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| Source: photo taken by the author. |
Clichés are
tired, worn-out, hackneyed expressions. Through decades (or centuries) of
overuse, they have lost all of their vitality and originality – like that
overplayed song on the radio you can’t stand to listen to anymore. Ironically,
today’s clichés began life as yesterday’s striking and original images and
metaphors. They were so good, in fact, that they became victims of their own
popularity. Today, we understand a cliché like “it’s raining cats and dogs
outside” to mean it’s raining heavily outside, but the imagery behind this
cliché is lost on us. It has become a meaningless way of simply saying “it’s
raining hard outside,” which is better because at least it’s direct and clear.
In
first-draft writing, clichés organically pop up like weeds in a garden. That’s
because writers tend to plow through first drafts without stopping or censoring
themselves, and clichés spring readily to mind. This is ordinary. In revision,
however, it is vital to eliminate all clichés. Writing, like gardening,
requires the vigilant pulling of weeds.
But how does
one go about this process of weeding? There are two techniques. First, you can
replace the cliché with a straightforward statement as in the example above.
Instead of writing “it’s raining cats and dogs outside,” simply state that
“it’s raining hard outside” or “it’s pouring outside.” A more fun and
challenging technique is to think of a fresh, creative way to express the
thought behind the cliché. To continue the rain example, perhaps you could
write “it’s raining down like a boxer’s blows.” This, of course, is not a great
example. Given sufficient time and mental exertion, you can think of a better
one, but you get the idea.
And in this
way, your vivid, original phrase could someday become tomorrow’s cliché to be
avoided!
© 2014 Bob Dial. All rights reserved.
