To C or not to C - Clichés

What is a cliché? Roughly a Phrase so over used that to derive meaning is like trying to get Blood out of a Stone.

Writers walk a knife edge between a rock and a hard place.  With more words available than you could shake a stick at, it should be simple in the extreme to make certain phases conspicuous by their ABSENCE.

However pride comes before a fall.  Any writer worth their salt knows that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  Though technically theses ‘phases’ should be avoided like the plague, in truth it is an uphill task to worm out those little devils and often it seems that the writer has bitten off more than they can chew.

To some with an apparent eagle eye the glaring errors may jump off the page.  These people are on the whole regarded with deep suspicion.  They seem to treat the subject with a cavalier manner; though it must be stressed that it is not necessarily the case.  Indeed it would be churlish to have everyone tarred with the same brush.

Serious writers hold a dim view of this ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’ approach.  We must concede that some persons who shall remain nameless delight in putting the cat amongst the pigeons.  Fortunately mostly these are in a minority and obviously have a touch of the green eyed monster.

With their nose to the grindstone writers try to earn a crust for their daily bread by bashing the keys.  It may appear as broad as its long but if possible it is better to bite the bullet and edit whilst jogging along than after the event.  Otherwise it may be difficult to see the wood for the trees.

Of course if you CAN edit with your eyes closed then it’s a feather in your cap and as fellow writers we take our hats off to you.  Though it may appear that this issue is making a mountain out of a molehill it has to be said that many people find it an uphill struggle.  Certainly there are others who will contest this view until they are blue in the face.  However, generally without question, ‘if in doubt leave it out’ is the best policy. 

Anybody who disagrees should either be prepared to counter with their own suggestions or alternatively throw in the towel.

P.S.

If anyone spots any error sticking out like a sore thumb, far from sticking my head in the sand I would be interested to know about them.   So please don’t worry about letting the cat out of the bag.

No of Errors spotted

What Cliché was.