tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post342185824412072114..comments2024-03-16T07:27:27.752+00:00Comments on Novel Points of View: Clichés by Mary SmithRae Cowiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213969901991611348noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-65373211709933045202013-08-06T20:58:42.419+01:002013-08-06T20:58:42.419+01:00Thanks, Bill, glad you enjoyed the post. And your ...Thanks, Bill, glad you enjoyed the post. And your witty variation on a journey of a thousand miles is not rubbish at all. Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-12577684852027144502013-08-06T19:53:05.038+01:002013-08-06T19:53:05.038+01:00Oo er. No don't think I'll be using it. ...Oo er. No don't think I'll be using it. But good to know!Gill Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03139563775181908912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-13934623168297460092013-08-06T14:42:57.934+01:002013-08-06T14:42:57.934+01:00Excellent post, Mary. I think the real value of cl...Excellent post, Mary. I think the real value of clichés lies in their ability to give us the chance to fabricate apparently witty variations on familiar themes. I'm sure you can think of plenty but just one (very feeble one) that occurred to me as I was reading was 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a visit to any website except that of Ryanair'. Rubbish, I know, but you see what I mean.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-63979637932660132242013-08-05T22:07:59.226+01:002013-08-05T22:07:59.226+01:00Gill, I had no idea what Badonkadonk means so I Go...Gill, I had no idea what Badonkadonk means so I Googled it. Here's the urban dictionary definition: An ‘ebonic’ expression for an extremely curvaceous female behind. Women who possess this feature usually have a small waist that violently explodes into round and juicy posterior (e.g., 34c, 24, 38). <br />Example in a sentence: Her badonkadonk made a brotha pop several wheelies.<br />It's perhaps not an expression we'll use in our fiction - or even in speech!Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-32728595036524160552013-08-05T22:02:40.803+01:002013-08-05T22:02:40.803+01:00Thanks, Rosemary. It's a great list, though, i...Thanks, Rosemary. It's a great list, though, isn't it? I shall be referring to it often.Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-75904783597510762802013-08-05T18:03:02.831+01:002013-08-05T18:03:02.831+01:00I love your post Mary, and the website. Although ...I love your post Mary, and the website. Although some of the expressions I don't understand - does that mean they're not cliches for me? I really like the word 'Badonkadonk'. But what does it mean?<br /><br />I have a horror (cliche?) or using cliches in my writing, like Jenny I find I have to go through a ms later to try to remove them. Sure I fail.Gill Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03139563775181908912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-39264922043391860752013-08-05T16:52:44.300+01:002013-08-05T16:52:44.300+01:00Love this post, Mary - what a fool that aspiring w...Love this post, Mary - what a fool that aspiring writer is to ignore your valuable advice! The list is too long to pick one cringe-worthy cliché - and no doubt there are some I didn't know were regarded as a cliché now! That's the trouble with apt phrases - they're too good. Rosemary Gemmellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09311840205603508422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-59146844568098625922013-08-05T14:16:57.204+01:002013-08-05T14:16:57.204+01:00Thanks for finding the post, Anne. I hadn't th...Thanks for finding the post, Anne. I hadn't thought of the extra layer of complicaiton cliches give historical novelists but of course you have to be sure a phrase was already in use at the time about whcih you are writing. I suppose some phrases must go out of fashion as well. Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-90545654472026591722013-08-05T14:14:08.102+01:002013-08-05T14:14:08.102+01:00Thanks, Linda, I also love the Dali quote. Clever ...Thanks, Linda, I also love the Dali quote. Clever to use cliche as a way of defining your character - and the reader knows it is the character NOT the author who is using them!Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-80455214072585543842013-08-05T13:36:18.821+01:002013-08-05T13:36:18.821+01:00Found your post, Mary, and so glad I did. As I'...Found your post, Mary, and so glad I did. As I'm writing historical romance I'm wrong-footed by clichés from two sides. As the writer, I have to constantly be on the alert for any phrase that didn't exist in my chosen time so choosing a cliché could be both lazy and wrong. As the hopeful reader of crits about my published work, I'm constantly screaming into a pillow when the expression, 'bodice ripper', is used about it. May I say, no bodices were ripped...<br />And yes, many students/new writers etc really do not get it.anne stenhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737658937717248241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-58619532960792478102013-08-05T10:02:58.564+01:002013-08-05T10:02:58.564+01:00Oh, I just love Salvador Dali's (alleged) comm...Oh, I just love Salvador Dali's (alleged) comment.....:)<br />I get away with cliche (can't do accents on this programme for some reason, so please forgive) in dialogue where I have a very strong character who is, perhaps, a bit opinionated.<br />Great post....will FB and Tweet...:0Linda Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948518126405880012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-821944819448639962013-08-04T22:29:58.177+01:002013-08-04T22:29:58.177+01:00Definitely a cliche, Jenny! Should have put quotes...Definitely a cliche, Jenny! Should have put quotes around it. I like the sound of your word bingo - something which could be adapted to be used a writers' group maybe. It is hard work finding original ways to say something, which is why the would-be memoirist was so cross with me because he had said exactly what he wanted to say! Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-39491685082624153062013-08-04T22:01:19.131+01:002013-08-04T22:01:19.131+01:00Gosh Mary, what a good post! I do try to work very...Gosh Mary, what a good post! I do try to work very hard at finding original phrases (though sometimes, I confess, it's a matter of going through it at the end to winkle them out). It can be quite hard work, finding an original way of saying something quite familiar to us all.<br /><br />I loved the list, but don't want to pick any single one out. In business, there's a game called word bingo, devised to enliven dull meetings and conferences. Delegates are given a list of clichéd phrases (think out of the box, blue sky thinking, go the extra mile etc etc) and tick them off when they are used. Yell Bingo! when your list is complete. Passes the time...<br /><br />Question: 'teeth on edge' - is that a cliché or just a good description? (Grins.)Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.com