Every writer wants their story to be unique. We’re told to avoid using cliche characters, plot lines, and dialogue. We’re rarely reminded to avoid cliche settings.
But what are cliche settings?
Think of these story elements:
Scene Activity Typical/Cliche Setting
A robbery inside a bank
Couple making out in a bedroom or car
Fist fight boxing ring or street fight
Homicide detective works out of a big city precinct or Scotland Yard
People drinking in a bar
Try to think outside the box with your story or screenplay. Review your scene settings and try to spice them up a bit by switching that scene’s locale. This doesn’t mean switching to an exotic location, which could increase production costs. So keep your screenplay’s budget in mind as you review and switch around your scene settings.
Using the examples above, a switch out might be:
Scene Activity Typical/Cliche Setting
A robbery during a fashion show
Couple making out in a furniture or department store
Fist fight inside an art gallery
Homicide detective works in a remote town
People drinking around a backyard fire pit
Our goal as writers is to give our audiences new experiences that still reflect situations that may or may not occur in their won lives, towns, cities, or neighborhoods.
Readers and movie goers seek escape from daily life by watching movies and reading books. They seek interesting characters to care about, fear for, and hate. Dialogue that is fresh and realistic. Story scenarios that differ in some way from what they seen or read before, and story settings that take them away from their hometowns.
Experiment.
Not every scene needs a unique setting. Just sprinkle your tale with a few non-typical locales to spice things up.
Happy writing!
