Now, I'm not opposed to these twists. It brings a new taste to an old fairy tale. But you know what ends up happening? Everyone rushes for the "new" idea, and suddenly, it's just another cliche.
The same thing happens with stereotypes, especially in Young Adult literature. Trying to break away from said stereotype, suddenly your goth girl is secretly a ballerina, or your star quarterback is secretly an artist or musician.
That's all well and good. It's totally fine to want to break away from the cliche. But you know what my favorite thing to do with these tropes and cliches that everyone is sick of seeing? Embrace them! And then tweak them, just a little.
I'll use Dungeons and Dragons as an example (because I'm a little obsessed). But this applies to all characters, so use your imagination.
When I say bard, what do you think of? Brightly dressed fantasy dancing on tables and strumming his lute until the cows come home, and off the stage is either the loudest, most talkative and obnoxious creature you've ever had the misfortune of meeting, or a smarmy incubus that oozes so much charm it makes you want to vomit. Or both, depending on present company.
Wanting to break away from the cliche, you present your character as a bard. Everyone groans. And then you say, "but wait! He's a half orc!" Your party looks slightly intrigued. "He plays only slow love ballads."
Okay. You've made some progress. But you know what I would do?
It's the start of a new campaign. You introduce your character as a bard. Everyone groans. You smile to yourself, waiting for the opportune moment. Then, when the time is right, you casually say, "Oh, by the way? He's blind."
Everyone goes, whaaaat?
Hah! Success. Do you see what I did? I'll explain.
I took a boring character, rudely and dully labeled "bard," and made him into a person. I took a simple adjective and made him unique. And now you want to know his story.
Now, you can do this with a physical description. For example, I could have made this bard unusually short. Or given him an odd scar or birthmark. Or, you can use a unique personality trait. For example, maybe he's really insecure. Or obsessed with a certain type of music. Or I could do a mixture of the two. Maybe this bard's favorite pasttime is inventing wildly different stories of how he got that scar or birthmark, and then telling (or even singing) them to anyone who will listen.
Don't be afraid of cliches. Often, a cliche is a very good starting point. But don't leave it there, or your character is only half complete.
The way to break a cliche is to turn a character into a person, someone with just one or two things that make them unique.
Even if a certain character plays only a background role, he needs to be real. He doesn't need a tragic backstory or a complicated past. When you try too hard, your readers can tell. Just pick one or two adjectives that really bring this particular character to life.
Just like there is no one quite like you in the whole world, there is no one quite like your character in their world. So give them that.
