“Avoid Clichés” is something drilled into the psyche of
every aspiring writer. We are told to send each and every cliché in our
manuscripts off to oblivion. Using trite phrases is second nature to us,
though. We fall back on them like well-worn shoes. They say what *we* meant
to say. They fit like a glove.
Those tried and true sentences flow like honey when we
attempt to provide our readers with a bird’s eye view of our story world or
insight into who’s who in our cast of characters.
Cliché is a common denominator as we breathe life into the
personality of our characters, but they turn them into cardboard cutouts or
caricatures. Alice has blonde hair (caught back with a blue ribbon) and is
sweet and unassuming. Rosalita, a flamboyant spitfire, has ebony curls that
tumble down her back, and eyes that flash when she’s angry. Gareth is a
dark-eyed, dark-haired loner with a haunted expression and a gaze that sears
into our very souls. Naturally.
Even our villains and their motivations can fall under the
umbrella of cliché: the owner of big, bad company greedily covering up
environmental issues, or an unrepentant mercenary hired to kill the heroine or
the hero, or their family. Don’t forget the wild-eyed, crazy religious zealot
who keeps his wife or daughter on a short leash or under lock and key.
Readers encountering clichés or careworn plots or
stereotypes get irritated and think, “Can’t they write something original?” and
put down the rest of the book without finishing. That’s bad.
Even worse, the use of cliché is what stands in the way of
an agent or editor seeing your own personal voice – because you’re hiding that
voice behind the turn of a well-worn phrase or an oft-used metaphor.
So, why use Clichés? Here are four reasons to
consider.
Cliché’s give breathing room to writers.
Give yourself permission to write clichés in the first
round. Use them as placeholders, to put a good-enough description in
place as you move forward to finish the next chapter, and the next. If you
dither over how to describe something, throw in a cliché and call it a day. A
rolling stone gathers no moss, after all.
Then, when the book is completed in rough draft, you can go
back to page one and start hunting, changing each instance of ho-hum into a
fresh example of brilliance.
Let the cliché serve as fuel for similar, but less hackneyed
phrases. I took an online class called the Rule of Six for Plotting with author
Shirley Jump, and learned that the first five ideas (or thoughts) we have as
plot ideas or descriptions are the overused ones, or low hanging fruit. Write
down those five cliché’s that comes to mind – and then think deeper. How else
can you say the same thing? Once we get to the sixth idea, it’s usually
something original.
If your hero compliments the heroine by saying, “Your eyes
shine brighter than the moon,” that’s a cliché. However, if you add the words,
“on steroids” – they give it new life. What can you add to the end of a cliché
to make it fresh for your fictional situation?
The phrase “Your eyes shine brighter than the moon. On
steroids” above, gets even more of a punch if your hero (or the heroine!) is a
body builder. The statement turns into something believable, and becomes an
inside joke that the reader “gets”.
Cliché’s are springboards. Associate a new word with a
cliché - for instance, “pulse” typically throbs, pounds, stutters, etc. What
different verb can you add? Pinches? Pushes? What other body part can you focus
on to avoid the pulsing clichés? Ears? Nose? Brain? Fingertips?
Dead cliché’s can “get a life” if you add to them.
Give cliché’s genuine details about a character’s life- and
they become infinitely more interesting. Relate a cliché to your
character’s family, or profession, or superstitions and it soars above the
rest.
Of course, when all is said and done, clichés do detract
from your writing ability, and not add to it. Take this blog post as an
example. How many clichés could you identify? More than a baker’s dozen, I
wager. I guarantee your eyes glossed over each one. Not the reaction
a writer wants from a reader.
Ultimately, the very best way to use a cliché is in
avoidance. Tell the story that only you can tell – a story that uses words
that no-one else on earth has ever written in that exact same way.
And you’ll see. The world will become your (literary)
oyster.
Title: Love Among the Lilacs
Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances
Blurb:
Bookkeeper
Mollie Wright knows about living on the streets, and her purchase of sweet
Lilac Cottage is a dream come true. She is determined to stay and fight when a
legal error puts her ownership at risk. Attorney Sean Grady never wanted his
great-aunts to sell their cottage in Westchester County, New York, so when a
paperwork snafu puts the deal on hold, he moves swiftly to evict the pretty,
feisty squatter. Mollie finds unexpected allies in Grady Cove neighbors and a
member of Sean's own family but knows the clock is ticking. Will a theft and
her past secrets force a showdown to heartache, or will Mollie and Sean
discover home is truly where your heart is?
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Format: E-book, Paperback
Amazon Link: http://goo.gl/5PnFXF
Bio: Ever since her grandfather co-created
Twinkies, Snowballs & Hostess cupcakes for Intercontinental Baking Company,
circa 1955, Jenna has yet to taste a cake she hasn't liked.
Jenna writes books for readers who enjoy sweet & compelling romances, and also for those who look for her “fiction that feeds your faith” titles – happily-ever-after romance & romantic suspense stories with a Christian world view. Her stories emulate those she enjoys reading…with a heroine who is in grave danger & a hero who is smart enough to get out of her way as she kicks butt & takes down names… and those that feature satisfying fairy-tale-endings.
Jenna writes books for readers who enjoy sweet & compelling romances, and also for those who look for her “fiction that feeds your faith” titles – happily-ever-after romance & romantic suspense stories with a Christian world view. Her stories emulate those she enjoys reading…with a heroine who is in grave danger & a hero who is smart enough to get out of her way as she kicks butt & takes down names… and those that feature satisfying fairy-tale-endings.
Her clean romances won’t put you into a diabetic coma, and her
faith-based romances aren’t preachy or unrealistic. It is her glad purpose to
glorify God and His sacrificial love through His Son, Jesus Christ through
books that illustrate hope & peace in unbearable situations. Her first
triple negative breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 has led to surgeries, radiation,
reoccurrences and incurable metastasis.
Still, Jenna continues to praise God and trust His oversight in her life; and continues
to write more books.
Social Media Contacts
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/jennavictoria/
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Twitter: www.twitter.com/jennavictori
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Book
Review Blog http://www.jennavictoria.com/category/on-jennas-shelf-reviews/
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