Fifteen minutes of perusing the worldwide internet will give you a melting pot of advice about clichés, all of which boils down to one simple statement: Clichés are bad...

• Women only love men with CROOKED SMILES, a man who smiles with his mouth all in a straight line might as well be DEAD; a male smile should resemble nothing on earth so much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Lombard Street, a lightning bolt, a scarecrow with a broken neck, or two palm trees leaning against each other to form a big “X”

....

If you want to know what else she's learned, click the link. Prepare to smile.

I've heard mixed reviews about this book, but I decided to finally read it.  Honestly, I wasn't very impressed.  The plot consists of the main character Bianca (aka The Duff) hooking up with her high school's most notorious playboy Wesley even though she laments over and over again how much she "hates" him.  There's a lot of angst and every chapter is filled with either Bianca hooking up with Wesley or thinking about their next rendezvous (or chastising herself for wanting to be with him all the time).  It wasn't horrible to read but this type of story has been told many times and has been executed a lot better by other authors.

This post is a response to AmandaSays's request post.  I compiled this while I was doing research for the NA parody I'm working on.  Bear with me, because this is kinda long, and by no means is it comprehensive, more like things I've seen in all the books I've picked up thus far (and these are things I've come across in the 100+ books I've read in this age group so far).

1. Tragic Past Association

1. Abuse
2. Rape/Sexual assault
3. Memory Loss Due to Trauma
4. Mental Illness
5. Terminal Illness (in family, close relationships, or individual character's illness)
6. Self-Harm/Triggering Issues
7. Suicide attempts or Suicide in Family/Close Circles
8. Violence (struggles against it or inflicting it)
9. Obsessive behaviors

2. Sexuality (Themes)

1. Virginity (and the association with being "pure")
2. Sexual Choices
3. Sexual Openess
4. Sexual Shaming and Contradictions Associated with Sexual Identity/Choices
5. Sexual Domination
6. Sexual Abuse

3. "Bad Boys"

1. Struggles with Possession/Control (in relationships, in future, etc.)
2. Damaged
3. Tattoos
4. Abrasive
5. Alpha personalities mostly (very few beta males)
6. Sexually active/sexually confident/sexually dominant (very few virgin heroes)
7. Self-absorbed
8. Overconfident
9. Aggressive
10. Penchant for violence/Conflict for Little to No Motivation
11. Jealousy
12. Resentment for Authority or Privilege
13. Dominance/Domination
14. Positive male-male relationships (as opposed to female-female relationships)
15. Reduction of female roles to being sexual "conquests" (i.e. who did they "lay", "bag", etc.)

4. "Bad (or Good) Girls"

1. Damaged
2. Lacking Self Confidence/Assertiveness
3. Submissive
4. Abrasive
5. Resentment for Authority/Privilege
6. Jealousy
7. Chiefly associated with the incidents of sexual shaming - labeling, accusations, etc.
8. Damsel in Distress - even confident, independent females need saving from male hero
9. Lack of positive girl relationships (usually see friends as "enemies" or competition in relationships, education, positions of authority, etc.)

5. Privileged Heroes and Heroines/Lack of Diversity

1. Usually Caucasian Males and Females featured, little minority presence
2. Presence of minority groups are usually token (token black male, token gay friend, etc.)
3. Characters come into monetary wealth unexpectedly, wish fulfillment complex
4. Assimilated behaviors/Peer Pressure
5. Inadvertent or Blatant Prejudices/Assumptions made on behalf of minority groups
6. Trivialization of Sexual Identity/Discovery/Choice

6. Parental Issues 

1. Abusive parental or guardian figures (physical, emotional, sexual, etc.)
2. Resentment towards one or both parental figures
3. Alcoholism/Substance Abuse
4. Spousal control/abuse
5. Spousal submission (one parent rules over the other for authority)

7. Occupations/Backgrounds

1. College students/grads
2. High school students/grads
3. College Dropouts
4. Undecideds
5. Musicians (singers, guitarists, percussionists, etc.)
6. Entertainers (actors, etc.)
7. Teachers/Teacher Assistants
8. Office workers (secretaries, clerks, etc.)
9. Billionaires (Tycoons, Born into Wealth, Self-Amassed Wealth, Wealth from Tragedy, etc.)
10. Sports figures (MMA Fighter, college/professional athletes, etc.)
11. Bartenders
12. Prostitutes

8. Narrative Tones

1. Melodrama (focus on emotional reactions elicited from events or actions rather than character development/growth)
2. One-dimensional character typing ("bad boy", "good" girl, token gay friend, token slut, token mean girl, token drunk, token villain, token friend with benefits, token "best male friend but not a lover", etc.) 

Can we please stop perpetuating the myth of insta-crazy?

Mental illness is not like a cold, it doesn’t just happen by accident, like lightning or hurricanes. In fact, it is present in MANY people, most of whom go undiagnosed, because of general ignorance. And many who suspect they have a problem will not seek help out of fear and/or shame that our culture perpetuates around mental illness and the mentally ill. 

Even if they are diagnosed they may go untreated and ignored by medical institutions and government agencies that should be helping and protecting them. 

Plenty of “sane” people do horrific and terrible things, it is not the sole domain of the mentally ill. Stop lying to yourself and others, to make you feel superior to people struggling with a very common medical condition.

And for the love of all that’s holy STOP making mental illness a fucking plot twist and/or primary characteristic of a villain in media (books, movies, tv and fan fiction)! JUST STOP!

If I have to read this same tired shit one more time I’m going to set my laptop on fire. 

PS Can we also stop arbitrarily assigning terrible/horrific acts the labels “crazy” and/or “evil” just because we do not understand the circumstances and motivations of the people involved in them?