People say never to use a cliche while you’re writing, but when I’m writing dialogue, I ignore this edict.
This is the reason. People talk all kinds of ways. They use idioms, slang, axioms, proverbs. They use terms and phrases and metaphors we’ve culled from the Bible and Shakespeare and rap songs.
How people use old sayings is interesting and insightful and often funny. I once dated a former athlete and lifelong sportswriter. He constantly peppered his statements and pronouncements with those words heard so often in sports interviews. The greatest of all sports cliches.
Call it a habit, a crutch or a flourish. He wrapped all manner of topics up by saying, “At the end of the day.”
It was particular. It was endearing. To quote the mother in horror classic “Carrie,” hysterically recounting an intimate late-night encounter fueled by roadside whiskey, “And I liked it!”
–Sarah Torribio
Read more random musings by Sarah Torribio HERE
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