A Balance of Dark and Light

The last few days I've really enjoyed writing my current book. It's been challenging but fun because the character I'm writing is a child who has gone through significant emotional trauma. I haven't written in a child's perspective often but I've found it an enjoyable obstacle to tackle. 

It has also been interesting figuring out how to convey trauma and healing. I've spent a lot of time researching and am hoping that I've been sensitive to the character and the things that she went through by portraying her in a realistic light. At the same time, I wanted to include a more magical means of healing. 

Beginning a book is always fun because a lot of the last minute decisions I make now will cause the whole book to change. I've added a lot more dark and light imagery which I think will tie into future themes well. I always get nervous when having that kind of imagery for fear it will come across as cliché. However, I personally love dark and light imagery and truly feel that it works well in this book so I just need to be careful.

I'm currently reading a book where there is a massive cast of characters. I was expressing to my husband how a lot of them felt more like tropes than individuals and how that made the writing a little jarring. Now that I'm farther in the book, I almost wonder if the cliché was necessary to help the reader remember certain characters or at least know what to expect from them. It's been fun ruminating over if the book would be confusing without using such by-the-book tropes. 

What are some ways you avoid clichés in writing? Do you think it's sometimes good to be cliché? What are your favorite tropes for characters in books or videogames?