Overused genres.

[Cipiteca396]

I’d love to see the top genres put into a randomizer and you pick three and try to make them work. There’s so much to be said in every genre, the problem is relying on the familiar when writing. The most boilerplate concept can be made into something cool if you’re willing to write it that way.

The problem with this is that a concept can be cool, but there's no way in hell that means you'll be motivated to write it. Just like the Mecha Josei Sports anime above. You might spend a day writing things out, picturing interesting scenes, and outlining characters and their goals... But the next day you go back to doing the tired but compelling story that you've been working on for two years.

That's why it's practically impossible to point out a genuinely overused genre. There are bad examples of those genres, and a lot of stories get made for those genres that aren't worth reading, but the same could be said for any genre. Like I said before, it's only overused if you don't like it. I'm perfectly happy reading trashy stories that appeal to me, but I can't work up any real desire to read a tragedy or horror story, even if its the best thing since Shakespeare.

 

[Snusmumriken]

Honestly? LitRPG.

I don't have an inherent bias against it, in fact, I've seen a few decent quest-style and other interactive stories that were done well with it, especially ones that use independent dice rolls. I don't think I've seen any really good novels, however. To begin with, it already starts off a bad start - it tells without showing. And many authors embrace these crutches without really attempting to describe the change and growth themselves.

While many would argue that it is popular, I would argue that it is popular mostly because it is addictive. We have whole generations that grew up on the computer and tabletop games and we have been conditioned to feel good seeing that coveted "+1" pop up. Many computer companies know that and bank on it to keep the players glued in. That is why you see a lot of damage number splashes, and the constant levels and stats and perks and traits. - each one of them makes our brains happy.

And here comes the issue with these novels - They are overused because they over-rely on this addiction mechanic.

A lot of beginner authors start with litRPG and gain a lot of instant popularity because of that addictive mechanic. And they rely on it more and more, as they associate it with success and skill. Instead of learning how to walk by themselves. And as the story progresses they realise that they have to keep feeding that addiction to keep readers in, and characters spiral into more and more insane OP levels as chapters keep throwing these coveted "+1" at them to satisfy the readers.

I've seen good novels with litRPG. but they were good despite these elements, never because of them, And would have worked just as fine if the entire litRPG part was removed.