How many cliches does a thing need before it's cliche.

Agentt

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Let's say you were tasked to write a cliche isekai,

However, since you are lazy, you want to be done in the minimum number of cliches.
 

Marunikyu

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It needs 42% of cliché events out of all events in the novel on average per chapters, and you cannot go below 1 cliché event per chapter.
You're welcome.
 

SailusGebel

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What's the minimum number of cliches required to make a novel cliche.
A weird question, or maybe I don't understand something? A novel can have cliches, but it can't be cliche itself.
 

Amok

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Now that's impossible, you can't make a novel with 0 cliches
Grloxindaf sqrueeked past the shop, stole a waffle with schkler super weasel ear, then fled and sat in a cave for a million years, falling alseep after year 79042. After waking up, schklee empties a flower vase and starts talking to it about Feringian stock prices back in '27495. Then Grloxindaf proceeds to create a rock with wings, marries it, divorces it, and eats the children.
 

CupcakeNinja

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Let's say you were tasked to write a cliche isekai,

However, since you are lazy, you want to be done in the minimum number of cliches.
The lazy way is to just use as many cliches as possible so you dont have to waste energy on original thought
 

vish

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Let's say you were tasked to write a cliche isekai,

However, since you are lazy, you want to be done in the minimum number of cliches.
If I'm lazy won't I be using maximum no. of cliches so as to not use my braincells? khek.
Anyway, if you avoid annoying cliches (especially, mc falling on girls bossoms; or OH MY God he is the great and intelligent messiah-sama, etc) every other chapter than I think the story might be following worthy. Cliches with a twist are also good!
 

Amok

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Anyway, if you avoid annoying cliches (especially, mc falling on girls bossoms; or OH MY God he is the great and intelligent messiah-sama, etc) every other chapter than I think the story might be following worthy. Cliches with a twist are also good!
yeah but if someone is messiah-sama Asahara, wouldn't he engineer a subspace tunnel and take direct control of author, thereby forcing lots of scenes where messiah-sama trips and falls onto bosoms?

How many cliches are cliches, and how many are due to trans-dimensional entities invading the brains of humans and making them write very specific themes and scenes?
 

skillet

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I think a big part of what makes a cliche novel cliche is not so much the inclusion of the cliche but because it's so obvious there is no depth in the story OTHEr than the cliche. There are probably a lot of plot-wise "cliche" stuff out there that people don't call cliche as a whole because it feels authentic/organic, rather than just "the author pasted it in here for the drama and to prolong this story." When the cliche feels forced and honestly useless, plus doesn't give you anything interesting because you've seen this play out over and over again, that's when the story (or arc) starts being called 'cliche' overall, I'd say.

So to answer your question, I'd say the most cliche isekai would be maybe like twenty chapters, with the least amount of explanations and depth, shallow character development, and lazily unreasonable plot progression built on SUCH convenient 'backstories'-- all with the most isekai-appropriate cliche plot. You could get away with, like, 1 giant cliche (like an entire isekai plot!) and it'll still work because nobody understands why this cliche is happening or believe in your character anyways.

Oh, but you can't overexaggerate too much or make it sound funny-- you have to sound like you really believe this is a great story, like you've done something incredible, or else people might take it as a parody and like it instead.
 

Cipiteca396

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Grloxindaf sqrueeked past the shop, stole a waffle with schkler super weasel ear, then fled and sat in a cave for a million years, falling alseep after year 79042. After waking up, schklee empties a flower vase and starts talking to it about Feringian stock prices back in '27495. Then Grloxindaf proceeds to create a rock with wings, marries it, divorces it, and eats the children.
Unpronounceable name -1
Thieving monster -1
Food Theft -1
Hermit -1
Immortal being -1
Obscure knowledge Hermit -1
The Firangi -1
Creating spouse. -1
Inanimate Companion -1
Happy Ending? -1
Marriage is a Crapshoot -1
Eats own children -1

Wait, were you trying to write one made entirely of cliches? If so, then lower is better. Golf rules.
 

LordJoyde

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It honestly depends on what you see as a 'cliche' in the first place, since that will be a subjective opinion unique to every person. Things one person may see as cliche will definitely not be cliche to others.

As for how much cliche is required before it becomes noticeable, I think that's a question not directed at the cliches themselves but an authors ability to properly write and plan out their story. If its full of cliches, that means they're a lazy bum copycat at worst or someone not well-read at best.

Writing stuff along a road someone else has not paved beforehand isn't as easy as it sounds though, since this is the 21st century and originality is almost completely dead.
 

Amok

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Unpronounceable name -1
Thieving monster -1
Food Theft -1
Hermit -1
Immortal being -1
Obscure knowledge Hermit -1
The Firangi -1
Creating spouse. -1
Inanimate Companion -1
Happy Ending? -1
Marriage is a Crapshoot -1
Eats own children -1

Wait, were you trying to write one made entirely of cliches? If so, then lower is better. Golf rules.

lol, under such deconstruction every sentence ever written is a cliche, and if one creates a new language ala Codex Seraphinianus, then 'Obscure Language' is a cliche, and if one publishes a novel of blank pages, that's a cliche, etcetera etcetera ad infinitum. I guess my definition of cliche is more general, a broad strokes kinda thing. Say, instead of immortal beings being cliched, certain representations of them are. Regardless, all semantics, in the end just have fun.

I had no idea what Feringian refers to, later figured it was a stock system based on a central planet(Feringia) where one has to be a virgin to buy but can only sell if one has had a hundred sexual partners(so most buy young, and those that wait for the ideal market might die before being able to sell, unless they have a comprehensive erotic strategy)

Looking up Firangi I get an Indian slur directed at colonials, the Star Trek pug nosed folk, or it means French, or a sword, or whatever.
 
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