The Cliche Flip: mentors edition

   So 2018 has rolled in and brought a huge bundle of new, shiny things with it - including my new writer-ly blog series (along the Featured Creator series, which started one post ago, so make sure to check that out if you haven't!)...

   Welcome, one and all, to the Cliche Flip.

   Let's see if we can knock some originality into the cliches we've put in our books.

   Oh, who's that I see coming down the weather-beaten trail? He has a long cloak, a face worn from the trials he's been through, and a gnarled walking stick in his hand. And he's old, definitely old. Want to know what category I immediately sort this character into?

Mentor.

Cliche 1: Age.
Almost every mentor I've seen is at least over the age of forty, and if not, they're definitely older than the main character. And this does make sense! A mentor is supposed to teach and guide the main character, and a lot of wisdom comes with age. BUT there doesn't mean there is no way around this cliche.

Cliche FLIP: Age.  

So we'll flip that cliche right around and think of an idea or two to eliminate this cliche from some of our stories. Why not have a character this is, for some reason or other, stuck at a young age, yet they have lived a lot of years? (say, an eleven year old that had actually lived a hundred years) That would be neat.

Cliche 2: Wise And Kind.
All lot of mentors are mostly forgiving, willing to look over faults because the main character is "still learning", and normally knows the answers to all lot of the characters' questions. BUT if you overuse this, the mentor can become a 'fly-on-the-wall' type character, and a lot of your readers will find them boring. Not saying that your mentor can't be wise and kind (there are so many great mentor characters like this), but there are so ways to freshen up this cliche.

Cliche FLIP: Wise And Kind.

I know what you're all expecting me to say - let your mentor sometimes be a brat! Let your mentor not know all the answers! BUT I feel like this is also sometimes overused, so I have some different advice today. Your mentor doesn't always have to be all there. Maybe your mentor is seriously scatterbrained, or he/she has some really weird quirks (like always singing 'somewhere over the rainbow' whenever it starts raining because they think it's good luck). And this is only one of the ways can take your mentor from becoming stereotypical and cliche to unique and tons of fun.

Cliche 3: Death. 

Why do all the mentors have to die? I could list multiples right off the top of my head. It has become a cliche for mentors to die (I've used this cliche myself *cough*), and I think some of us are getting tired of it. A while sometimes it does make a lot of sense for the mentor to be the one dying, I think there are some ways for us to flip this around ...

Cliche FLIP: Death.

Oh, come now - there are plenty of (*cough* worse *cough*) alternatives to death. But here are a few interesting ones: maybe your mentor can be captured (and probably tortured, because sometimes authors are mean) by the opposite side, and the opposite side can mess with his brain and return him to the good side as an unknowing spy. Or your mentor can accidentally spring a trap that causes the HERO'S death, and then the mentor has to figure out a way to fix his mistakes and still save the world. There are lots of fun things to play with, you guys - the mentor doesn't always have to die xD. 

ALRIGHT, so there's a couple cliche flips to get your writer-ly brains running with some new, fresh ideas. And if that isn't enough, here are some mentor-ly writing prompts if your character needs a little more help, or you just want something fun to play with (*cough* me *cough*) ...  

   So I hope I've helped you rethink some things about the "mentor character" type! I'm pretty excited for The Cliche Flip to become a monthly thing. Go ahead and leave some other character types you'd like to see me flip down in the comments, and take a crack at guessing what February's type is going to be (I've already picked that one out, haha). I'm curious to see what all of your thoughts on this are. And chat with each other to create some other cliche flips! It's so much fun when we all mess around in the comment section ;). 

   And now, if your muse starts feeding you ideas for some pretty quirky mentors ... well, don't blame me xD.

~ Savannah Grace 

who's your favorite literary mentor?

what are some of your cliche flips for mentor characters?