Cliches That Should Die

Quote by utterchaos

To describe every smile as a smirk is clearly nonsensical so I can understand the ire if the entirety of the story only includes smirk/smirking but sometimes it's the only one that fits.

I think this is really the problem he is getting at; too much repetition. Using the same description and same expression over and over is a problem I wrestle with. And I hate smirks, too. "Smirking" is a kind of sly smile I associate with those a bit too sure of themselves and their own cleverness.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I agree it’s been done a lot. I think it only serves a purpose if it explains something about her character. It needs to convey an emotion, though. Not just be in there for no reason.

All agreed 😊

Perhaps it's because there are more variables to aspects like locations,emotions and other elements than there are between parts of anatomy that find people embellishing the latter with terms. Originality is fine, but sometimes saying what something is might just be the best option. ' Tried to make the story unique with clever wording'- Exactly. ( Without the exclamation mark avalanche or capitals that could be someone's red flag.)

Quote by JustForYou

Smirking? grinning? It's a minefield out there, isn't it. Unless you're writing a bespoke story for someone you've known for decades, trying to please all of the people. all of the time isn't an achievable goal.

If putting a roof over your head depended on how many people connected with what you wrote, I can see why it might be worth having a 'red flag' list, but if it doesn't, a general awareness of certain things that seem to get people irritated should suffice.

There is nothing wrong in striving to be the best that you can be at something, but if you get to the point where you can't be spontaneous, write how you think and get pleasure from doing so, the reason for doing it is lost for me.

A template of popular style, focus and expression could well see someone put something together that connects with more people. There is nothing wrong with that at all, What I would be sad to see is a time when being yourself and writing what you feel is redundant. Yes, some of us like to write in a way that is true to how we feel and think, others are more formulaic. It would be ironic if others' pleasure in doing things differently was was frowned up somewhere like here, wouldn't it?

You're making the obvious point: "if people enjoy reading it, that is the only measure of quality that matters. Not your petty dislikes of certain writing terms and devices" Could most things be better? Yes, absolutely, but it's also true that there is an audience that is not jaded and does not notice or mind cliches.

I do love a cliché, especially when they're wearing one of those jaunty caps on the letter e, but my favourite is definitely the one covered in a blue cheese sauce. Yum yums xxx