What are some overused cliches in novels that really bother you?

This is going to be long, sorry about this in advance. LOL

Overuse of adverbs and adjectives is a no-no. Flowery prose is confusing and makes for slow reading, so don't use it unless you REALLY have to set a certain tone or mood, and even then limit it to a few sentences or only a short paragraph or two.

Also, overly descriptive words for speaking, such as "remarked, chuckled, retorted, questioned," etc. instead of just plain old "said." "Said" is supposed to be as natural as punctuation, therefore it doesn't throw readers when they're really into your book. While "said" is perfectly acceptable in most cases, it doesn't hurt to throw in another descriptive word every once in a while for variety, just don't make it too odd. For example, "asked, yelled, cried," are okay when used in moderation. Don't clutter "said" with clunky adverbs either, such as, "she said remorsefully." If the dialogue is good enough, the reader will already know the character feels remorse.

Now, about cliched themes in fantasy: well, I write fantasy too. I'm about 1/3 through writing my first book. :) Anyway, as you probably know, the cliches that really seem to be used often in fantasy are the "quest" novels. Lately so are "character finds out he/she has special powers/isn't who she thought she was," etc. (that's kind of what my book is about, but I couldn't change that). My character started out with a quest, but I managed to cut that out altogether in the first book, and there's a bit of a "quest" in the second book that I'm planning, but I'm trying to downplay that and emphasize the other plot elements in the story, to keep the quest in the background.

A really overused villain cliche would be the evil guy who wants to take over the world, or gain all the power. At first I had that cliche in my head for years while planning my book, then when I finally sat down to outline the plot, I decided to try to make it unique, and I think it worked. If your plots start out with overused themes, just work at them until you've made them into something original, and if it's interesting enough, then readers won't mind if it's a little bit cliched. After all, most ideas have been written and rewritten, it's just how they're told and made into something new that makes them unique.

The cliche gets incorrectly used when someone reads a story, then gets an idea on how he would do it a bit differently. The characters tend to be stiff and predictable. I avoid this (I hope) by reading non fiction for plot ideas and have the plot suggest characters. What caused the split in the genetic make up that ultimately became us? I got this idea from overdosing on the Discovery channel. I found the creature who predates the famous "Lucy" fossil. The main character is non human so the story has no dialogue. A plot of land that stayed on the market for over two years inspired a book and tons of research on a bank that takes a chance on selling a house to a group of homeless people. My sons coin collection inspired a story about the Civil War, told from the southern point of view. You avoid cliches by NOT knowing what's been done. Don't look for something similar to see how a thing was done. Be willing to do some research. You want to get paid? Realize that writing is work. Hopefully it is work you enjoy.

Go for something that's totally different. Something that is so stupid to other people that they say is the lamest thing ever. That is the start of something different that might be good for you. Start off on someone else's work but twist it and bend it till it's what you want for your book. Make sure that it ends as something completely unrelated to the idea you started with. That way you won't get sued by the author. : )

What bugs me to no end is how some books start out strong then fade and get all mushy. That kills the story and makes me want to throw it on the ground and burn it. A little bit of romance would be good but if your going put adventure and action in your book ease up of the lovey parts. Anothing thing is have a good genera that keeps people glued to the book. If it's something crappy with no real gripping power that seems boring to no end I don't read it. I do that with a lot of books. And summary on the back has to be good or I avoid a book completely. XD

Well, its not really a cliche, but I absolutely hate it when an author overruses a "10 dollar" word. I was reading a book called Pilgrim by Sara Douglass and I swear every couple of pages the word "roiled" would pop up. All I could think about was how annoying it was and it totally ruined those parts of the book :P

I swear you can find "stress" or some form of it on every 5th page of "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. That is why she was a rotten writer apart from being a political ratbag. And that is why I never finished reading the rubbish.

For an example of a good writer gone bad get a copy of "Texas" by James A. Michener. There is a lot of good and interesting stuff in it but he almost lectures the reader in places and you don't know whether you are reading a novel or some sort of guide book.

The thing that irritates me the very most is when the author gets the facts WRONG. Sometimes they describe an area I have been to and they describe it wrong. They get a historical fact wrong. Do your homework!!!!!!!! I like all kinds of books. I hate it when the guy is obviously going to be in danger and SHE says "be careful", like he won't? Also when the follow is having the stuffing beat out of him and she just stands there screaming. Bah. Good Luck to you and do a good job.

i have read lots of fantasy novels, and those books with quest for revenge, overthrowing a kingdom, with a guy who is THE ONE seeking helpers and finding a lover on e way really bore me out, a main powerful villain that one has to overthrow, bewitching women seducing e protagonist,

for there are ample of books out there with such themes. especially long and length journeys w.o interesting events/humour/characters.

long and complicated names (depending), although supposed to make ur book feel cool and unique may also put e reader off.

ample uses of magical creatures like dragons which are helpful. while these books may not be bad, but they don't feel original, nor leave much impression.

having unique characterisation and focus on development of characters helps a lot.

lyrical prose is nice to read ( diff from most fantasy novels), but don't go into lengthy descriptions w.o some form of dialogue to ease it.

I write fantasy/romance stories and I love to read both genres. Every time I read a romance story, it irks when every detail about the female character is described down to the length of her eyelashes, every time she makes an entrance in the story, and she never has morning breath, either

You know, the thing that drives me up the wall everytime, no matter the genre or author, is love triangles. Like, sure, they were interesting only the first two times they were done.

One thing I would like to see, however, is a love pentagram

well...if you intend to include love-making in your books please don't use the Mills and Boon descriptive cliches for the act itself!!! Don't know if you have ever read any but I swear they are all written by the same person! "His throbbing manhood" LOL! or "the pinnacle of her womanhood" or "spiraling into ecstacy until a million stars come back down to earth" - you know the kind of thing?

Good luck!

Lala