Now, now, now. We have the dreaded topic - the cliché-ness of your story. This is a moment of truth - this is the moment you find out whether your story is cliché, or not.

But what exactly is cliché? If your story has werewolves in it, does that automatically make it cliché?

No. Absolutely not. It's not the werewolves that make the story cliché - it is what you do with the werewolves.

So, without any further ado, here is the test! Take note of your answers somewhere, because at the end, there will be a scale that tells you how to work out your final score and your final judgement.

Yes! She is born with the ability to control every single element with no repercussions at all. She's going to be the queen of all dogs and cats in the entirety of the universe, and nothing can stop her!

Yes, but she doesn't exactly know it - she just thinks that her magical abilities are just random. Then, one day, a hot guy/old wizard tells her otherwise.

Yes, but she has a lot to learn before she can truly fill the role. She has powers to harness that she is yet to master. She spends her life growing up trying to learn this.

Nope.

Yes, but only because parents were such a hassle to write about. We need our protagonist to be able to run away with boys at night without any interference!

Yes, but that's because I need my protagonist to be sad and upset and emotionally unstable throughout the story.

Yes, but it's because the death of the parents play a key role in the plot and character development - maybe the protagonist is trying to solve the mystery of the murder of their parents.

Parents are alive and cooking up spaghetti at the moment!

Don't be silly! My protagonist has 20 love interests - all who are very attractive (except for that one guy, but she won't pick him, don't worry).

Yes, there's a love triangle. Not for any reason, really. The protagonist is just hot.

Yes, but this is something that the protagonist grapples with because they like her for different reasons and she likes them for different reasons. The love triangle is actually used to further the plot.

There's... yeah, no love triangle.

Oh, hell yes! Soul mates in one sentence!

It sort of is love at first sight, but they don't realise that what they feel is love until their friendship develops.

They see each other as friends/allies/enemies/acquaintances. Over the course of the story, they learn more about each other and find themselves drawn to each other. Now it's love.

No love interests in my story!

Oh, yes, they make me week at the knees! They look like a super-model, they are oh, so tragically flawed, he has a dark and secretive past, and he treats the love interest horribly but they are inexplicably drawn to it.

Pretty much. They look like a super-model, they are tragically flawed with a dark and secretive past, but at least the love interest hates him because he's so rude? That, or he's bad - not for any particular reason. He just is.

Look, yes and no. He is a brooding bad boy - but he has a genuinely bad past that will end up playing a huge role in the story.

No bad boy. Sorry.

Yep! They just learnt how to use a sword and ride a horse, but they're beating all their sparring partners, even though those sparring partners have been training for years. Or, at school, they've just started learning the flute but they're already better than everyone else.

Yes, but only because they've got magical blood which makes them slightly more different.

Yes, but that's because they've been training exceptionally hard or they've been cheating, because they're a complex protagonist who is ready to cheat to get their means.

Nah, man. My protagonist keeps failing at first - but it's okay! They'll get there... by book seven, maybe.

She's an absolute badass, hell yeah! She is a killing-machine, but the second she meets the hot guy, well... let's just say she forgets her own name and acts like a giggling fool. She can't speak properly anymore.

She is a badass, yes, and she does do some awkward slips when flustered. But still, yes, she finds herself changing the second she meets the love interest. She just can't help it! Don't worry, though - she's still sassy.

Yes, she's a badass, who is stoic throughout the entire story until she develops as she realises there are better ways to handle certain situations.

She's not necessarily a warrior, but that doesn't mean she's a strong character. Just because she likes to cook, or she likes to be a house-wife, or she likes to act motherly, doesn't mean she's not a strong woman!

Hell yeah. And she's only going to be at the school for two sessions, so she can make a friend, enemy, and find the love interest.

Yes, but only because I didn't know where else to start it.

Yes, but that's because the drama is at the brand new school and it's the protagonists' job to resolve it. The school is not all that it seems. Or, it's a school - but not a brand new one.

Nope. I've had enough of school. I am not setting my story there.

Yes... Oops?

Nah, man. Her phone has the alarm. Or it's the screeching mother.

Okay, look, yes it is the alarm clock BUT it's a symbol - I promise!

Yuck. No. My protagonist is responsible and can wake themselves up. Besides, why start a story waking up when you can start in the crux of the action?

Well, she doesn't actually serve any purpose to the plot. She's just there so that the protagonist isn't lonely. Since my protagonist is quiet and brooding, this friend is very quirky and chirpy. Or, since my protagonist is quirky and chirpy, this friend is quiet and brooding. This 'friend' basically teases the protagonist about the love interest and then leaves the story.

The friend has complexity and backstory, but... yeah, they're only needed in the story until the love interest sweeps away the protagonist.

The friend plays a vital role in the story! They help the protagonist in their quest, though... backstory? Haven't thought too much about that. They are, after all, just a side character.

The friend is either non-existent, or they play a crucial role in the story - they have backstory, complexity, and development.

They're evil and want to take over the world! No reason why. They just are.

The antagonist is the bully in high school - and they're evil/antagonistic because the main character took away the love interest.

The antagonist has a tragic backstory, and that instantly made them a bad person.

Not only does the antagonist have a tragic backstory that led to them becoming the antagonist, but they also have a clear purpose and goal.

Yes... And they all fall in love with the protagonist... for no particular reason.

Yes, but only three of them fall in love with the protagonist!

Yes, but, to be fair, it's a One Direction Fanfiction and it's actually an interesting story with unique elements - it's just that the characters are based on real-life people.

Sorry, I don't feature any of the band boys.

My eyes are ice/sky/frosty/sea/ocean/sapphire blue, except for when they are glowing golden, red, or pure black.

I stared at my flawless skin and frowned. My eyebrows were too on fleek, my cheekbones were too high, and my eyes too big. The cute bangs also made me look horrible. I'm ugly (even though all my friends and boyfriends are in love with me and my appearance).

The colour of my eyes are insignificant. What is significant is the fact that they can shoot lasers out of them, no repercussions whatsoever!

I looked in the mirror - at the [insert colour] eyes that reminded me all too much of my mother's.

My story is not cliché! Just because there are ninety-six love interests that are all into the protagonist who has every superpower and is destined to be princess of the universe, doesn't mean my story is cliché! Read on!

Look, there are definitely some cliché elements in the story - but I promise that it branches away from this quite a bit soon enough!

This story takes cliché and spits in its face. In this book, I make fun of cliché tropes by purposely being satirical about it.

Look, I don't even have an Author's Notes that mentions whether my story is cliché or not. I don't need it.

Yep. I've copied the plot from Twilight, but I've changed the character names.

Yes, and I guess these werewolves/vampires act like alpha, territorial males that have no substance or complexity.

Yes, but they're actually treated like complex characters with backstory, development, and have a soft spot too!

Nope. Sorry.

Now, we hope you've been keeping track of your answers, because here is how you calculate the score:

Add up your points based on how many of the above letters you received. Then, when you have the total, look at the chart below:

Oh boy, do I have news for you. Look, your story, simply put, fits into the cliché category. And we're not just talking about any type of cliché - we're talking about the extreme here. Your book is so cliché that it's not even slightly believable. If anything, people might be reading your book for satirical purposes (or maybe it was written for satire?).

But no worries! There are some readers who thoroughly enjoy reading intense clichés. Additionally, let's be real here: most of us who start writing young have a story that is in this category.

Look, there are definitely some elements of your story that are rather cliché. Is that a horrible thing? Absolutely not! In fact, it might make your story even more popular. Believe it or not, there is a reason cliché is cliché and that's because people reading cliché. The love triangles do make a lot of us swoon, and we don't mind reading about characters who are born with magic.

But do be careful to have those hints of realism within your story! Make it believably cliché! Make those characters complex! We believe in you!

While your story definitely includes some cliché tropes, you've added your own unique twists to them! You play with the cliché to un-cliché them, so hats-off to you for branching away from what could almost be considered cringe-worthy. Keep that up!

Because, at the end of the day, there's nothing wrong with love triangles. There's nothing wrong with werewolves or vampires. You just need to make sure they play important roles in the story, and actually seem... to fit into the story. Don't just toss in a love pentagon because you felt like it.

Wow! Look at you go! Your story is completely unique, and strays far, far away from all those tropes that make us reviewers wince. You've got unique, complex characters, a plotline that doesn't seem far too convenient, and you've kept us on our toes with each twist and turn within your story.

Of course, this quiz was mostly made up for fun - so we may have missed some cliché things that we are tired of. But nevertheless, be proud - your story is unique!

And we hope you enjoyed that rather fun quiz! I know we had way too much fun discussing some of these topics. We hope you enjoyed it, too! Next week, we shall do another quiz - but for our dear poets!

Also, now that we've opened up part three of this book, feel free to tell us which unique/cliché tropes . We will rant about them for you, and even offer advice on how to write/avoid them. Additionally, we might ask you to co-write the chapter with us, if your rant about it is particularly passionate. Let us know!