Clichés Explained: The Coma

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - Posted by Shelley Sly at Wednesday, July 27, 2011

In the writing world, we hear a lot of valuable advice. "Don't start your manuscript with the character waking up." "Don't use a mirror as an excuse to describe your character." "Don't have a deus ex machina save the day."

This advice is important (crucial, actually, if you want readers to take your story seriously) and we've learned why it's suggested that we don't do these things. But have we ever thought about why we do them in the first place?

I've decided to start a small series exploring why clichés are so desirable and comfortable to writers (until we realize they're clichés, that is). If you find this utterly boring, I don't have to continue the series. We'll call this post the pilot.

The Coma

I was watching a show on Netflix a few weeks ago... okay, it was Desperate Housewives, and I'm only on the beginning of season 3, so please no spoilers unless you want us to not be friends anymore... and, in the spirit of being spoiler-free, let's just say Character 1 ended up in a coma. Surprise.

Actually, not surprised. Fellow ABC show Brothers & Sisters also had a comatose character. And so have fifty thousand other TV shows, books, movies, etc. What's the appeal?

Putting a character in a coma, especially a major character or love interest to a main character, forces the people in that character's life to evaluate their surroundings. How will they go about their lives without that special person around? Will the patient's love interest find a new lover? It's also a cheap way to make time pass with nothing happening, since people can be in comas for years. (Brothers & Sisters and Desperate Housewives, looking at you both!)

Perhaps the greatest appeal of comatose characters is that it's not as permanent as killing that character off completely. Whether or not the patient wakes up or remains unconscious until they die, the writer is keeping everyone in that devastating limbo. It's a relatively easy way to throw an emotional curveball... even if Character 1 wakes up after a few chapters or episodes anyway.

The coma plot can still be used effectively. Just keep in mind why your character will be in a coma, and make sure it's realistic. (My sympathies to anyone who has/had a loved one in a coma; obviously this only applies to fictional plots and not real life. And, it goes without saying that this is just my personal analysis.)

Any thoughts on this cliché? What are some of your favorite clichés? I may use your answers in a future post.

Labels: clichés, predictable storylines, TV shows

14 stories from friends:

you know, it's never even occured to me to put a character in a coma. I mean, i guess it's not like i'm writing a serialized story, though, which is where you mostly see the coma cliche.

A cliche that drives me bonkers is when someone gets really mad and they brush everything off a table in anger. I mean, really?

Sarah Ahiers (Falen) on July 27, 2011 3:42 PM

I've seen a lot of comas in TV shows and movies - not so many in books, although I'll be on the lookout for them now! :)

Jemi Fraser on July 27, 2011 7:33 PM

I don't think I've encountered too many books with characters who are comatose. I only remember two, and they were well done: Alma Fullerton's Walking on Glass and Douglas Coupland's Girlfriend in a Coma. Both of them were original and didn't seem cliché (but in shows and movies many instances of comatose patients seem cliché to me).

Medeia Sharif on July 27, 2011 10:05 PM

My mom used to watch soap operas and people were always in comas. It can get old. I think it can be dumb if it's not done well.

But there is a time and a place for comas in fiction, just like everything else we're told not to do. It's good to keep the cliches in mind so we don't become annoyingly melodramatic.

Good post! :)

Amanda Borenstadt on July 27, 2011 11:39 PM

I think putting a character into a coma also buys you time to figure out what you want to do with the character when s/he wakes up. The real cop-out comes when the character dies instead.

My "favorite" cliche (that is, the one that makes me go "ugh") is the dream sequence. *Shudder*

That being said, there are ways to use cliches effectively but it takes a skilled hand to make them not seem like cliches at the time.

E. Elle on July 28, 2011 8:48 AM

I've used many a cliche in my time. But I've gotten better. Though I confess, I do like the mirror description ploy.

TV comas don't work. I see them less in books. I recommend The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little. The MC's mother is in a coma. The MC thinks it's her fault and seeks a healer to save her mama. But the healer's method may heal the MC as well. One of my favorite books ever.

Theresa Milstein on July 28, 2011 10:55 AM

It hadn't occurred to me how much this trope is used in TV drama. I do have a comatose person in my novel's backstory, but it's because I wanted to explore what it's like to lose someone semi-suddenly (a car accident that doesn't immediately kill), how comas give false hope and how that effects a family emotionally. But I don't dramatize hanging around the bed at any length-- only brief flashbacks.

Favorite cliches? I like friendship trios where the MC is the balancer between the two extreme friends (outgoing/shy, brainy/sporty, wild/tame). I've lived it.

Laurel Garver on July 28, 2011 11:31 AM

Ironically enough, I do have a character in a coma in my WIP. But, I agree with you, it's only a good plot device if there is a valid reason for it...not just as a way to keep someone out of the picture for a while without having to off them completely.

The cliche I'm not crazy about is dead parents in YA. There are a heck of a lot of orphans in young adult literature. There are plenty of other creative ways to keep parents mostly out of the picture, if needed, besides killing them.

Tracy on July 28, 2011 1:28 PM

It never dawned on me to wonder why we did things this way. What a super creative post. I love how your mind works and I'm so glad I stopped in to learn about it. My commenting days have dwindled. Talk about sadness creeping in!

Jen Daiker on July 28, 2011 1:50 PM

Like all things that I read or see on t.v. or movies, I have nothing against putting a character in a coma... as long as it has a point. And "OOOH! WE CAN SKIP FIVE YEARS AND MIRACULOUSLY WAKE UP A CHARACTER!!!" is not a valid reason. All the other things like character development and evaluation seem to become excuses if the above happens. Because let's face it. We all KNOW that they ran out of things to write.

:-P

Misha on July 29, 2011 4:37 PM

Sometimes I'd love to stick all my characters in a coma and just leave them there!

Talli Roland on July 31, 2011 7:09 AM

Thanks so much for your thoughts, guys! You've got some great insight! I enjoyed hearing what your favorite cliches are... and I might have to post about some of those in the future. :)

Shelley Sly on August 3, 2011 11:30 AM

Hmmm. I shall have to avoid this stereotype. In my W.I.P. I'm going to have a character killed off instead.

Michael Offutt on August 3, 2011 2:46 PM

oh those desperate housewives and their cliches! what havent they done?
and i did put a character in a brief (6 mo) coma and he came out w/ brain damage. sad, but worth the journey!

Tara Tyler on August 3, 2011 3:30 PM