Avoid cliches like the plague

There is an excellent article about eliminating cliches in your writing on the Writers’ Digest web page. It’s called Beyond Basic Blunders. It is quite a long and thorough article full of simple to follow hints on making your writing cringe-proof.

Clichés come in all shapes and sizes. There are just as many clichéd scenes as phrases and words. For instance, how may times have you seen a book begin with a main character being “rudely awakened” from a “sound sleep” by a “clanging” alarm clock? Have you written an opening like this yourself? Wondering where to start, you opt for first thing in the morning. Speaking of clichés, been there, done that. We all have. Don’t ever do it again.

Yes sir.

I think I’d better stop this post before I, too, fall into the trap of writing phrases that are beyond the pale, full of hackneyed statements that make you think I am as nutty as a fruitcake. I’d better write this carefully in case I get a tongue lashing from my readers. I can see the writing on the wall already, and that’s nothing to write home about. I wasn’t born yesterday and I know when I’m skating on thin ice. I need to keep on top of things and turn over a new leaf.

And I think I know when enough is enough.

To be serious for a moment, I found this cliche finder an interesting site.