The third example is a plot point rather than an entire story idea. The revelation that characters have been dreaming can seem too trite or tidy an explanation for bizarre or puzzling events. In the ‘it was all a dream’ plot, there is always a risk of a cop-out. Rowling avoids the cliché of ‘the chosen one’ in Harry Potter by giving Harry a past link to the villain that explains exactly why it is he in particular who must fulfill the challenge.
In the first example, there is nothing to explain what is so special about ‘the chosen one’. In each of these examples, there is either a cop-out or an overused trope (a ‘trope’ is a literary device that occurs across multiple novels by various authors). Representative of another culture gives clueless protagonist profound wisdom: Another example of a common plot cliché, especially in books from earlier times that either romanticized indigenous people or portrayed them as savages (this example courtesy of Strange Horizons).It was all a dream: Strange things happen but turn out to be dreams (often solving plot complications a little too conveniently for the author).The chosen one: A character has been selected for a task but there’s no backstory or explanation why only this person in particular is capable.Women in distress who need men to save them overpopulate romance novels.
Dragons that go on rampages overpopulate fantasy worlds. In story plots, clichés are frustrating because they’ve been hollowed out of their dramatic impact through overuse. The key is to make famous story types and scenarios your own: 1: Know common plot clichés within your genre Yet many original stories do use common tropes. To tell a story that feels original and inventive, it’s key to learn plot clichés to avoid. Clichéd story plots weaken an otherwise good story, a story where characters and settings are vivid.
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