User blog:PyroGothNerd/Cliches

Just putting up some cliches you might want to keep in mind before writing a creepypasta. Cliches are very annoying when used over and over, which can make it difficult to focus on the actual story. So, here they are. Some are more elaborated upon than others.

Blood blood and more blood (and gore)
Using blood once in the story is fine, but when blood is dripping down every moment and there's buckets of it, it's really irritating. Also, sometimes people just throw in blood and gore when they can't think of another way to make their story scary. Blood has to be used in context. If someone gets a cut, of course they'll have blood. If you buy a hacked Nintendo videogame, chances are there isn't going to be realistic blood in it.

Also, avoid going throwing gore around, too. Less is more. People make fun of this with horror movies, too. They ran out of ideas, so they threw blood everywhere. Not every dead body is bloody and gorey. Sometimes, you wouldn't know they were dead if they weren't so cold, stiff, and motionless.

Also, the "eyes gouged out" thing has been done many times before, too.

Some things are extremely unneccsary, such as when the writer makes the killer play with the gore. It's creepy, but oftentimes it's just used for a gross out factor, which is the big problem: Sometimes using too much gore makes your story so gross, no one can really take it seriously as a horror story.

Also, don't describe the blood unless it's unusual...we know what blood looks like. We've all seen blood at some point

Got it second hand
Usually from a creepy old person, this is often used for gaming creepypastas.

You get it from some secondhand place, and it's either hacked or haunted.

This often leads into the next cliche:

I got it for free
Really? It was on garage sale or in a store and you got it for free? Garage sale, maybe, but... oh and let's not forget

THEY SEEMED HAPPY TO GET RID OF IT
At that point, we're all wondering what the heck you were thinking. They were happy to get rid of it, and you took it?

Mental illness
Probably the most important one I put here.

This is usually used in both creepypastas and the media when the writer doesn't want to give the character motives.

It's lazy, it's stereotypical, and I'm surprised no one has started a "mental illness rights" group over it.

It makes light of a very serious topic, and makes it look like anyone with a mental illness wants to kill everyone. This is simply not true. I can not preach this enough: '''Do your darn research using reliable sources. Do not trust movies to tell you how these people behave. MOVIES ARE WRONG. THEY ALMOST NEVER DO RESEARCH.'''

A good example of someone who did this badly was the writer of Jeff the Killer. You don't just "snap" and "suddenly want to hurt people" and the bullies would not have been enough to traumatize him and make him snap. This was a writer who just wanted to use mental illness as an excuse for his character.

Now, if he had problems for years and his parents refused to get him therapy, and he chose to target certain victims (such as the bullies) rather than killing whoever he ran across, including family, it still wouldn't be enough.

If you're going to make a human killer, give them a motive. Make them decide to kill people. Don't just make them suddenly get the urge.

Heck, if you want them to become possessed, fine! At least it's not mental illness.

Another problem with using mental illness in a story is PEOPLE WILL CALL YOU OUT ON IT. THEY WILL NOTICE YOUR MISTAKES, AND THEY WILL CRITICIZE YOU FOR IT!

Here's some cites to help you out on this particular part:

Media's Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness

American Psychological Association (one of the most reliable sources for topics related to psychology)

The place was abandoned
Admittedly, this one often works, but try to be a little creative about it.

And a skeleton popped out!
Yup. The ol' finding a dead body. This is somewhat along the lines of the gore cliche, but since bodies aren't always fully gorey, I think we can list this as seperate.

Molesters
Seriously, it's like people can only think of murder and sexual attacks for these stories. Be creative! Being turned into something (such as an animal) can be scary, too. Losing your free will can be scary. Being trapped forever can be horrifying. Sex and murder aren't the only scary fates out there.

Not knowing can be frightening as well (if done right).

Aaaand I'm out of time. Put any cliches you commonly see in the comments