Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 23: Avoiding the Cliché with Tracy Hickman

We took Writing Excuses on the road last month for "Life, The Universe, and Everything," the symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy at Brigham Young University. The Guests of Honor were Tracy and Laura Hickman, and poor Tracy agreed to join us for a podcast or two, recorded in front of a live audience. After the initial introductions we dig into clichés, starting with characters - specifically, how to avoid these kinds of problems in our characters. What's the difference between a cliché and an archetype? Tracy saves us time and again with great answers that beg a dozen or more podcasts. It's a good thing Tracy and Laura have their own podcast. This episode has "clipping" problems. We need to buy some good audio gear for Jordan so he can fix problems like this. Or maybe some audio gear that will let him prevent problems like this.  But don't discuss that in the comments. Discuss clichés, please. Writing Prompt: Howard gets attacked by monkeys.