I should probably explain what I mean by the title. "Cannon Character Clichés" in my mind are when the most memorable trait of a character is the only/one of the only trait(s) you see.

The character becomes a little dry, and although the fanfic has tried to keep the cannon character in character by doing this, it fails to make them have any other personality than the single dominant trait.

Imagine you have a friend who's named Callister McLuffanige (don't ask). Callister is the class clown of the school and all she does is make people laugh. Like ALL she does is be funny. It gets tiring after a while, right? The character's could be morning a death, and Callister would be joking about how now the dead person could finally get some rest. Your readers don't want to have to deal with Class-Clown-Callister when they read your story. Explore different emotions! This will allow the character's other personality traits to shine.

A good way to try and give your character more depth is to mentally put them through different situations. What would they do if their dog got run over? What about if they say their significant other kissing your best friend? Chances are the character's reactions could be applied to other aspects of their life, and will allow you to get to know them more.

If you're only showing one personality for a comical reason or a plot point, go ahead! This is your story. The Monkees did a great job of this. Though they did highlight one trait, the show still let them have other personalities. Peter had moments that he was very wise, Davy didn't always get the girl, Mike could have a good joke, and Micky was serious when he needed to be.

Here are some examples of cannon character clichés that I've come across.

•Hermione Ganger being completely grade driven.
•Percy Jackson cracking sarcastic jokes all the time.
•Paul McCartney as a huge beauty queen.
•Ringo Starr being defenseless and acting like an adorable little baby.
•George Harrison only thinking about food 24/7.
•John Lennon as a cocky, angry, smart allelic. (Sometimes the 'angry' or 'cocky' trait isn't used which is even worse)
•Batman not having any heart.

Honestly the examples could go on and on and on an- OKAY YOU GET THE POINT! I'm not trying to say completely ignore that personality, just dial it down and let other emotions peep through the surface. This will keep your readers interested and begging for more.

If you're not a Beatlemanic, then just ignore this paragraph, it's rant time. To many times I have seen the the stereotypes of the Beatles used. This happens a lot in the 'What would they do' type of books, and it makes me want to cry in the corner while listening to Revolution 9. EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER John is destroying something, Paul's using makeup, George is eating something, and Ringo can't even swat a fly. They've had so many perspectives in the short ten years that they were a band. John has a hate of war, George has that whole religious/meditation thing, Paul's optimistic, and Ringo's got humor. And that's just one more trait of many for each member that if  they were incorporated in fanfiction, would make the story SOOO much better. Okay, I'll let you get back to your life.

✌️❤️
~ eleanorrigby9111
(I'm thinking of having a shorter pen name of E.R. Thoughts?)