CIMG4243 Cliches In Fantasy panel aftermath at the World Fantasy Convention 2006

CIMG4243 Glen Cook in the hallway, talking with readers at the World Fantasy Convention 2006 after the “It’s Not A Cliché… Yet” panel

Read more about the “It’s Not A Cliché… Yet” panel in my blog post.

What it was about:

• The plight of famous authors, such as Shakespeare and J. R. R. Tolkien: creating imagery so powerful that it captures public imagination for centuries, inspiring thousands of imitators, has an ironic consequence.
• What fantasy cliche annoys writers and editors the most?
• Is it always necessary to try to avoid cliches? Can they be used deliberately?
• When is cliche not a cliche, but a useful shorthand? As much as cliches are ridiculed, don’t readers — and by extension, editors — secretly want them?

World Fantasy Convention 2006 took place in Austin, Texas, November 2-5, 2006.