Cliche Science

14 May 2010 | Filed Under Creativity 

If you want some nice brain benders, check out Fake Science. It’s a website that uses old textbook pictures and makes up science to explain them. It’s good for a few laughs, but it’s also a good exercise in thinking from a different perspective.

You’re going to need that different perspective when you start finding cliches in your work. And trust me – you will find them. Those darn things are embedded in our stream of conscious. But they’re tired and over-worked, like an old nag, and we want to put a new horse in the race.

You could just take the cliches out. There’s nothing wrong with that. But why not use the cliches to your advantage? Find a way to turn them on their heads with a new perspective. Astound your readers with insightful twists!

For an example off the top of my head, instead of saying “he had a warm heart,” (which by the way, is telling, not showing – but that’s a different matter entirely) you could say “he had a lukewarm heart.”

Or instead of “she was at death’s door,” you could say “she was at death’s door, but there was a sign reading ‘back in twenty minutes.’”

Actually, I kind of like that one…

So go out there and push some cliches on their heads!

Comments

5 Responses to “Cliche Science”

  1. Sara S on May 15th, 2010 3:51 am

    Have you read Terry Pratchett? His books are soooo full of this! I love it.

  2. Sara S on May 15th, 2010 3:52 am

    Oh, also Christopher Moore does this a lot too… But yeah, I think a well done “reversed” cliche, or cliche used in some surprising manner can be even more powerful that something original – depending on the context and what you’re trying to do – just because it was a cliche. It has a surprise effect that’s hard to replace.

  3. Jenn on May 15th, 2010 5:51 pm

    I’ve read a few of Terry Pratchett’s books. Not Christopher Moore though, I should try him.

  4. Dan on May 16th, 2010 9:55 am

    I was thinking about your death’s door thing yesterday and I came up with a related one:

    “He had one foot in the grave. Then again, he’d always wanted to try his hand at grave robbing; no time like the present!”

  5. Jenn on May 16th, 2010 10:53 am

    hahaha I love it!

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