tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post6238221201856464373..comments2024-03-27T10:02:56.747-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Emotions and the Body: Less Cliché Ways the Body Responds to Emotional StatesJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-85551114212054181442021-05-28T19:40:15.262-04:002021-05-28T19:40:15.262-04:00Cliches are, for me, first drafts of... something ...Cliches are, for me, first drafts of... something primal. As you said, there's a reason for their existence - they express something basic particularly well.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean you have to use the cliched form of the statement - I love taking them and twisting their guts to make something better. The result is often still recognizable - but also fresh.<br /><br />My editing software, AutoCrit, identifies gobs of cliches - and I examine each one to see how it can be improved. It's part of the polishing process each scene goes through. Some I leave - often little ones such as 'she shrugged,' because a short form interrupts the flow less than something more elaborate; if I do, I make sure that particular one is never used again in the scene (my damaged brain tends to throw up duplicates in the heat of writing). AutoCrit counts everything - makes it easier not to be repetitive.ABEhrhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17211038591900883672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-76139302811684178052021-05-28T07:19:29.936-04:002021-05-28T07:19:29.936-04:00When I'm reading a good story, it doesn't ...When I'm reading a good story, it doesn't bother me in the slightest if a character's heart sinks or their guts churn. I'm more irritated by the kind of clunky sentences penned by writers trying too hard to be original, because that will take me right out of the story.Annabelle Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07885299277599417515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-21720505285349274572021-05-23T11:05:49.044-04:002021-05-23T11:05:49.044-04:00this is great! I was pointed to your blog by Vorac...this is great! I was pointed to your blog by Voracious Readers and I've bookmarked it now. thanks for these tips.Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15182147051413946727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-16583743118992967482021-05-21T13:55:47.082-04:002021-05-21T13:55:47.082-04:00I like that exercise. I'm going to try that.
...I like that exercise. I'm going to try that.<br /><br />Trying to avoid cliches is always good writing advice, but every once in a while I read something where I think the author was trying a little too hard to say something different. Something like "Jane felt as if a salmon were slithering up her esophagus." Job one should be saying clearly what you mean to say. Avoiding cliches is somewhere further down the list.James Paillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213113363979079375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-16119586294274811652021-05-20T11:02:56.004-04:002021-05-20T11:02:56.004-04:00thanks for these reminders! Carol Baldwin thanks for these reminders! Carol Baldwin Carol Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10444182118975929045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-24752918107362515792021-05-20T10:09:31.727-04:002021-05-20T10:09:31.727-04:00A very good list especially the way you came up wi...A very good list especially the way you came up with it - interviewing people after they were in that state. Not sure what starburst in belly means though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-6793664553943101442021-05-20T09:35:43.046-04:002021-05-20T09:35:43.046-04:00Great list. I'm a big believer in *The Emotion...Great list. I'm a big believer in *The Emotion Thesaurus*'s complete lists, but it's good to have shorter ones on hand too.<br /><br />I have my own rule of thumb on this: emotions make us move *toward* the thing that affects us, or in some way that prepares us for it. If someone gorgeous walks into a bar, we watch, we move closer, or we primp or position ourselves-- or we turn away so we don't get in over our heads. If an enemy walks in, *same thing*: advance, or prepare or retreat or something like it.<br /><br />As for seeming like cliches... that might be a numbers game. The more often writing actually mentions a physical reaction, the more it risks repeating itself unless it branches into a more obscure sensation, or simply describes it more interestingly.Ken Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732164204232936705noreply@blogger.com