This program is made possible through a generous gift from Ruth and Russell Bolton
in conjunction with the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Giving Our Right Arm for Original Description

Last Tuesday, the Honors Residence Hall Boltoneers had a cliche off. It turns out, we know a lot of cliches. But that's to be expected. We're surrounded by cliched language. Cliches provide easy access for getting one's point across, but when it comes to writing, it does the exact opposite. In writing, cliched language calls attention to itself. It reminds us that we're reading, and it doesn't allow us to see an action or emotion or image anew.

To combat cliches in our own writing, we each chose one of our favorite cliches and wrote a scene inspired by it. What resulted was fresh, exciting language: we heard about spicy tears, a description of a dug out potato patch, and the way an eye turns red right before tears come. Yes, with our new focus on fresh description in our writing, cliches are dead in their tracks.

Come join us on Tuesday for our next Bolton session. We'll be building our own villains. Tuesday, March 11, 7:00 pm, RFL Apartment, Honors Hall Residence. See you then!

No comments:

Post a Comment