A to Z Blogging Challenge – Day 3

C is For Cliché

According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, a cliché is:
1: a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it
2: a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3: something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace

In the days of movable type it meant a set of letters/words that were used together so frequently that the printer didn't bother dismantling them. When letters were set one at a time, it made sense to cast a phrase used repeatedly as a single slug of metal. "Cliché" came to mean such a ready-made phrase. Books in high demand were printed from the plates until the plates wore out, just like a cliché is used until the energy of its first appearance is lost.

We have an unconscious tendency to use clichés because they have been repeated so many times they’ve become imbedded in our brains; not just our brains, but those of our readers as well. If a reader, or editor, finds a page full of clichés, their opinion of your work will decline. Reading a cliché is like reading what’s already been written, and that makes for a boring story.

You’ll most often stumble across a cliché in an early draft, when you’ve run out of words to describe an action, place, or person. Using a cliché is easy, but it's also generic and does little to add details to your writing. Read through your story with a critical eye. Delete anything that might resemble a cliché and replace it with words of your own.

A good writer will avoid clichés (like the plague).

30 Days of Writing Questions - Day 3

3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?

The names for my main characters usually come pretty easily – I can’t start writing about them if I don’t know their names. In Driving Into Forever, I knew from the beginning that my main characters were named Hannah and Kelvin. With the story I’m editing right now, Forever and For Always, the name Treasure Beaumont just popped into my head one day and I started writing. I didn’t know anything about her, except for her name.

Secondary characters, however, can be a whole different story. While Hannah’s best friend was named Sara and hung onto her name from the beginning, the character of Nathaniel underwent many name changes until he decided to hook up with Sara in the sequel. She must have a steadying influence on him. ;-)

Kelvin’s brother and his Aunt also went through several name changes. I try not to have my characters have similar sounding names and if I’m stuck I’ll pick a letter of the alphabet and consult a baby-naming site on the internet. This helps, too, if I’m looking for a name with a particular ethnic feel to it.

As far as naming places goes . . . this is much harder for me. I write about imaginary places mostly – different dimensions, different planets – and these are much harder to name. Again, I try not to have places sound all the same, but it’s not always easy. In my on-line serial I name one planet Sigma Alpha IV, which I think I stole from Star Trek. :-)

If you'd like to take part, or just see the whole list of questions, go HERE