.S. Are there any other trite storylines or openings you have noticed? Do tell.
Someone wakes up in a strange place..blah, blah
Two groups going after same relic/place
(you wouldn’t believe how original mine is-crazy.)
LOL! This is great!
I MAY have a smidge of some of these in my MS but I would never ACTUALLY confess it 
Interesting list. Some of them do sound rather boring. Fortunately none of those describe my novel.
Mine is different, but does that make it unique? I don’t know.
Ohhh, now you’ve piqued my interest, ladies!
Ouch! I was holding my breath through this entire post, afraid one of my openings or story-lines would be lined up there with the other stinkers. *sigh, big sigh* that I did make it through unscathed! This is very sobering, but in the very best way. With all the things there are to concern ourselves with when writing, please oh please, don’t ever let me Trite!!!
Barbara, I don’t think you could be trite!
Here is another one:
Kid who thinks he is ordinary gets sent to boarding school for special kids.
Great list BTW!
That’s a good one, Eddie. Very Harry Potter all over again.
Happy to say I’m safe. Great list. I recognized almost all of these.
A writer can make anything sound boring, and a good writer can make anything sound exciting!
So true, J.R. Often a tired subject can be renewed with a little innovation. Hooray for creative minds!
Hummm…..how about an opening where a body is oozing blood all over the place…right now I got about three books on my shelf that open like that!
Really? That surprises me. Vampire novels or murder mysteries?
[...] you noticed you made the list of overused plotlines or openings in Part One HERE. Or maybe you didn’t, but you’d like a little advice on how to flex your creative [...]
[...] reviewed a list of the most common storylines in PART 1 and how to devise a grabby intro in PART 2. In part three, let’s take a look at what makes a story original…and how the heck to [...]