This isn’t too personal, so… XD

My motivation is down overall as an artist/writer. I was basically told that the book I’m writing—something that I’m putting all my heart and soul into, and actually want to publish—for almost [B]seven years[/B]… is cliché and common.

My brother and I were talking about themes you’d find in books. He said, “Oh, these overall supreme evil kings are cliché…” (I have one in my book. >__> ) I tried to bring myself up by saying “What about Sauron?” (Because Lord of the Rings is cool.) He replied, “Well, it is kinda cliché… but Sauron was just plain cool and uninvolved. The more a villain is involved, the less evil they are, because the more you relate to them.” But… I want people to relate to my villain. Then a couple more discussions and then he said, “Revenge overall is cliché…” And revenge is a huge theme in the story I’m writing.

No, my brother isn’t a jerk—I love him all the same, but that discussion really took a blow to my head. I mean… this is a story that I’ve been working on since I began to write again (last time I wrote, I think I was five…) Then when I took out my pencil and tried to write down a few words in that little notebook, NOTHING came to mind. What kept coming back was “cliché, cliché, cliché, cliché!” AUGH! Is everything I do cliché?!

I talked to my dad and he made me feel a little bit better, he told me about Brahms who was really critical of himself, but by the end of his career, turned out to be one of the best composers of the 19th century (off to-o-o-opic!), but I’m still feeling pretty down when it comes to this… And I hope I’m not sounding too selfish. >_>

First of all...LEMME READ! I WANNA READ! PLZ LEMME READ! :P

Well, okay. This is definitely something I would discuss in the fanfic section. And I never noticed this little page. But I guess I should pitch in a little...

Firstly, cliche is good if its justified. And just because he's the supreme evil king doesn't mean he's cliched. He might be the supreme evil king that likes cats, does gardening, takes walks in the park and listens to David Bowie with a bunch of other homicidal bastards. Not your average evil king, eh?

But that was just a little something. Personally, even if we see evil kings every day, no-one gets too tired of them. And evil kings, like you've stated, are people you can relate to. Macbeth is an evil king; he slays little kids, murders the king, practices witchcraft, etc. But it is his characterization and our ability to relate with everything he does that really constructs the story. So there you have it; as long as you write well (and we know you do) you'll be fine!

And now...moving on to address other parts of your post...

REVEGNE! wait...REVENGE! YES! THE RIGHT SPELLING!

CONDOMS FOR ME! Hold on...sorry.

Well, you have revenge. Okay, so revenge by itself is cliched. Then spice it up! Have revenge, add a twist, make your characters squirm and you can laugh. Alternatively add sugar and make them hypo; that works too. Either way, revenge, even if it might be cliched is still a great subject to write about, and if you twist it around the right way, you've got your story.

Lastly...

You want to talk to CGM more than me. I am a dumbass at all this. She is the Hallelujah chorus. Or along those lines. :D But...everyone knows you can actually write. Just be creative, think a little outside the box, twist perceptions and everything and you have a story. You can do it! Just put your mind to it! It's just basically how you decide to construct it that is the major thing you should focus upon.

And if CGM said something different, disregard what I say. :D

Thanks, DH, I really needed that! *hugs*

I'm feeling much better now than before. I think I've pretty much completely recovered my writing talent after taking a lo-o-o-o-ong vacation to Europe. I got plenty of inspiration for things after looking at beautiful castles and green hillsides. Everything reminded me of my story. It seemed that Europe was yelling in my face "WRITE YOUR BOOK"... (There was even a chip brand that was my main character's name... scary...) So, I've finished the latest chapter of Winged Darkness... now what stands before me is my book. But I'm almost afraid to write in it. :unsure:

And even though I think I've regained my writing talent, I'm not sure if "people know that I can actually write" with what little feedback I get for everything. >> (It's like whatever I write is too boring or something.) Though that "little feedback" is mostly positive... maybe I should just be satisfied with that. But it's almost like I have nothing to write for.

But thank you for the advice, DH! I'll take it to heart and put my mind in what I write down on paper! I just hope I can get the courage to pick up my book...

Oh, and by the way... if I give my evil king sugar (namely chocolate), he'll start hillucinating and see a pink fuzz ball named Puffy. (That's not really in the book, but it's something on the side. o.O)

Sorry--I'm being such a selfish attention hog right now.

No matter what someone says, write what you want. Cliche with a twist is good. Like DH said, spice things up. Add little upredictable things and everything will be better. Take the "twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer for example. Vampire falls in love with human. Vampire immortal, human not. That idea has been used, but Mrs. Meyer added a person trying to kill Bella(the human) and a bunchof little things that make it different and something that you are able to relate to (the characters's personalities and Bella's daily events). As for the evil villain (which villain is NOT evil?) as long as you give a purpose and a few evil things that they do, it'll be fine.