We have all been taught to avoid certain cliches like the plague. Jenna Glatzer at Absolute Write has a new list of overworked phrases and story elements to avoid in your writing. One of my favorites:

How many times have you read a story that's ostensibly in third person, then by the end the writer reveals that he or she is the person the story was about?

It's usually a traumatic story of some sort-- abuse, violence, rape, death of a child, drug addiction, prison-- and throughout the story, you're clearly supposed to sympathize with the person who's being written about. Then, a paragraph or two before the end, the writer says, in effect, "Ha ha, fooled you! It's really all about me!"

Well, usually with more dignity than that. But it's still an overused story device. First, readers can usually see it coming, and second, readers don't typically like feeling "tricked" or manipulated. Every now and then it works, when it's a real shocker-- like when the reader is led to believe that the person in the story is going to die, or when it seems inevitable that the story will not end happily. Those are exceptions, though. In general, just write it in first person (or third person) and don't go for the "big twist ending."

On the other hand, if you feel your work isn't derivative enough already, you can just use the Cliche Finder.