Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
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Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
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Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#2If you liked this list, you may also find the Turkey City Lexicon interesting:
https://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/18/turkey-city-lexicon-a-primer...
It's also aimed directly at aspiring science fiction writers, but it's been referenced enough times on Charles Stross's blog (and other SF venues) that some of its terms have entered my vocabulary and that of other SF readers I know.
EDIT: this list does contain the story type lifefeed mentions in a sibling content.
- Adam and Eve Story
Nauseatingly common subset of the “Shaggy God Story” in which a terrible apocalypse, spaceship crash, etc., leaves two survivors, man and woman, who turn out to be Adam and Eve, parents of the human race!!
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#3My old least-favorite-trope isn't on here, maybe writers have finally stopped writing it.
> (Somehow, a man and a women end up alone on a planet. This is the last dialog.)
> Man: I never caught your name.
> Women: I'm Eve.
> Man: Hi Eve, I'm Adam.
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#4[deleted]
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#5The amusing thing is how many of the items on their list bring to mind a great short story, or a great novel, or movie. Point being that many of them CAN be good, but usually aren't.
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#6To be entirely fair
> Scientist uses himself or herself as test subject.
This is very real plot that even got some people Nobel prize
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/press-releas...
Interview with some details
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#7The amusing thing is how many of the items on their list bring to mind a great short story, or a great novel, or movie. Point being that many of them CAN be good, but usually aren't.
> is how many of the items on their list bring to mind a great short story
That may be how so many of these ended up on this list: someone wrote a great story with an original premise, and lots of other people are like "Oh, I like that idea, I'll write my own story using a similar idea", and then editors get sick of receiving them.
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#8Might as well go to the authority for recycled story bits: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tropes
There is more to storytelling than just originality.
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#9[deleted]
Re: Stories We’ve Seen Too Often
#10My old least-favorite-trope isn't on here, maybe writers have finally stopped writing it. > (Somehow, a man and a women end up alone on a planet. This is the last dialog.) > Man: I never caught your name. > Women: I'm Eve. > Man: Hi Eve, I'm Adam.
Wow. Mind blown! /s