I may be a day late and a dollar short in writing this blog post, but you’ll have to forgive me as I’ve been a busy, busy bee.
Full of sayings today, am I? Why, yes. Which is what I thought I would write about today. Using clichéd sayings in your creative writing.
We all know them and likely use them numerous times a day. Which is perfectly fine and sometimes all in fun. In fact, many of the clichéd sayings we commonly use, we probably don’t even realize that’s just what they are. But as writers, we should avoid using them in our work.
Why? you ask. Well, according to the experts, that’s a sure sign of lazy writing. It tells your readers you weren’t creative enough to come up with a saying of your own. But more to the point, a unique saying, something all yours, will not only show the reader just how creative you truly are but will also enhance your characters, making them feel more real. And that’s something that will make not only your characters stand out, but you as well.
I caution you, however, to be conscious of whose head you’re in when coming up with these clever lines. Whether it’s dialogue, internal voice, or narrative that brings to mind a saying such as it’s raining cats and dogs or when it rains it pours, don’t rack your brain trying to come up with something you might say or think, but what your character would say or think. For instance, if that character is a farmer, it might be raining pigs and chickens. Better those than cows.
Then again, imagine your character is a professional ballplayer who’s just been released from the team, after which his girlfriend kicked him to the curb (there’s a clichéd saying for you), and now he’s wrecked his car and just got handed a ticket for careless driving as he’s being lifted into the ambulance. In a case such as this, perhaps your character would be thinking when it rains, it pours baseballs on your head at a hundred miles an hour.
Lame, I know, but hey, give me a break; I spent less than thirty seconds coming up with that one.
So, you see, it’s not that hard. All it takes is a little extra effort. And your readers will not just remember your unique characters, but they’ll also remember that amazingly creative author.
Happy Writing, Y’all!