Topic: Cliches

10-Second Review: Suggests what to do about clichés in your writing.

Title: “Exploit the Power of Clichés.” Eric Witchey. The Writer (September 2008), 24-25. The Writer is a publication that encourages writers to continue writing.

Summary: Two steps in dealing with your own clichés seemed particularly helpful: mark the clichés in your manuscript. Then go back and “tease out the deeper meanings.” The author goes on to explain: “When we write a cliché, it is often shorthand for a longer, more involved mental and emotional understanding of the situation and character.” In other words, find another, more precise way of saying what you mean.

Comment: Helpful. RayS.

The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.