Banish Clichés from Your Story

Banish Clichés from Your Story
Friday, October 18, 2024 by SANDRA KAY VOSBURGH

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

PLEASE WELCOME

SANDRA KAY VOSBURG

FICTION FRIDAY

ADVICE FROM THE AUTHOR

Banish Clichés from Your Story

Our writing mentors advise us to avoid clichés, those overused words and phrases that lack originality. I used to think clichés popped up in sentences but have come to believe they can appear in an overused plot, a predictable scene, and lazy dialogue. I’d like to touch on each one to help us recognize them in our writing.

We often rely on clichés to convey an emotion or a description.

For example, her eyes turned green with envy, he had a heart of gold, or her hands felt as cold as ice. These are overly familiar similes. We need to find a fresh way to communicate what the character is feeling, thinking, or seeing.

A more descriptive way to show envy could be the following example …

Sue glowered at the winner of the Christy Award. Sweat coated her balled fists as she tightened her upper lip.

For help with showing emotion—clichés tend toward telling—I often refer to The Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi.

An overused plot can become cliché.

If you are familiar with television movies, particularly contemporary romance, you know how formulaic the plots can be. The protagonist has an overarching goal to save the farm, the orchard, the historical building, the tree in the park, etc.—while the antagonist is determined to purchase the property and develop the site. The story plays out predictably.

Another area where clichés creep in is in the scenes themselves.

How many times has this played out? A young woman steps off an elevator or turns a corner, bumps into a handsome man, and spills coffee on his shirt. (Thankfully, or not, the coffee never burns his chest.) Cliché. Overused and predictable.

I once started reading a book’s opening scene where a young woman was waking up in bed. She slipped into her jogging outfit and trotted down the street. I didn’t finish the first page. How many movies open like this? Lots. The scene is cliché.

Clichés can also slip into dialogue.

I get it. That’s the way we talk. But dialogue is a tool. It has to work to either develop or move the storyline. Kick out the boring overused phrases, and make every word count.

Here’s an exaggerated example for illustration …

Gary entered the restaurant. He spotted his coworkers at a corner table. He moved toward them. When he reached their table, he greeted them.

“Hi, Jenn,” he said.

“Hey, Gary,” Jenn answered.

Gary turned to Phil. “What do ya say, Phil?” he said.

“What’s up, man?” Phil answered.

Gary then turned to Molly and nodded a greeting. “Hello, Molly,” he said.

“You weren’t invited,” Molly said, then turned away.

He said/she said is boring for the reader. The focus needs to be on Molly’s attitude. Everything else is unnecessary. Here’s a cleaner version where every word earned its right to remain …

Gary scanned the restaurant for his coworkers. He found Jenn, Phil, and Molly seated at a corner table. He greeted them and sat down.

“You weren’t invited.” Molly turned a stiff shoulder to him.

It’s easy to fall back on clichés. And there are times when a cliché in dialogue is appropriate. But by being more aware of the many ways they can slip into our story, we can tweak a familiar phrase, add a fresh twist to our plotline, and keep our dialogue sharp.

We take our stories from good to better when we write with fresh creativity and banish boring clichés.

ABOUT SANDRA KAY VOSBURGH

Sandra Kay Vosburgh is the author of Sackets Harbor Mysteries. Book 2, The Death Collector, won the Editors’ Choice Award 2023. She is a devoted grandmother, former pastor’s wife, Bible teacher, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Her women’s contemporary, The Girl in Her, is scheduled for release on November 15, 2024. You may read the 1st chapter when you subscribe to her newsletter at sandrakayvosburgh.com.

https://www.sandrakayvosburgh.com

https://www.facebook.com/sandrakay.vosburgh

https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Kay-Vosburgh/e/B09Y9J581S

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