Every field is full of cliche. If you are in advertising it’s likely you’re currently airing a commercial on how your clients product can help save money during the recession. If your blog targets the online marketing community you probably have an article with the title “7 viral marketing ideas”. And if you write songs, at some point in your life you rhymed “fire” with “desire”. Don’t feel guilty for committing these sins, Bruce Springsteen rhymes “fire” and “desire” all the time and he’s not hurting for fans. The point is, there is a danger of immunity if you are passing cliched messages to your audience.
When we hear cliche our attention drifts. Maybe we don’t change the channel or click the back button on the browser, but our commitment to what is in front of us is diminished. Over the past year we have become immune to fast food cracks about cheeseburger economics and sub sandwich bailouts. There is no longer a differentiator when Wendy’s is touting their dollar menu using the “we know money is tight” angle because Dominoes, Subway, and Burger King all have the same commercial.
The easy solution to this comes through discipline and attention. Whatever you spend your time on be aware of current trends and the historical arc of your field. That sounds simple, but I see trailers for the same movies over and over again each year. Someone has already written the “street kid makes good on dance career by meeting a troubled white girl” movie. I think Julia Stiles was in at least two of those. Please don’t write it again. In order to avoid this keep a cliche notebook, or text or clippings file. Anything that you can flip through on occasion to help point out cliches you may have overlooked.
This doesn’t mean a guitarist has to abandon his Hendrix licks or a songwriter can’t write about a breakup. Instead keep a list of things that numb your audience and then commit to always editing out those items. It is fine if your initial conception of an idea includes cliche. They are so ingrained in the public consciousness one is bound to sneak up on you now and again. But during the rewrite process you must commit to gutting every offender. If this leaves you with only one good verse, or no end to the second act of your play, then so be it. We’re not here because creating is easy. Your art and your audience will both grow in quality by forcing yourself to forge new paths.