Problem:

Your writing is cluttered with well-known and overused phrases, straddling the line between easy-to-read and lifeless.

Solution:

Clichés kill your writing. Omit the cliché and freshen up your words.

A cliché is a word or phrase that has been overused in writing and speaking (in other words, it’s been beaten to death). Phrases such as “uphill battle,” “sleeping like the dead,” and “smart as a whip” (as well as “beaten to death,” in case you didn’t get the earlier joke) have been used in writing so much that they have lost all their effectiveness: They have become weak and meaningless. If you want your writing to be fresh and interesting, avoid clichés like the plague.

If you find yourself automatically typing these too-well-known expressions, change the words to create a new phrase that isn’t as trite.

The CEO will leave no stone unturned to find the missing documentation.

The cliché in this sentence is the phrase “leave no stone unturned.” This phrase has been used so much that it has lost all meaning; it tells us nothing about how determined the CEO is in his quest.

The CEO will continue to diligently search for the documentation.

The new sentence tells the audience something about the CEO’s determination. Clichés make the writer look lazy; with the revision, the writer actually says what he means, rather than just pulling out the old “no stone unturned” card.

Here’s another phrase that needs to be locked away and forgotten:

We’ve only just seen the tip of the iceberg.

Obviously, “the tip of the iceberg” is the offending cliché in this sentence. Unless you’re making a reference to the Titanic, it’ best to leave this one in the waste basket (real or virtual).

We’re only just beginning to see the profits from this campaign; we can expect to double or triple these numbers by the end of the month.

Once you get the hang of revising your work to strike those pesky clichés, it will be as easy as pie!

For more information, please visit:

• Clichés To Avoid When Writing « BLISSFUL TRAVEL:
• Good Writers Avoid Most Clichés : Robust Writing:
• Tenshi Mama » Blog Archive » Avoid Cliche in Your Writing:

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