historylass
sallyduchessLove Without the Clichés
October 25th 2006 11:20
When he looked at me, it was like an electric shock. I felt like jelly inside. The room spun as I gazed into his eyes. Blah, blah, blah! We've heard it all before. Of course we have. Love is one of the most common themes in literature. It's written about so often because it's something we can all relate to. Unfortunately, it's written about so often, it sometimes seems like there's no new way of describing it.
So how can you write about love without injecting a whole lot of clichés into your work. It's difficult, but it can be done. Here are some tips for ensuring your readers don't skip over the pages because they've heard it all before.
Try brainstorming lots of ideas about love. Don't think. Just write. Write at least five pages worth of material. Then discard the first four pages. The last page might contain some stuff that's original.
If that sounds like too much hard work, try thinking of love in different ways. Think about the love you have for food, for your children, for your job, for a beautiful painting. Describe that love and see if it can be altered to describe romantic love.
Spend some time thinking about words and doing little exercises to get your brain stimulated. Go through the alphabet and write a love description for each word. Look around the room and see if anything sparks off any ideas. If love was an orange, what would it taste like? If love was a cupboard, what would it contain?
When you do write about love, pay careful attention to how many clichés you are using. Circle anything that sounds like it's been said before. Try to think of at least ten other ways of saying the same thing.
Love is a hard topic to write about in a new and original way. But it's a good skill to master. If you're writing fiction, at some stage, you will probably want to talk about love. Try not to include any electric shocks or jelly-like feelings.
So how can you write about love without injecting a whole lot of clichés into your work. It's difficult, but it can be done. Here are some tips for ensuring your readers don't skip over the pages because they've heard it all before.
Try brainstorming lots of ideas about love. Don't think. Just write. Write at least five pages worth of material. Then discard the first four pages. The last page might contain some stuff that's original.
If that sounds like too much hard work, try thinking of love in different ways. Think about the love you have for food, for your children, for your job, for a beautiful painting. Describe that love and see if it can be altered to describe romantic love.
Spend some time thinking about words and doing little exercises to get your brain stimulated. Go through the alphabet and write a love description for each word. Look around the room and see if anything sparks off any ideas. If love was an orange, what would it taste like? If love was a cupboard, what would it contain?
When you do write about love, pay careful attention to how many clichés you are using. Circle anything that sounds like it's been said before. Try to think of at least ten other ways of saying the same thing.
Love is a hard topic to write about in a new and original way. But it's a good skill to master. If you're writing fiction, at some stage, you will probably want to talk about love. Try not to include any electric shocks or jelly-like feelings.
| 72 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Wendi
Well said!
Comment by historylass
The Written Word
History Lass