Defying convention

The princess, the hero, the femme-fatale, the down on his luck bad-boy who makes good, the hooker with a heart of gold.

These things are all character types, often bordering on what would be considered stereotypes and cliches. Many writers in all disciplines use them. Not many use them well. But they're a storytelling staple, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with using a character template. There is something wrong with relying on them too much and creating flat, one-dimensional characters that neatly fit into categories and are predictable and oh so BORING.

I recently discovered a handy flowchart that outlines many of the most common modern female character "types" in television and movies, in a slightly tongue-in-cheek manner (thanks again for posting this, @slackmistress!). It got me to thinking. And thinking leads to...well, sometimes it leads to headaches, but this time it generated an idea. I now have a story rattling around in my brain case involving a character fresh off the assembly line and in need of a role to fill. To find her type, she must be processed in and go through a questionnaire that will define what "conventions" she falls under. As subplot there is horrible flourescent office lighting and a dreadful cube farm and uncomfortable waiting areas with bad coffee and muzak. So, it's kind of part horror story and part journey of discovery. I have a title, a setting, two characters (both female), and some dialogue. Just have to do the actual *writing* part...