Cliche's may be as old as the hills, and some may be diamonds in the rough, but between you and me, I feel like haste makes waste in this instance. It's just a matter of time before an editor tells you to get rid of them, but time heals all wounds and you may decide the heck with it, I'm as brave as a lion, I'm going for it. But, alas, the writing is on the wall. The editor will definitely be laughing at you, not with you. There is, however, a silver lining, and that's if you have nerves of steel and a quick wit, you will learn that all's well that ends well. If you rewrite.
So, translation, don't use cliche's. Kill them. Now, these were examples of chiche'd phrases, but there are also cliche'd plots, descriptions and characters. Those are a little bit harder to recognize. Your pre-readers will help you find them and once you're aware of them, you'll see them pop up all over your manuscript. I couldn't believe how many I used in my first one. Google cliche's-that's how I wrote the above paragraph- and you might see some you recognize. Look through your book with a fine tooth comb-sorry, couldn't help myself- and look specifically for a situation or description that you may have seen or read before. Things that come to mind, creaky staircases, old crones, killer in the basement or attic, superhero shows up in time to save the day, etc... When I read things like that I want to say, yeah, yeah, get on with it. So keep your book alive and interesting, think hard and reword or twist things up a bit.
Good luck, and as always, if you have a question, I'm here for you. Email me at donnachubbauthor@gmail.com
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