When writing the first draft of your novel for National Novel Writing Month, it will be tempting to use a cliches instead of fresh phases. The handy Cliche Finder will help help writers stop cliches before they start–the site has a searchable index of more than 3,300 cliches.
Follow this link to see ten random cliches. Here’s the site’s definition of a cliche: “It’s something that lots of people say and it conveys some sort of idea or message. A cliche is, in other words, a metaphor characterized by its overuse. I have my own test to see if a phrase is a cliche or not. I read the first half of the sentence, then I ask myself, ‘do I just know (because everyone knows) how the sentence ends?'”
This is our third National Novel Writing Month Tip of the Day. As writers around the country join the writing marathon this month, we will share one piece of advice or writing tool to help you cope with this daunting project. Share your frustrations and progress in the comments section.