Change It Up

Nothing kills the effectiveness of writing more than the use of cliches such as: stone cold, free as a bird, stiff as a board, etc.  We use these cliches all the time in our speech.  They're convenient, easily accessible in our brains, and they say exactly what we mean in an expedient way.  But they shouldn't be present in our writing.  Readers want writers to engage their senses in new and unique ways, so naturally, they aren't challenged or excited by cliches. They expect writers to make connections for them between things or ideas they may not have considered before.  They don't want to read that something is as cold as a stone, as free as a bird, or as stiff as a board. They want new sensory connections and imagery from your writing.  Your job as a writer, then, is to create those new connections through your artful use of language.  This requires research in the form of word searches and asking your mind to work in new ways through the use of writing exercises.

Word searches involve the extensive use of reference materials such as a thesaurus, dictionary, word guide and other resources that help you find new words to express old ideas.  This is an intensive search for just the right word or words to describe or express an idea or thing in a way that will delight and surprise readers.

Writing exercises train you to think in new ways so that you can write in new ways.  For example, you can challenge yourself to write a description of a weather element such as rain without using any visual details.  Your challenge is to describe it using only the sensations of taste, touch, smell and sound.  Another exercise challenge example is to describe the color red using only the sensation of touch.  You can create endless writing exercise challenges for yourself that will help you get away from cliched thinking and develop new ways of describing things for readers.

A good test for cliched writing is when a descriptive passage comes too easily.  It's most likely because you've lapsed into cliches that are stored up in your brain and roll out unnoticed in the rush of writing. Writing description is not easy.  It takes work and extensive tinkering to get your words to come out just the right way.  It's a slow process and doesn't just roll out.  So, on re-reading, look carefully at your descriptors and determine if you can express them in a more unique way, ideally a surprising way, that will engage your readers and allow them to create new connections, new imagery, and a new appreciation for everyday things and ideas.  Change up your writing and you will have the power to change your readers.