Willie Meikle, a Scottish author with nine novels and over 150 short stories to his credit, advises writers of crime and detective stores to avoid situations that are so overplayed that they have become genre cliches so that the reader knows what to expect next, taking away the suspense that makes the story so interesting.
Meikle describes ten cliched situations and characters that have been overused:
Cops and Doctors
This is a perennial favorite that you can see on many TV crime shows. Getting a new twist and adding tension to ordinary hospital situations can help to avoid the what is called the "Dick Van Dyke" syndrome that leads the writer into using cliches.
The New Partner
This is usually a plot in which the main character, the veteran cop, gets a new partner. It is a worn out scenario and it will take something new and creative to make it work, perhaps adding something dramatic to their relationship.
The Rookie in the Morgue
The usual cliched scene is portrayed with a young cop rushing out with hand in mouth, or he stands still, icily cold and detached. Or the pathologist is portrayed as being smug or patronizing.
The Cantankerous Lieutenant Chews Out the Cop
This one usually ends with the lieutenant and the cop snarling at each other. Two cliches to avoid are "I'll have your badge for that" or "I'm not covering for you this time."
The Slimy Defense Lawyer
The often used cliche for this one is "My client has no further comment," or words like slimeball, and sleazeball.
The Car Chase
Most car chase scenes have been overdone so a better way is needed to add tension to a story. Using it it requires more than speeding police cars and near crashes.
The Shoot Out
Shoot outs work better in films than in print. It can slow down the story. And using phrases like heads"exploding like ripe watermelons" is one of the worst cliches.
The Cop in the Cafe
Speeding motorbikes speeding away from a cafe parking lot with loose gravel flying became a clilche after it was used in every episode of Chips.
Good Cop/Bad Cop
The good cop/bad cop became a cliche almost as soon as crime fiction began. It needs a new twist to make it work.
The Estranged Wife
The estranged wife has been a cliche for a long time so it has become a challenge to present it in a way that has not been over viewed. Perhaps an understanding wife might be a good substitute. A strong, stable marriage might be a new twist.
In Crime Fiction Writing: Ten Cliches to Avoid, Meikle suggest that the next time a writer reads or watches a police drama, notice how many of these cliches are still being used. He says that unless the writer can subvert some of the cliches, don't expect anyone to buy it.
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