Beyond The Clichés

What happens when you mix Laura Lippman wisdom with Gabino Iglesias insight and Prince in my head? Some things that have been percolating on the back burner came into focus for me.


As writers, there is one critical thing that we must have to succeed.

Something to say.

That probably sounds like a bit of a joke, but it isn't. Some writers focus on being good storytellers. They focus on creating intricate plots to entertain their readers.

Others emphasize revelation. These writers are trying to say something significant and impact their readers in a way that will lead to a revelation or a lifestyle change.

The best fiction writers, in my opinion, sneak a little bit of life insight in with a great story.

It's easy for me to point this out with a book like The Chrysalids, which inspired the name Toe Six. In this old dystopian novel people have been affected by radiation, which can cause deformities. The people have lost touch with what happened to the planet and have the group the reader is following have created strict religious guidelines for who is acceptable and who is not.

Anyone who doesn't conform to "God's" image is sterilized and banished.

David has a secret difference that allows him to blend in, but his friend Sophie has six toes. When that sixth toe is discovered it changes the course of her life - and David's - forever.

It's a great read. Very entertaining. I first read it when I wasn't even a teenager and have read it at least half a dozen times over the years. I consider it one of my three favorite books of all-time.

What I didn't realize the first time I read it was that it was challenging my philosophies as well as entertaining me. Why are people excluded on the basis of what they look like? Why do we find ways to measure a person's worth?

Why do we fear what's different?

That book isn't just about what David will have to do to save himself (and others) from the clutches of a religious zealots he grew up with. It's about embracing people who are different.

And when you write about characters in a real and meaningful way you won't be in danger of writing characters who are clichés. You'll be creating characters that people really connect with.

I'm not sure what prompted Laura Lippman's tweets, but the idea that authors think that a gender switch with their protagonists will make their work meaningful suggests some very shallow and simplistic thinking.

Which brings me to Gabino's comment. Maybe these writers are simply reaching for gimmicks because they aren't very good at creating compelling characters.

I'm not speaking about anyone in particular. Lord knows we all have a learning curve. The one thing I strive for with each work I put out is improvement. This doesn't simply mean telling a better story or telling it more effectively. My next book, The Spying Moon, is the first book I've written that has one single POV character. A short story I'll have news about soon was designed to push the boundaries of the guidelines I was given and produce a true noir story. I want each thing I produce to represent some form of growth to me.

I'd like to think that will keep my writing from being stale.

Now, I'd respect an author who said that they decided to write with a female protagonist because they'd never done that before and had struggled with their female characters and wanted to really create a strong female protagonist. Cool. But to break crime fiction clichés?

The truth is, not all writers are great technical writers. Not all writers are great storytellers. Some writers write about less-than-believable characters who aren't that compelling. Sometimes, our work will get rejected because it falls short in one or more of these areas.

So consider this. Two years after the death of a musician most commonly known as Prince he was trending on Twitter when his estate released a video of him compiled from rehearsals.



Even in rehearsal the man gave it his all. He didn't hold back. He was this incredible mix of a complicated person who had some real struggles in his life. He wasn't afraid to put his sexuality out there for the world to see. As a teenager, he made me feel very uncomfortable because he was just so frank. But even back then I couldn't deny his genius and there were songs of his that I loved.

You want to turn a genre on its head? You want to push the boundaries and produce work that really does reshape the landscape? Tap right in to the essence of who you are and what you've learned about life and all the good and bad that's happened to you. Inject your characters with that reality and you'll write works that mean something.

Consider James Sallis's Lew Griffin series. The mystery isn't a case to be solved. It's the man and what prompts his choices throughout his life.

That's saving crime fiction from its clichés in the best way possible; amazing books worth reading that stay with you long after you've finished the last page.


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