I plan to come back to blogging by sequentially writing short stories that are the opposite of the the overused plots that Pixie identifies below. The following is copied directly from her blog.

Top Ten Overused Plot Lines in Children's Literature **

1. Boy (or girl - less common but equally overused) discovers latent magical powers.

2. Cliquey popular girls get their comeuppance.

3. Kid's single parent starts dating again, they freak and try to break them up but are inevitably thrown into a situation where the adult helps them out and they are forced to come to grips with the new person in their life.

4. Identical twins switch places and learn a lesson about loving themselves.

5. Girl is so busy falling head over heels for the "perfect" guy, she fails to notice sweet, sensitive guy next door/best friend until too late. (Also overused in the reverse)
6. Kid's ((insert relative here)) was actually a member of ((insert secret/elite organization here)) and left behind an ((insert object here)) for them to use in finishing their life's work.

7. Orphans. 'Nuff said.

8. "But little did he know that he was destined for epic adventures and great things. How could he, a poor, ordinary boy have known that truly he was destined to save them all?"

9. Warrior animals of any kind, really. (Except hedgehogs - for some reason nobody has written about the terrifying lives of Hedgedevils)

10. Young children see the clues that adults miss and solve mysteries.


** Disclaimer: My opinion that these specific plotlines are generally used too frequently does not mean that I have never seen them done well. There are some very well-done iterations of these ideas in children's literature but I feel that, as a general rule, they are overused.