Avoiding Cliches
This one’s a tough nut to crack.
Avoiding cliches is like avoiding headaches. We’d all love to, but there’s no way we’ll ever completely avoid them.
With hundreds of cliches, they’re as thick as pea soup, and therefore, often the first ideas which come to mind.
Cliches are simply too ingrained into our patterns of speech and thought. We have Shakespeare to thank for the many cliches in our every day speech as well—so while they can’t be avoided — we can try to be a little more creative.
https://www.businessinsider.com/everyday-phrases-from-shakespeare-2013-9
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-phrases/
Some common examples:
frightened to death
don’t get your knickers in a twist
scared out of my wits
weak as a kitten
without a care in the world
ugly as sin
the time of my life
head over heels
a diamond in the rough
all that glitters isn’t gold
the calm before the storm
nerves of steel
the speed of light
time heals all wounds
read between the lines
all’s fair in love and war
gut-wrenching pain
And don’t think a cliches is just a turn of phrase. Characters themselves can often be cliches. The first story I ever published began with the tired and worn-out cliche of the hard-boiled detective nursing a hangover.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
What’s good for the goose… oops! There I go again!
And, besides characters, you should also beware of cliched openings.
“It was a dark and stormy night.”
This wonderfully overworked opening (still often used today in various iterations) was first trotted out in 1830, by English author Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who’s name is not only synonymous with cheesy openings, but also coined the phrase, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
There’s even an annual contest named after him that’s been going on since 1982 where writers are challenged to “write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written.” The Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest—“Where www means wretched writers welcome!” https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
Indeed, some entire stories are cliches. Think of the silent drifter who wanders into a struggling town, battles evil, performs heroic deeds, and ends up saving the town. All the women of the town throw themselves at his feet. But in the end, the hero refuses their advances, and rides off into the distance without accepting any rewards for his good deeds.
There are only a finite number of story lines. Even ancient storytellers sitting around the campfire probably struggled to avoid cliches.
In a very real sense, life itself is a cliche. We are born, and then we get sick and die. And if we are lucky, we might embark on some hero’s adventure beyond the ordinary, and in the process, learn something new, or bring back something valuable.
But when writing fiction, we should at least do our best to avoid lines and phrases we immediately recognize as cliches.
Because cliches come so readily to mind, they often slip right past the gate-keeper.
So how then, to avoid them?
Easy. In a word – proofread.
Avoid Cliches in Your Writing
Why should you avoid cliches?
What are common cliches found in stories?
Don’t bore your readers.
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Cliche’s – Hancock!
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