Trying to step up in your writing? Trying to appeal to a whole new, perhaps more sophisticated crowd out there in the land of AFF? Here, I have taken the time to do all of the dirty work for those, and those who just get a kick out of reading guides-where-we-rip-stories-apart. Think of this as a gift from the sophisticated readers.

Inside this guide you will find and utilize:

-Researching the profuse amount of clichés that threaten to enslave us all

-Highlights of many SHINee mistakes, now with SHINee common/perfect personalities!

-Highlights of many BIGBANG mistakes, with added BIGBANG common personalities!

-Writer's resources conveniently located at the bottom!

First off, before I go into details and whatnot, there are two very general types of people that lurk on AFF; the ones who enjoy clichés and the ones who don’t.

(Yes, I understand that some may only like clichés in moderation, but I’m starting incredibly broad here.)

When jotting down ideas for a new story, the first decision is usually whether or not you want to have the typical lovey-dovey, loopy-goopy love story with a happy ending, or a more dire and sinister approach to things; aka the ones that stand out more, but usually requires a whole new level of concentration and thinking.

Beautiful Land of Clichés:

So, you decided to do a cliché approach to your new/revamped story. Well, you must also keep in mind what crowd you’re trying to attract. Just because you’re set on a typical story does not mean you have to appeal to the same crowd of people. Realizing this, the more picky readers have a big ol’ list of things that nauseate us from each and every story we’ve read on here.

Allow me to run through some general SHINee and BIGBANG plotlines that are the most prevalent, and frankly, most nauseating if used incorrectly. Using this to your advantage, you can help yourself steer clear of the mistake hundreds, if not, thousands of writers make.

1.] SHINee fics:

Most, if not all, of the fics I’ve read on here that had a SHINee cameo appearance, or even as main characters, were usually the ones that tend to fall apart at the seams very quickly. As such, that is why I am using them as the perfect example. Perhaps the female writers had epic, seizure-inducing s while coming up with ideas for their SHINee fics?

1a.] Reoccurring SHINee love stories:

I’ve read more than my fair share of stories on here, and plenty of the ones where SHINee were pro/antagonists are way too predictable. I don’t doubt for one second that some fan-girls like that kind of thing, but why can’t you, the writer, put even a SLIGHT twist to said story? It’s the simple little things that make me want to stab my eyes out with a knife due to blood-induced rage.

·         - The horribly overused and abused plot I see the most in this kind of story? Your answer would be the dreaded love triangle between a fictional character and two or more of the SHINee members, specifically targeting Jonghyun and Minho.

•   Jonghyun’s common personality: Biggest player in the entire story. He plays with every girl’s heart, until he suddenly decides to fall in love with yours, for whatever reason. Apparently, he’s also a major douche bag in the story when he doesn’t get what he wants, specifically the affection of your fictional character.

•   Minho’s common personality: The savior of us all. He always, always, ALWAYS comes to save the day when your OC is in distress, and even beats some of the antagonists’ asses with his awesome, bare hands. Almost always the one to fatefully fall in love with your character, in which the two are swallowed by an influx of drama from their friends; or, if your character is a complete Mary Sue, Minho’s friends.

•   Fictional character’s common personality: This can go either one of two ways. One, the lady is either a complete, stuck-up, snobby who has her head shoved far up her or two, she’s a complete pushover. I’m completely baffled that either Jonghyun or Minho would fall in love with this kind of a personality in such a short time, especially if it’s number one and she walks all over them like . It’s no wonder that Key hates her in ninety-five percent of the stories he’s in.

·         - Rival versus rival in high school, how cute, right? No. This is terribly overused too, and to be frank, almost any reader can predict the outcome of these two rivals that were destined for one another. Unfortunately, this time the victim is Key.

•   Key’s common personality: Another major douche bag in the plot of many stories, specifically ones revolving around high school. When your character transfers to the school he’s at, he immediately hates her guts, despite not even knowing her from before, and walks all over her like . Suddenly, he develops feelings for the girl, and will do anything to get her. I’m curious, what the hell made him change his mind halfway through the story?

·         - I’m sure many readers would agree that any story involving a foreign exchange student of any kind should deserve to be overlooked immediately, albeit we have those clever writers that keep you hooked with erratic plot twists and whatnot. I pity the next target, I really do. Poor Taemin.

•   Taemin’s common personality: The awkward, sometimes homoual, teenager who is picked on and saved by your OC. Sometimes the two of you were already friends to begin with, for whatever reason. May also be your character’s best friend or companion when they struggle through the hardship that is ‘high school’. The story usually ends with your character falling in love with one of his friends first, which is usually either Jonghyun or Key; and then realizing she loved her best friend, Lee Taemin, ALL ALONG.

·         - We venture across the infamous kingkas of the school, with no trace of queenkas whatsoever. Makes perfect sense. I don’t think I even have to spell it out, but we have Onew as our last subject.

•   Onew’s common personality: A ing chicken maniac. He cares only about himself and chicken, not even his little group of friends. Has absolutely no concern for the OC or the protagonist female character in the story, that is, until she does something completely idiotic to piss him off. Usually portrayed as a massive ert or awkward individual, but seems to be the complete opposite around your character. Why do the ladies come flocking to him if Jonghyun is supposed to be the stereotypical badass that sleeps with every girl known to man?

·         - Personally, this one is my favorite; not because I actually like it, but because of how sickening it is. Most of us have never and will never like the book series, so why come up with SHINee vampires?

•   Onew’s perfect personality: Always acts like he’s sent down from Heaven by the angels. Has incredibly cheesy, love lines that nauseate many readers to no end. Apparently never makes a mistake, even though he’s a human, just like us all.

•   Jonghyun’s perfect personality: Another perfect individual. For whatever ing reason, he seems to have the personality of an Edward Cullen in essence. Writers put too much description into his perfect face, puppy eyes, etc. Oh, and you’re not that clever for throwing in the oldest joke in the book: putting down that he looks like a dinosaur.

•   Key’s perfect personality: Has two conflicting personalities: the romantic lover and the secret bad . Always seems to be the one treated like dirt in stories and never stands up for himself when he's around your OC. Apparently, he’s also weak as hell. Incredibly erted once him and your OC pair off and become romantic. Goes from a complete punk to goody-two-shoes when he falls in love.

•   Minho’s perfect personality: Has the same two-sided personalities like Key. Apparently is the only one who knows what love is. Can beat down the antagonist’s if he touches Minho’s girl, and never seems to get caught in the act. Why doesn’t he ever get caught?! The antagonist’s friends are standing RIGHT there! Give me a break.

•   Taemin’s perfect personality: Another perfect, little, teenage boy. A complete pushover. Only knows how to say the word ‘noona’ and act cute; even if someone is being beaten to death, he’ll still randomly blurt out and ask for banana milk, or the like. It’s safe to say he wouldn’t be the one wearing the pants in the relationship.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, a rough rundown of your typical love SHINee fic that is the most abundant around these here parts. You are more than free to rip off one of these abused plot devices, but then again, you end up questioning why your story is soon overlooked by many.

2.] BIGBANG fics:

These kinds of stories resemble the SHINee fics in the sense that the setting is either high school or at YG Entertainment. I’d say the setting is sixty percent of the time taking place in high school, though. I’m positive that it’s apparent what kind of personalities these men have, well, usually.

2a.] Reoccurring BIGBANG love story:

Oh, how I love cuddling underneath a fuzzy blanket to hunt down and read a parasitic love story between one of the BIGBANG members and the protagonist; aka the one who seems to be a complete nitwit with absolutely no common sense, whatsoever. I don’t come across these very often, but when I do, they seem to follow the same storyline most of the time. These, however, are more coveted thanks to the inflation of SHINee stories, and usually do not make readers rip their hair out by the roots; that much.

·         - We’re back to the good ol’ setting of high school with the kingkas and neglected queenkas. I honestly think it’s fair to say that every single group out there has fallen prey to this piece-of- plot device, there’s no mistaken it. However, no member escapes this plot of doom.

•   G-Dragon’s common personality: Most of his friends are douchebags, but he seems to be the king of douchebaginess. Known to be a competitive player who preys on any lady he can scope out in the school. However, it seems his lustful, steamy comes with a major cost, which usually leads to slavery. He doesn’t give two s about your character at all within the first few chapters, no matter how much of a Mary Sue she is. I’m sure this makes total sense. G-Dragon is a contradiction, even in his own self, poor guy.

•   TOP’s common personality: He wins second place for the alignment of douchebags at your school. Not much is known about him, he’s usually out of the picture for ninety-nine percent of the story; though I have no idea why. Represented more as a bully than a douchebag who only likes making both es completely and utterly miserable. Usually seen bullying another group that is present in the story, often times it is Super Junior. Everyone has a weakness though, right? Apparently not TOP.

•   Taeyang’s common personality: A victim of split personalities. He’s either a doppelganger to G-Dragon, always saving the day, or hanging alongside TOP and beating the out of another boy band. Always has his head in the clouds and really has no significant role in the plot, but he’s present all of the way through the story.

•   Daesung’s common personality: Basically a replica of Taeyang, only with minor changes. He’s either another statistic who’s both a douchebag and one to be feared, or a complete awkward individual who has no idea what the hell he’s doing. It’s not worse than the fictional character, at least.

•   Seungri’s common personality: The defenseless pushover out of the five. If you really want to with the kingkas, definitely seduce this guy right here into submission. He’s not much of a talker and tends to keep to himself, but in the same sense, he also seems to have a heated temper.

I’ve now completely outlined the most prevalent BIGBANG story out there, just for the sake of helping writers out there get better and avoid these commoner plot devices. I’ve done my own research, and this is what I have come up with; obviously results will vary from person to person, but I have put down the storylines that seem to plague us like the walking dead at the very moment.

*Yes, there are dozens more of cliché SHINee fics out there, but these are the worst, I think it’s fair to say.

Don’t be afraid to put some real effort into your story. Don’t waste your time slapping up boring personalities for your characters when you could be busy reaching for that dictionary on the shelf that has been accumulating piles of dust for the past twenty years. The real key here is moderation. Just like your daily amount of servings, stories have a moderate amount that should be abided to as well.

*SOON TO COME!

-Advancing into the abyss of clichés

-Super Junior Highlights, with added personalities

-Beast Highlights, with added personalities

Writer's Resources:

http://www.asianfanfics.com/blog/view/17239

http://www.asianfanfics.com/blog/view/17196

Some content in this guide has been taken from my loose, researched blog pages that I was kind enough to put up as resources for you aspiring writers.