Writing Tool #8: Seek Original Images

Roy Peter Clark's advice on avoiding cliches is similar to Orwell's (whom Clark quotes): "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

What Clark does, however, is one better than Orwell—he gives us some ideas on how to avoid trite phrases and how to resurrect dead images:

So what is the original writer to do? When tempted by a tired phrase, "white as snow," stop writing. Take what the practitioners of natural childbirth call a "cleansing breath." Then jot down the old phrase on a piece of paper. Start scribbling alternatives:

* White as snow.
* White as Snow White.
* Snowy white.
* Gray as city snow.
* White as Prince Charles.

Saul Pett, a reporter known for his style, once told me that he might have to create and reject more than a dozen images before the process led him to the right one.

Clark admits the effort a writer puts into writing fresh prose can take time. I agree. Good writing is hard work.