The Push to be Unique
One of my biggest weaknesses as a writer is repetition. Seems like all of my first drafts have loads of the same words used together, and cliche phrases that felt like good filler space at the time.
The other day Cassie read one of my stories and said "This is cliche, make sure this conversation is special to them." and you know what? She's so right.
I had to laugh at myself becasue I often think as I'm writing that there are no new ideas, only new ways to look at old ideas. Even so, I tend to stick to old ideas when it comes to jotting down a sentence. Thank goodness for the editing process and the chance to correct those mistakes.
Which brings me around to purpose of this post--I want your advice. What is it you do to avoid cliche's and twist the old? Have you ever struggled to be unique?
The other day Cassie read one of my stories and said "This is cliche, make sure this conversation is special to them." and you know what? She's so right.
I had to laugh at myself becasue I often think as I'm writing that there are no new ideas, only new ways to look at old ideas. Even so, I tend to stick to old ideas when it comes to jotting down a sentence. Thank goodness for the editing process and the chance to correct those mistakes.
Which brings me around to purpose of this post--I want your advice. What is it you do to avoid cliche's and twist the old? Have you ever struggled to be unique?
Comments
The cliches I'm most diligent in avoiding are metaphors/similes. That's a common bit of advice I take to heart, especially after reading through part of a manuscript several years ago that had a poorly fitting cliche metaphor twice every page. It was hard to see anything else in the story. Metaphors have always been my weakness, so to avoid cliched ones I make them my focus. It forces me to be more creative.
For dialogue my focus has always been to make sure it's true to the characters, which in many cases can make the conversation uniquely theirs, but now I'm going to be on the lookout for cliched conversations.
In other words, if you are telling the best story you know as faithfully as you can, you'll find the cliches and stereotypes tend to fade away.
To a certain degree, don't we use them when speaking in the real world?
Writer In Transit
I've found the best way for me is to stop trying to be writerly and just write. When I try to be a pro it comes out stilted and boring.
A complimentary item is focusing on things I wish I saw. What do lovers never talk about in books that bothers or heartens me in real life? What never happens in fight scenes but would be hilarious? Because I might as well broach the items I'm longing for.
M.L. Swift, Writer