Word of the Day: Cliche

cli·ché also cliche ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kl-sh)
n.
A trite or overused expression or idea
A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial

Yesterday I skipped work to attend the Writer's Digest Writer's Conference in conjuction with the Book Expo of America. I was thrilled that Jerry B. Jenkins was there as the keynote speaker. He had a lot of insightful things to say, and a little bit of encouragement to the hopefuls in the audience. I don't know what I was expecting really -- possibly just some motivation and encouragement. I did come away with some of that, although most of the stuff I learned I already knew. I know that being a writer of anything these days means that you're going to have to wait through numerous rejections before getting published, if you ever do. I know that even when you do, oftentimes the product is not exactly what you expected. But I also know that to not write is not a choice for many writers. Me included. If I did not write, I would not be me. It's how I define myself and how I share myself with the world. Some people are able to express themselves to other people through discussion, and others express themselves through art, like painting and drawing and acting. To not put words on paper is like suffocating me with a heavy hand.

The only really crazy part was the lunch speaker who claimed that no one has original thoughts and we are actually making ourselves stupider by succumbing to what he calls "dimwitticisms". These dimwitticisms are colloquial and cliched andm etaphorical phrases that we say just by force of habit, such as "a dime a dozen" "piece of cake" "just in the knick of time" etc. The guy rattled off a hundred phrases we use everyday, and though they are undoubtedly overused and somewhat dim, there is no possible way to write and/or speak without using one. Try it. It's impossible. In any case (another dimwitticism) it would be just as vexing to try to speak without them as it is to use them repeatedly. Consider this sentence: The conference ran like clockwork, on the other hand, there was a heated debate over metaphors. If I were trying to avoid these dimwitticisms and replace them with original thoughts so I don't force my reader to become stupider, the sentence would have to look something like this: The conference was successful in that there were no problems and each activity pleased the attendees. Several conference attendees quarrelled about the overuse and/or misuse of specific phrases that make use of another object as a similar comparison for the original thought. Wouldn't you much prefer I just say it rather than muck it all up like that?

One thing I learned is that having a blog is quite beneficial to your eventual writing career so at least I have a headstart on that.