Challenging the cliches
Forums:
All genres of fiction have their stereotypes, whether it's the hard-boiled detective, a roguish/whorish character with a heart of gold, or the orphan with the royal blood/special power/great singing voice. TG Fiction easily has as many, if not more, cliches as any other genre, and while there's nothing wrong with happily dwelling in them, challenging the cliches or using them in subtle and different ways can be a lot of fun as well.
It can be dangerous to play with cliches in a serious story though, since the writer's always one easy mistep away from slipping into the stereotypes he or she is trying to avoid. But coming that close to the edge and then stepping away, playing with the readers' assumptions, especially if done in a way that doesn't run contrary to character or force a plot hole--that's great storytelling.
To that end, what are the common stereotypes and cliches of TG fiction? I'm sure this kind of thing has been done before, but I'm curious what readers expect from their stories. From evil-stepmothers to weak-willed self-made businessmen... what's common to the genre?
-F.
PS. I'm not saying I'm a great storyteller! But I do like to play with the cliches, though admitedly with mixed results. I figure this kind of thing can only generate some extra ideas to toy with.