Overused and Underdone

What makes a cliche? Is there a point in time, a certain mile marker when a word or phrase can wear the label "cliche"? And who decides? Obviously, those who write have learned that they must avoid them, that editors cringe at the sight of them, and it's a quick trip to the trash can or reject pile if you don't toss them out of your final draft.

It's difficult though. They are like a particular song that gets stuck in your head. You want to clear your mind of it, but it just keeps playing and playing and playing. You think of nothing else. Cliches are there in our minds, concrete walls that block our creative construction. And it probably doesn't matter when we write our first draft. That, after all, is when we keep the story moving; it's our main purpose. But then when it's time to get rid of them, replacing them with some original lines of our own ... not so easy. Do it anyway! It's worth the hard work and effort.

A couple of tips:

Deciding if a cliche is really a cliche - try checking out websites like, Cliche Site or West Egg . They might help you make a decision. Another way is to have someone else hear you say the first half of the phrase, and then see if he can finish it. Cliches usually pop up in a person's mind immediately.

To anti-cliche - take a cliche and try replacing words to work it into something original. For instance, "when all's said and done" could become "when nothing is left to do or say", or something like that. The point is to leave them out, even if the language you replace them with isn't clever and witty. Cliches are just that much worse.

Not everyone will agree on what is cliche. And some will be unavoidable - by choice or not. However, original writing is what to strive for. Who knows? One day your unique weave of words may even become a cliche!

Rose By Any Other Name ....

What's color? When we think or imagine color, we often recall red, blue, yellow, green, etc. Yet, when we write, how boring it becomes to use only those names. The shades in between are too numerous to mention them all. Or to even use them when we compose our descriptive passages. I posted about this in an earlier post, the idea of using our senses to vividly describe scenes in our writing. One of those items I listed was color. It seemed to generate comments all by itself.

It's always nice to have word banks to choose from, much like we do when using the thesaurus. So, I decided to search and find anything online that would give a list of colors. Well, I hit the mother lode in an unlikely place: wikapedia. I know, I know, this is usually NOT a source I rely on, or at least I tell my students to beware of the acuracy and to check other more reliable sources. But this is about colors, right? No harm in reading it. I must admit it's good, even great, complete with color graphs on which to feast your eyes.

Here is a comprised list of the more, shall we say, uncommon shades. For a more detailed description, check out the link posted below.

Red: carnelian, coquelicot, rose madder, sinopia, vermilion

Orange: carrot orange, gamboge, persimmon, tangelo, tenne (tawny)

Brown: burnt sienna, desert sand, ecru, raw umber, russet, sepia, taupe

Yellow: aureolin, citrine, jonquil, mikado yellow, saffron, sunglow, Vegas gold

Gray: cinereous, seal brown, Xanadu

Green: chartreuse, gray-asparagus, myrtle, olive drab, spring bud, viridian

Blue: bondi blue, cerulean, glaucous, iceberg, Maya blue, Tiffany blue, ultramarine

Violet: cerise, fandango, periwinkle, wisteria

Here's the link, if you want to know more: LIST OF COLORS


And of course you could always check your 64 count box of Crayola crayons! They make a great resource :-) Happy coloring with your words!

Check It Out ... Weekly Websites

Writers and readers ... they go hand in hand. So, here is an all purpose website that offers book reviews as well as profiles and interviews of the authors who write those books. A nice extra tidbit let's you take a peek with excerpts. You are kept up-to-date with listings of new releases, and well entertained by literary games and contests:

BOOK REPORTER


Of course once you've found something worth reading, it's nice to know where you can get the book. If you aren't sure whether you want to dish out the money to buy it, as we all know, libraries are a great alternative. This next site provides a database of libraries across the world:

LIBDEX


And finally, if you still want to know more about the author of the book you've found, say for instance, his/her websites, etc., this author data base is a worthwhile stop:

AUTHOR YELLOW PAGES

Happy book shopping!

Name That Novel #19

Here's a short one ... passage, that is. Not too difficult, I'd think. Let's see who knows. Title and author, please.

“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”

“Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.” Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.

Congratulations to Tina -- Catcher in the Rye by Salinger

Pointing in the Right Direction.....

Speaking of conferences and pitching, which I spoke of in an earlier post, Rachelle Gardner has an excellent advice posting on what you should do when you go face to face with that agent or editor. Check it out:

Rachelle Gardner on Pitching

Name That Poet #8

This one is once again by a classic American Poet. Let's see who can remember this sonnet and its author:

The sun is set; and in his latest beams
Yon little cloud of ashen gray and gold,
Slowly upon the amber air unrolled,
The falling mantle of the Prophet seems.
From the dim headlands many a lighthouse gleams,
The street-lamps of the ocean; and behold,
O'erhead the banners of the night unfold;
The day hath passed into the land of dreams.
O summer day beside the joyous sea!
O summer day so wonderful and white,
So full of gladness and so full of pain!
Forever and forever shalt thou be
To some the gravestone of a dead delight,
To some the landmark of a new domain.

Congrats to Daniel! He answered correctly with Longfellow. And the poem title is "A Summer Day by the Sea". Thank you, Daniel.

Calling All Bloggers....

There are many thoughts about the best approach to canvassing your work. Going to writing conferences where pitching is done in person to agents and editors is one. So, check in and offer your opinions and experience.

Do you think pitching at conferences is the best way?
Have you ever been to one and done this? If yes, where did you attend?