The following is a list of overused aspects of novels that need to be thrown away and never retrieved.
Plot Ideas:
Serial killers (By Reason of Insanity was the last one of those that needs to be written)
False death scenes
Coincidental connections between unrelated plot devices
Hostage situations where the hostage miraculously escapes
Romance in general (where is the book that will have the male and female lead decide that they are not right for each other? WHERE?)
Demonic chases
Mysteries and suspense with an obvious villain
Legal battles that have one down-on-their-luck lawyer sue some huge company or country and win (a book where the lawyer loses because he finds out he's wrong would be refreshing)
Defenders that battle insurmountable odds to find the only thing in the whole world that can get their innocent client off clean
Two twin brothers get separated at birth and are reunited later in life by some strange circumstances
Custody cases where the good guys always win and the bad guys are monsters in the closet (I can't believe how close Winner Take All came to countering this)
Genetic and other medical suspense (Blood Brothers almost redeemed this subject, however)
Save-the-world situations (these are impossible and need to be forever abandoned)
Forced suspense (Deeper Water betrays this one)
Two romantically involved people are dealing with two different issues that end up being connected to each other at the end of the book (Finally! Veiled Freedom defied this one)
A female lead is being chased by a killer who wants her for some reason and a man she doesn't like is trying to protect her
The Nephilim
The Ark of the Covenant
Westerns
mysterious artifacts from ancient civilazations containing mysterious powers
Lines:
"Wait! Come back! Don't leave me!"
"You'll never get away get this!"
"I'll be back!
You won't get rid of me!"
"You'll never get away from me!"
"You killed my father!"
"I am your father!"
"We shall meet again."
"What! You're alive! I thought you were dead!"
"I'll never leave you again."
"Do what I say or you'll never see him\her again!"
"Unbelievable!"
"It's a miracle!"
"I'll get you for this!
You'll never get away from me!"
Characters:
Evil monstrous villains
Genetic scientists
Ditsy female leads
Helpless characters being chased by somebody
Perfect male heroes
Healers, especially small children
Modern day prophets
Terrorists
Author mistakes:
Writing too many books a year
Always having to write a sequel
Not knowing when to stop writing
Using the same plot or plots over and over again
Creating bad characters in historical and Biblical books
Always creating bad characters
Overemphasizing the objective of a plot
Pushing issues
Using CRTs (Convenient Rescue Techniques) in suspense
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