If you’ve been around the writing world long enough, you know there are no new ideas. Kidnaps, robberies, invisible men, aliens, robots, espionage, vampires, zombies, invasions, war, love…they’ve all been conquered again and again and again.

What’s a writer to do? You have to keep that story about love and war originally you. Use your voice, your words, and your unique spin, to make it sound new.

Novice writers and wannabe authors bend to the ebb and flow of what’s selling. They attempt to emulate other writers and copy their ideas. Well theirs nothing original about that. The agent that’s looking for that fresh new idea, is going to throw the manuscript to the side along with the other copycats in the pile.

Originality doesn’t mean something has never been written about. We have common linguistics, and resources. We are exposed to many of the same things. Writing is not without influence.

Originality is based more so on frequency. How often has an idea been used? What about your spin on the idea? Is your spin used often or infrequently? Hopefully infrequently to  not at all.

Now that you have the actual idea as original as possible, look at the words you are using. Stay away from clichés.

It’s easy to borrow language known as cliché. What makes the words or phrases cliché? Overuse. You need to recognize these clichés and get them out of your writing. Too many will cause your readers to tune out.

Avoid words like dude, totally awesome, or bling. They are not unique because of overuse.

I bet you can complete the following sentences:

• An apple a __________
• Once in a blue __________
• It was a dark and stormy __________
• She was the apple of his ____________
• A bed of __________
• They lived happily ever ____________

I don’t think it’s a good idea for your reader to be able to complete a sentence without looking at the words.

If you’re not sure a phrase you are about to write is cliché, go to google and type in ‘cliché sites’. You will be provided with a list of different sites to assist in this area.

Writing cliché is the easy way out. It’s challenging to be original. Be original!

Something to think about.

-Jan R