Into the Fire

We can call a character a stereotype, but the reality remains: there is truth in stereotypes. The difficult part for a writer is tweaking that stereotypically endowed character with some kind of unique quality which separates him/her from the branding. Not an easy task.

Honesty is required in authentic stories, and if we're honest, real people have created the stereotypes with repeated behaviors that have brought recognition to those "typical" defining characteristics.

Stereotypical characters and phrases and clichés have all brought criticisms from other writers and some readers. I think this happens when the characters, what they do and say, offer little imagination and it seems like they've appeared in too many stories, on television, or in the movies just like they are on the pages of the book. As a result, they're boring and predictable and serve no valuable purpose there except to irritate the reader.

It's often difficult to exclude at least one stereotype from a story with multiple characters. Not every individual can be "different" enough to escape stereotypical behavior(s). The question is how do you think stereotypes can be included in a story without meeting disapproval? 

Father, help us with our skills, share with us parts of your grand imagination and creativity that we may put pieces of them on the pages of the stories you inspire us to write. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.