Shonda Rhimes is an acclaimed television writer, producer, and actress. Here’s how to avoid using clichés in your writing and avoid using them in your own writing. Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and noticed that a line of dialogue or a plot point seemed familiar? Maybe a character says, “let’s get the hell out of dodge,” or the hero is a prophesied “chosen one.”
What Is a Cliché?
A cliché is an expression that was once innovative but has lost its novelty due to overuse.
- Common examples include “as red as a rose” and “in the nick of time.”
- Clichés also include expressions about emotions, such as “head over heels” to describe love.
Shonda Rhimes’s 6 Tips for Avoiding Clichés in Writing
If your dialogue sounds familiar, write something new
- Create a new cliché
- Put a new spin on an old cliché.
- Write realistic dialogue
- Eavesdrop on real conversations
- Listen to your dialogue read aloud
25 Common Clichés to Avoid in Your Writing
Avoid these common clichés when writing your own screenplays.
- “The wrong side of the bed.”
- “Think outside the box”
- A perfect storm
- What goes around comes around
- Dead as a doornail
- Plenty of fish in the sea
- Ignorance is bliss
- Take the tiger by the tail
- Every rose has its thorn
- Good things come to those who wait
- In the nick of time
- The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
- Beating a dead horse
- At the end of the day.”
