We all do it, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. However, some appear to not even care. Should you?

I could have said using clichés in your story is like a kiss of death. But kiss of death would be a cliché.  Avoiding a phrase is not so hard. But what if the entire scene is a cliché. What if the reader is thinking… “I know exactly where this story is going.”

Things that make me go ugh…

1. Opening a scene with a single character in a car, on the phone, or anywhere narration and exposition abounds instead of starting off with a bang! …okay guns don’t have to be involved, but at least let there be dialog.

Action.

Let something cool and immediate be happening.  

No crashing your car into the hero’s expensive BMW, no character staring into a mirror so we’ll know what they look like, no dream sequence to stuff in your backstory and no dark and stormy nights…  Unless it’s tongue-in-cheek…which I can’t seem to resist. Yes, you can sometimes use them on purpose for the effect.

2. If the characters are fighting…and if this is romance they HAVE to have conflict, layers and layers of yummy conflict for steamy hot make-up sex. I think I already mentioned this, but I’ll repeat it. A long time ago I had a critique partner who had characters fighting every other word without a logical explanation for the why they were so angry with one another.  Give them good reasons for their conflict.

3. Internal conflict can be clichéd. How many times have your heard a character blame their parents for?  Huh…everything.  Yes, we are or can become products of our upbringing, and environment, but be resourceful.  Let your character take responsibility for being a dickhead!  Give them a realistic reason to grow.

4. Why must the happily-ever-after always mean that one of the characters is rich or gets rich? Okay…leave that in. Everyone wants to win the lottery.

Pearl Luke who teaches people to be better writers has a huge list of clichés for you to peruse…

681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Creative Writing

I’ve never used Pearl’s services, but I appreciate her generosity in compiling this fantastic list.

The idea for this blog came to me yesterday as I was collecting past reviews.  Some of them are so old I couldn’t find them online any longer except on one of my publisher’s websites.  Some of you know that I’m dealing with big, big health issues…the kind where you’re told that nothing can be done without giving a direct date for the inevitable.

So I approached my main publisher with whom I had over thirty stories. All of the stories have been with the publisher long past their expiration dates, like me. I’d decided to self-publish them after a little re-writing for the sake of my heirs. It’s an important personal decision that I don’t have a clue is right or wrong. It just seemed like something I should do. I wanted to update my stories and make them available at a much reduced price point.

Going through the reviews I found a couple I’d forgotten, but I’ve always had this common thread in the reviews I receive.

“quirky and hilarious take on a fairy tale”

“Get ready for some surprises and emotional upheavals”

“a storyline that is unique, full of action with red-hot sex and fantastic characters”

“I loved how the author kept surprising me,”

“very unique plot”

“Ms. Blaise certainly doesn’t do the expected…A refreshing departure from the norm. I highly recommend it.”

So wish me luck…I have about 40 books I need to format, rewrite in some cases, find covers and download to the various self-publishing resources when I haven’t done a single one yet.  I’m getting closer to having the first one done, but no cigar! Just a cliché!

On top of that, I have two new manuscripts at Ellora’s Cave awaiting the editing process. So I need to get busy…