Tuesday, September 25, 2012

12 CLICHES ALL WRITERS SHOULD AVOID



A penny for your thoughts!  Ugh ... I know we're all sick of cliches.  What are some of your pet peeves?  
1. Avoid it like the plague
2. Dead as a doornail
3. Take the tiger by the tail
4. Low hanging fruit
5. If only walls could talk
6. The pot calling the kettle black
7. Think outside the box
8. Thick as thieves
9. But at the end of the day
10. Plenty of fish in the sea
11. Every dog has its day
12. Like a kid in a candy store
And those are just the tip of the iceberg (oh wait, there’s bonus cliche #13!).

8 comments:

  1. Good ones! Actually my editor picks out cliches I didn't even know were cliches, but I agree that the obvious ones really stick out like a sore thumb on the page. :)

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    Replies
    1. Isn't it funny how cliches are such a part of our lives... even though we hate them! You were sneaky with the 'like a sore thumb'.... ah ha... caught it! :)

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  2. In my first book, the editor added in "come hell or high water." I was appalled when I saw she'd done that on the way to publications and I hadn't been able to delete the phrase. When I received the rights back, I zapped that phrase immediately.

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    Replies
    1. 'Bite your tongue' no way!! ... I can just imagine your horror... glad you zapped it like a 'bat out of hell'!! giggle

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  3. The one that jars with me whenever I read it is - '....with every fibre of her being'

    It was painful just typing that!!

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  4. Great post, and I know I've committed some of these over the years, but my editor catches them.

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    Replies
    1. I'd say she's 'worth her weight in gold'.... :) My most hated cliche is 'bird in the hand' ... say what??? It just makes no sense to me!! giggle

      Delete

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