Narrative devices you hate

[Post Tenebrae Morte]

What are some narrative devices that you guys may dislike?

I hate it when, constantly, a new villain is revealed and we are expected to just accept a bull excuse as to why they are important or here. Recently, I ran into this while reading naruto. No, I don't do so because I think the manga is of any quality, but because I just want to see the thing end. Anyways, at the start of shippuden, The villains were akatsuki, then pain became the main focus, then Tobi aka obito comes out of nowhere and is revealed as the leader, then madara is revealed as the mastermind, and now, the mother of the sage of the six paths is revealed as the true mastermind. That just irks me severely.

 

[Vault101]

[b/]"the dead female"[/b]

I mean the strategic death of a charachter is fine but the lazy death of a loved one (regardless of gender) is just fucking lazy, the fact that more often than not its a little girl or girlfreind is just...ugghhh [i/]no[/i]....yes watchdogs....I mean YOOOOUUUUU...SHAAAAAAME

[b/]"the let explain to you why a thing is bad instead of letting you figure out and while I'm at it I might splooge my barley hidden politcal veiws in your face"[/b]

[i/]once upon a time there was a rebpublic that was really cool untill EVERYONE WENT ON THE DOLE FOR SOME REASON then they weren't cool anymore[/i] <-Flag in exile

[sub/]I know that "show don't tell" is a hard thing to grasp but still, getting tired of your shit David Weber[/sub]

[b/]is love interest relevant to overal scheme of things?[/b]

no? then fuck you [bonus points for female protagonist]

[b/]protagonist acting like a dick[/b]

which it is easyer for everyone involved if they don't...used as a way to establish their "badassness"

[b/]I sit here and I explain my thourghts in first person present tense, it makes things more personal, between me and the reader, my throughts slpattered all over the page like the inane diary of a teenager while I describe to you, the reader how that guy is hot and why you should care...in first person present tense,oh yeah I know its a totally valid tactic, but you see I'm only an "ok" wrtier uhhh charachter at best so it doesn't come across as cool and literary as I might think it does[/b]

[b/]hinting at a possible arc but not going anywhere with it[/b]

in this case more of a minor nitpick but my favorite show Orange is the new black is guity of this, like the episode where at the end she's assigned to "the ghetto" which....isn't an issue....or she's selected for WAC which suposedly pisses everyone off but....turns out to be a non issue (or at least an issue in a different way)

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I hate it when, constantly, a new villain is revealed and we are expected to just accept a bull excuse as to why they are important or here.

So basically every Marvel stinger since The Avengers.

 

[Post Tenebrae Morte]

I intend for my presence to be somewhat sparse in this thread, having made it for people to vent and so. But I have to ask, would you mind showing an example or two of the first narrative device you dislike? Reason I ask this is, as a writer, I am eager to learn better ways to make deaths more impacting, especially for family members of the protagonist or so.

And as for marvel stingers: not really, at least the villain in those is given proper screen time. Not just the next villain coming up, offing the last one in a few seconds, and prancing about like we should give a crap.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Amnesia. Now I'm not against plots that involve mind erasure due to evil magic/science at the disposal of the villains but "I hit my head and forgot everything important" just makes me groan now.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Not just the next villain coming up, offing the last one in a few seconds, and prancing about like we should give a crap.

But that is exactly what they do. The movie is over and boom, the next bad guy stands in queue and turns around. No names, no reason, just some cryptic words about cryptic things at best. The guy in Avengers, Benicio del Toro in in Thor 2, the nazi dude in Cap 2, the pyramid guy in Xmen if you wanna count that and the Mr. What's-his-name in the two new Spider-Man movies.

 

[Vault101]

I intend for my presence to be somewhat sparse in this thread, having made it for people to vent and so. But I have to ask, would you mind showing an example or two of the first narrative device you dislike? Reason I ask this is, as a writer, I am eager to learn better ways to make deaths more impacting, especially for family members of the protagonist or so.
.

assuming to your refering to my example....

its kind of a difficult one to judge, I bring up watchdogs because its very basic and cliche, "my neice died so now I'm all angry and shit" <-we don't know the neice, she was just a generic kid charachter, and while thats fine its not exactly compelling, aiden motivation is not compelling, its boring, he's boring, we the audience understand it but we don't care because weve heard it all before

now...to think of a slightly better example...in "UP" the main charachter is a grumpy old man, and his wife dies at the start...instead of being one big event that motivates him its a montage....a lifetime together where we actually start to care, her death does shape him and does motivate him but its more subtle. more realistic

the reason it becomes a "gender" thing is this happens more often to female charachters..which obviously is dumb

for a death to have impact bascially the reader has to care about them, as for "death as motivation" I think used outright is just another cliche and best avoided, thats not to say death isn't a motivator but if its "happy days untill the dark lord burned my village to the ground" then no

 

[King Billi]

Overly flamboyant villians with little or no motivation beyond personal amusement or just toying with the hero.

So essentially The Joker.

I don't actually hate this, just getting sick of seeing it everywhere. Audiences seem to love these kinds of villians, I suppose because they're "unpredictable" and you just never know what they're going to do next... Personally though I'm finding it increasingly tiresome seeing villians whose only distinguishing characteristic is their obsession with the hero and who every action is determined by that. Isn't it sometimes better to have a villian who actually has motivations and goals of their own whose conflict with the villian is only brought about by differing viewpoints and not just because they wanted to get their attention?

Moriarty from BBCs Sherlock is another example of this kind of villian.

 

[Zhukov]

- Time travel.

Always just makes a big mess of things. Usually ends up doing the Terminator time loop dance.

- Afterlife/resurrection.

The defining aspect of death is finality. You're dead and that's it. End of the road. Take that away and the weight of it is gone. Also often starts raising question along the lines of, "Well, why don't they just resurrect that guy and ask him", or, "Why are they so worried about dying? They can just get rez'd afterward."

...

[b/]protagonist acting like a dick[/b]

which it is easyer for everyone involved if they don't...used as a way to establish their "badassness"

Oh my fucking god, this. So very much this.


Tends to crop up in a ton in games. Frequently in action movies. Can't think of any book examples off the top of my head.

I don't mind a protagonist being a bit of a grump, or kinda taciturn, but when they start threatening friends or allies for no other reason than to demonstrate what a streetwise badass they are... ugh. That's not badass, it's just a staggering lack of social skills.

"How do I know I can trust you? Grrrrr!"

Bleh I say, bleh!

 

[Vegosiux]

Angst all over the place

Seriously, I get "dark and gritty" is the current flavor-of-the-month, but can we please stop it with this cheap, overused, silly obsessing and angsting overy every bloody little detail. "I stepped on an ant accidentally. HOW CAN I SAVE THE WORLD IF I AM JUST A CALLOUS MURDERER WAAAAAAHHH!" Seriously, go fuck yourself >.>

Contrived coincidences

Every time an outcome of a scenario relies extensively on a shitloads of things having been just in the right place at just the right time, you're doing something wrong. I mean, sure, coincidences are a part of life, but don't overdo it. Seriously.

As you know

If the characters "know" it, why are they talking about it as if they don't? Bad exposition. Show, don't tell.

Villains who have not read the Evil Overlord List

Unless their incompetence at being a villain is the punchline of the jokes, of course.

Forced romantic subplot

Not. Every. Bloody. Piece. Of. Fiction. Needs. A. Couple. Of. People. Getting. Lovey. Dovey. In. It.

Redemption arcs done badly

Yaknow, these usually simply focus too much on just one thing, not on character development in general. Evil Overlord von Doombringer saves a kitten from a tree and is suddenly known as The Noble and Honorable Guy. Come on, are you kidding me?

And of course the trope that must not be named also annoys the hell out of me.

 

[The Wykydtron]

In Medias Res, or even worse showing a snippet of the ending at the start. Start the fucking thing from the START. Don't go and spoil your own story right off the bat.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is one of the worst, five minutes in it shows your main character getting mind controlled into killing Chrom, the main character of the story. You're like, a side main character? Secondary main character? Lackey to make sure your idiotic party doesn't get wiped? Potential female love interest for Chrom because that guy is hot? (not gay) Honestly the player/Chrom relationship is rather interesting in terms of perspective. Chrom even has the badass Plot Sword, Falchion. You get whatever shit you can scrape up you scrub.

Oh and you have amnesia, to be fair it's pretty decent amnesia. You ain't even bothered about it most of the time and most certainly don't go on a quest to recover your memories. Funny how the game makes the story interesting despite knowing the SHOCK TWIST in the ending and your main character has enough characterisation and personality to make his/her amnesia take a heavy backseat.

 

[Vault101]

"How do I know I can trust you? Grrrrr!"

[i/]because you don't have a choice![/i]

As you know

also known as [b/]nobody fucking talks like that[/b]

[quote/]

Forced romantic subplot

Not. Every. Bloody. Piece. Of. Fiction. Needs. A. Couple. Of. People. Getting. Lovey. Dovey. In. It.[/quote]

[strike/]unless theyre lesbians[/S] agreed

 

[Zhukov]

"How do I know I can trust you? Grrrrr!"

[i/]because you don't have a choice![/i]

"Fine, I'll cooperate... for now."

"Grr."

Villains who have not read the Evil Overlord List

Unless their incompetence at being a villain is the punchline of the jokes, of course.

Oh aye.

I get particularly irritated if they start executing underlings to show that they're not to be messed with.

"I'll show that hero! I'll keep murdering my way through my own officer corps until everything works itself out!"

Bonus points if they take a moment to lament that they are surrounded by fools.

 

[Casual Shinji]

- Main baddy kills own henchman.

This can be used effectively, and there are a few times when I like it. Like when Clarence Boddicker throws Bobby out of the moving truck in Robocop, or when the Joker shoots Bob in Batman. But usually it's just the bad guy stupidly sacrificing manpower. There's actually a nice little scene in Dredd where MaMa says to her henchman "I'd kill you myself if I hadn't lost so many men already."

- Dickhead characters meant to piss you off and make the hero seem more heroic.

Die Hard suffered from this quite a lot. For some reason John McClane is the only competent person in LA, everybody else being either an asshole stubbornly working agianst him, or just completely useless. The reason I still like Die Hard with a Vengeance more is because we see most of the other good guys actually working as a team. Even Inspector Cobb, who isn't the biggest fan of McClane.

And in monster movies, they're also the most obvious "red shirts". 'Look at this guy acting like the biggest asshole; Bet you can't wait for the monster to finish him off, ay?'

 

[Queen Michael]

The Misunderstanding.

I hate this devide with a passion and it needs to die.
He problem is that it's just a lazy excuse to avoid real conflict. Here'es an example. Imagine that the woman in a romance movie discovers that the man's got a awastika tattoo on his shoulders, and concludes that he's a nazi. The truth is that he's a buddhist, though, and before the movie ends they manage to straighten out this HILARIOUS MISUNDERSTANDING.

You know what'd be better? If he IS a nazi, but he promises not to be rude to her non-aryan friends and not force his convictions on her., and she decides that maybe she can accept his nazism as logn as he doesn't force it on her... In short, have actual conflict and not just people arguing over things they never disagreed about in the first place. Misunderstandings are just a way to include conflict without having to imply that the main characters are different from each other in some way that might make them a less-than-perfect couple.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

The Misunderstanding.

I hate this devide with a passion and it needs to die.
He problem is that it's just a lazy excuse to avoid real conflict. Here'es an example. Imagine that the woman in a romance movie discovers that the man's got a awastika tattoo on his shoulders, and concludes that he's a nazi. The truth is that he's a buddhist, though, and before the movie ends they manage to straighten out this HILARIOUS MISUNDERSTANDING.

You know what'd be better? If he IS a nazi, but he promises not to be rude to her non-aryan friends and not force his convictions on her., and she decides that maybe she can accept his nazism as logn as he doesn't force it on her... In short, have actual conflict and not just people arguing over things they never disagreed about in the first place. Misunderstandings are just a way to include conflict without having to imply that the main characters are different from each other in some way that might make them a less-than-perfect couple.

So much this^^, Hollywood's romantic comedies are very guilty of this.

I'll have to go with the "poor boss-badguy".
If this guy shows no compassion towards you, treats you as an expendable pawn and executes your colleagues over petty and contrived reasons on a whim, why do you still work for the guy?! It can't be the paycheck 'caus this doesn't seem like the kinda guy to pay his employees well.

Bonus points when it's a sort of dictator in a fantasy story, if his people are just as evil as he is, they'd betray him as soon as the oppertunity arises, advancing the ranks in their favor,
if they're supposed to be sympathetic, why don't they make like communism and revolt, public executions do very well at provoking such behaviour.

And finally, if these henchmen all fear for their lives because this bad-ass ************ could just kill them all if they tried, WHY THE FUCK DOES HE EVEN HAVE HENCHMEN?! what's the point?

 

[Redflash]

For my part, I too struggle greatly with contrived romances, especially in triple-A films where it is often just an excuse to shoehorn in some HAWT ASS, all of which I find almost as loathsome as wives/families/innocent widdle kiddies who are doomed to be 'fridged' the moment they pop up onscreen.

For the sake of adding something new to the discussion, an honourable mention goes to the time-honored video game trope of BETRAYAL. 'My GOODNESS, you mean General Foreboding Aloofness was just manipulating me all along? What a MASSIVE surprise for me the player, I certainly didn't see that coming when I finished off the game's apparent main enemy when there was blatantly another half a game's worth of playing time still to come...' Dishonored spoiler to follow...

Spoiler

This was so annoying in Dishonored, I spent literally every moment around the conspirators thinking 'You bastards are going to try and murder me the second I carry out this little coup of yours, and I'm genuinely concerned that whoever wrote this story didn't realise how massively transparent your inevitable betrayal is.' Not that I didn't love the game, but COME ON!

And of course the trope that must not be named also annoys the hell out of me.

Awww, c'mon man you're killing meeee! Please please please name the trope, I can't handle the curiosity!

(Edited a few times because I'm still getting the hang of chatting in the forum format. On a related note, first successful spoiler tag ever!)

 

[epicdwarf]

-When characters have a problem and lie to get out of it, even though it would be Two-thousand times easier to just explain what happened.

I have seen this shit mostly on pre-teen sitcoms. The excuse usually is "but telling them would make them hate me", though most of the problems created are ones that can be easily explained. Usually character A accidentally breaks something and hides it from character B. It just ends up getting the characters in EVEN MORE of a pickle and gets them nowhere. The whole thing just makes character A look like an asshole/idiot for an entire episode.

 

[SGT_Noobnuts]

-The family member that was an asshole just to make their relative stronger due to his/her hatred of them so they would have the will to kill them but they love them anyway but never showed it

This is an extremely huge hated narrative device to me and is especially prevalent in Japanese written stories

One of the worst offenders to me was the most obvious one. Goddamn Itachi and Sasuke from Naruto!!!
"Oh it turns out that my brother didn't really try to kill me or hated my guts, but instead wanted me to hate him enough to kill him to become a better person and save the leaf village......Now I'mma gonna destroy that fucking Leaf Village!!!"

This was especially sickening for me in Final Fantasy X. I couldn't buy the connection between Tidus and his dad had because I never saw it meaningfully!!!

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

There are few narrative devices that bug me in the general sense because any device can be executed well. Some are, however, prone to misuse. Chief among these is the Deus Ex Machina.

The problem with this device is that a solution to a problem is simply conjured out of seemingly nowhere. Unless the story has established this entity in advance it looks like a lazy device to escape a narrative trap.

As a recent example of this, consider Mass Effect 3. Most people tend to agree that the series was excellent right up until the very last moments of the game when a previously unannounced character shows up and attempts to neatly wrap up a plot made otherwise impossible to solve thanks to the side adventure of the second game. Eventually, though DLC, this entity was revealed and explained. Had the Levithan DLC been a part of the core game, I suspect most of the vitriol directed against the ending would have been avoided. Coming along months later well after the damage was done is a classic example of too little, too late retconning.