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Tuesday, 18 June 2013
The Cliche
Some cliches are as old as the hills,
some writers think anything goes,
but from time immemorial
we must say that strictly speaking
there's no smoke without fire
and we should avoid them like the plague --
unless we want our manuscripts
to be as dead as doornails, that is.
After all, at this moment in time --
not to mention the end of the day --
the bottom line (not to mention
the name of the game) should be
to leave no stone unturned, and to
explore every avenue that avoids
the use of threadbare language.
Cliches was the theme suggested for this week at mindlovemisery
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27 comments:
I love that last line "threadbare language" brilliant! Great advice, well done =)Reading everyone's submissions I have learned a few cliches don't know where I have been that I hadn't heard them a hundred times already lol
Yes, I agree with you, it has to try to move all the stones, including immovable.
or just make some new ones as well....reuse and recycle i say...smiles...fun piece dave
Or as my wife, bless her, says: dead as a pancake.
This made me smile. Cliches come too easily to the tongue and save us thinking too hard;-)
One good turn of phrase deserves another. Very charming. Dave. This is Karin of Manicddaily Wordpress but blogger wants me to use old blogger blog. K.
cleverly put together and fun to read
Truisms make for entertaining poems! I enjoyed this, Dave.
PS, true story ~ an English teacher once told me I was being 'unoriginal' when I used a few cliches in a story. Many years ago .. OUCH, still stings.
Flows together really well
You have highlighted a fundamental issue...How terrible it is when people let themselves be dominated by cliches without realizing that.
What a clever little poem Dave. Well done.
Impressive! AND instructive....
Cliches are interesting. I see them in student essays quite often....I wonder if it comes from a lack of trust in one's own voice (or thinking that what we say plainly isn't "exciting" enough).
And a rolling phrase gathers no moss. Brilliant Dave - thank you.
I agree with you. As artists we all need to explore. It is ok to cover old ground while we learn our craft, but creating is art.
I guess as writers, we're all a little afraid of falling victim to the cliché trap.
I know I do it often...probably too often! Haha.
ps, I apologise for not visiting as often as I'd like, but I'm currently on a camping trip and the connection is dismal!
I find myself using cliches too frequently sometimes. But hey, they're cliches because they're true. Right?
I love the poem but as a non-native speaker who likes to think outside of the box I don't know when I am using a cliche. It's all that blue-sky thinking that we do at the school where I work to make sure we give 100% to stretch students. Not just curriculum-wise, mind you, but also extra-curriculum because at the end of the day it's not just what you learn in the classroom that counts but also what you pick up all over the place. :-)
Greetings from London.
I'd like to know as much as cliches in English and in my mother language. They include a lot of wisdom from olden days.
Sorry, I didn't understand well about the meaning of cliche. So, my previous comment became very ironical one.
I'm sometimes cliche-y. Now I have to stop ;o. Actually, I like haricot's comment.
Very wise words here, Dave!! Really hard not to use cliches though, I think. They flow so naturally in one's conversation. Hope all is well. It has been a few days since you posted a poem.
Me ha gustado mucho tu entrada. Enhorabuena
un abrazo
fus
Dave, are you OK?
The new prompt is up Dave its a free share so anything goes old or new
:) Oh, well done! I personally don't think there is anything wrong with the cliché. as you have demonstrated it could add a touch of humour to any piece. I do also believe that clichés originate from colloquial language and add a richness to writing in any chosen language. However, there is a thin line to tread between enriching a manuscript with clichés and
burdening it with, as you so cleverly put it, 'threadbare language'.
hey man, its been nearly a week and i hope you are just on vacation or something....
I hope you continue to have such quality articles
find a prostitute Aussie
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