How many times do you run across these every day clichés? We hear them all the time, but in writing fiction, we’re cautioned against using them. But how do you keep yourself from using what’s already been established as the ole famous way of saying what everyone wants to say? That’s why originality is so important in establishing your voice.Here's another writing exercise I read about in The Five-Minute Writer by Margret Geraghty. This fun exercise helped improve my confidence in stepping outside the box and being a bit more original. Maybe in doing so, I’ve missed the mark at some point, but it was still fun.
Try to rewrite these clichés by replacing the italicized word(s) below. I will never get bored with writing exercises. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Flat as a pancake
Flat as a girl who pads her triple A bra
Good as gold
Good as knowing you're wearing fresh underwear just before you wreck your car
Faster than a bat out of hell
Faster than Susan Rice making network rounds in order to blame a video for what happened in Ben Ghazi
Charging around like a bull in a china shop
Charging around like Napolean on a basketball court
Pretty as a picture
Pretty as Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway vent
Slow as a snail
Slow as Obama proclaiming Israel is our friend
Hard as nails
Hard as finding government employees in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy
Meek as a lamb
Meek as an English teacher from Great Britain teaching at a high school in South Compton, L.A.
White as a sheet
White as Michael Jackson at a rap concert
Silent as the grave
Silent as a crowded elevator when a midget steps in
Cold as ice
Cold as the first splash from a bidet on a flaming hemorrhoid
Go ahead, try them! This was so much fun my day has gone by faster than a speeding bullet (I had to).
