5 Ways To Avoid Cliches In Writing
All that glitters is not gold” from The Merchant of Venice, “Forever and a day” from As You Like It, and “Eat me out of house and home” from Henry IV Part II are just a few of Shakespeare’s famous writing lines.
Other clichés are frequent ways of expressing things that authors repeat again and over again, often without even realizing it. They are not necessarily renowned sayings with established origins.
For example, you should read descriptions like “the sun shined brightly,” “her eyes were deep lakes he could sink in,” “a cold shudder raced up her spine,” and “he sweat buckets.”It’s time to break the ice, and take a step ahead thandelivering clichés. Here are top 5 ways to avoid so.
- Introduce new metaphors to disclose information about a situation or character.
Metaphors are helpful when they help to clarify or accentuate a point. Make a fresh experience feel familiar, or a familiar experience feel new by using them. Try recreating a clichéd metaphor in your own words and reading it out loud to see whether it has the same effect as the original. By connecting the metaphor to the facts of your plot, place, or character, you may transform ordinary writing into a remarkable story.
In Samantha Shannon’s fantasy epic novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree, for example, the author transforms the line “her heart was beating” into “her heart was a handful of thunder.”
- Use similes to express the tone of the narration.
Similes should be crafted in such a way that they accentuate the narrator’s voice and utilize language that they would use.
In high fantasy fiction, for example, the line “Stepping outdoors, the heat felt like a nuclear explosion” would be absurd. Shannon instead writes in Priory, “Going outdoors was like stepping into a furnace.” Her skin was coated, and her hair seemed thicker as a result of the heat.”
A kiln, which is a sort of furnace used to burn clay, is a suitable analogy since it is something that a medieval civilization is familiar with. The narrator’s description of the heat also ties us to her own experience, as she mentions her hair feeling thicker (any long-haired person can relate to this description).
- Avoid clichés by rephrasing descriptions in fresh ways.
Play with basic sentences for dramatic impact to spice up you’re assignment writing. Here’s an example of a plain sentence: “The moon was surrounded by clouds that floated away.” Shannon expresses this in a unique way: “The clouds unleashed the moonlight that had been hidden.”
Personify things or places to bring your descriptions to life. Shannon does this in the preceding phrase with the verb released, making it sound as if the clouds were enslaving the moonlight. Shannon writes in another paragraph:
- Maintain a consistent pace in your phrases.
To make reading more enjoyable, mix up the lengths and types of sentences. You should use a healthy mix of short, lengthy, simple, and compound phrases—fragment and run-on sentences are acceptable on occasion. Consider the following text, which I rebuilt using just basic sentences:
“The Grand Temple’s gates were wide open. Two dragon sculptures stood on either side of them. Between them, forty horses trotted. The temple has already been set on fire. Later, it was reconstructed with stone. Hundreds of lanterns hung from the roof’s eaves. They reminded me of fishing floats.
- Be precise.
Adverbs and adjectives should be used sparingly. Shannon might have written, “Quietly, the red-orange dawn broke over the tall buildings of Seiiki like a speckled heron’s egg.” “Dawn broke like a heron’s egg above Seiiki,” she writes instead.
In my version, the extra words aren’t really useful. Because readers are aware that dawn does not produce a sound, the word “quietly” is unnecessary.
Everyone has witnessed dawn and may visualize the colours as they choose; the “red-orange” is superfluous. The fact that a heron’s egg is speckled or that buildings are tall are both minor features. With fewer adjectives and adverbs, the statement has a greater impact.
Also, instead of using broad phrases, consider employing particular ones. Why write boat when brigantine will suffice? When you could put queen instead of lady, it’s a no-brainer. When you could write rose instead of a flower, it’s a no-brainer.
Avoiding clichés and crafting beautiful prose comes down to honing your narrator’s voice. The beauty of writing is that you may focus on these topics after you’ve finished the initial draught, during the revising or editing stages.
That way, you can concentrate on getting the narrative down first, rather than wondering if you’re using too many clichés or common words. Allowing your character’s tone to affect your word choice and drive your tale can help you make thoughtful decisions. Moreover, seeking the assistance of an expert thesis help provider might give our write-up a unique edge.
