Spot and replace clichés

A cliché is a phrase that has been used so often it no longer creates a picture in the reader’s mind. Judges see the same ones in story after story.

The usual suspects

• My heart was pounding out of my chest.
• Time stood still.
• All of a sudden…
• A shiver ran down my spine.
• It was a dark and stormy night.
• I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

Why they hurt your writing

Clichés tell the reader you reached for the first phrase available. They also make your story sound like everyone else’s.

How to replace them

Ask what is actually happening in the body or the scene. Instead of “my heart was pounding”, try “I could feel my pulse in my fingertips”. Instead of “time stood still”, show one frozen detail: “The kettle stopped mid-boil. Nobody moved to switch it off.”

Specific beats general

The more specific your detail, the less likely it is to be a cliché, because nobody else has seen exactly what you have.

Try it: find three clichés in an old story and rewrite each one with a detail only your character would notice.