The Thing About Clichés

1. The Thing About Clichés

2. Cliché: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox.

3. Idiom:A type of cliché whose meaning is not predictable  from the usual meanings of its  constituent elements, as kick the bucket  or hang one's  head,  or from the general  grammatical rules of a language.

4. Why they poison poetry!!! • They say things in unoriginal ways that provide readers with what they expect rather than providing them with new insights and a reason to reread your piece. • They suspend attention rather than SURPRISE readers • What YOU have to say is ALWAYS going to be better than resorting to such a cop out!

5. Examples: How do you expect the following to be completed? • As hard as ____________________ • Cold as ____________________ • Tough as ____________________

6. Now Make them Unique! • As hard as ____________________ • Cold as ____________________ • Tough as ____________________

7.  Love You Like That, by Shane Hawley:an exerpt I wanna love ya hard like calculusEasy like cheerleadersSoft like chinchillasAnd sensitive like hair triggers ----------- I wanna love ya gorgeous like a beauty queenPsycho like a drama queenAnd fabulous like a drag queen yeahI wanna love ya like that

8. Collaboration In a true collaborative environment, each contributor has an equal ability to add, edit, and remove text. There are two methods you may choose: • The team plans and outlines the task, each writer prepares his or her part, and the group compiles the individual parts and revises the whole document as needed; • The team thinks aloud together, negotiating and refining the content and building it together. One of the authors serves as scribe and possibly also as "gatekeeper of text composition". **Google docs are a great way to work on a document online simultaneously

9. Level 2: Assignment You are going to write TWO versions of the same piece: • The first version should include 10 clichés as commonly found • The second version reworks these clichés so that they are original • The topic is up to you, as are the clichés you choose to utilize, but I have also compiled a list for you • Day 1: Write the trite version • Day 2: Discuss with partner, then rewrite with stronger statements

10. Level 1: Assignment • Get into the teams you had yesterday • Turn to page 13 in your books • Select a common idiom to utilize • Create a poem TOGETHER that combines BOTH the literal and figurative meanings of the phrase • Within the poem, you should also have 3 clichés that you’ve reworked as new metaphors/similes **Hint – starting with an image is always a good idea***

11. Level 1: Example, Page 14 Monkey on My Back: to have an addiction – especially to drugs or alcohol • I thought about the image of a monkey on one’s back • Then I considered the behaviors that tie in with a person who is an addict • With both in mind, I began with the image and moved through to the meaning of the statement.