Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cliches in All Their Inglories

This is going to be a mini rant about the favorite "do not do" and "how to avoid" wisdom nuggets put out there by every writing magazine and teacher. I just received an e-mail that offers the inevitable 10 tips, which is a cliche in itself, on avoiding cliches and melodramas. It just happens that, to me, these are two of the best springboards for diving into writing.

That's right, a cliche is the perfect place to start by pulling out all stops on melodrama. Yum. The richness in most cliches, or the sheer absurdity, is what made them popular. And bring on the melodrama for its ghosts, chest beating and copious intrigue to gain insight into how an audience can sink its teeth into this delicacy year after year.

Those are only a few reasons to embrace, or at least play with, the cliches and melodrama that make writing fun at times. Just think, the decomposing body of a cliche is the ideal place to grow a new idea or plot.

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