tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post3694262633901760537..comments2024-01-09T17:48:45.910-06:00Comments on Travis Erwin: Another attempt at a writing post.Travis Erwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420879160702098979noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-4102839146452153312007-10-03T17:01:00.000-05:002007-10-03T17:01:00.000-05:00Some wise stuff here...but I like cliches! Some of...Some wise stuff here...but I <I>like</I> cliches! Some of them are just the ticket!Lois Karlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00658333345815494310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-73815806756345633002007-09-29T10:58:00.000-05:002007-09-29T10:58:00.000-05:00ALWAYS AVOID ALLITERATION....AND ELIMINATE YOUR MI...ALWAYS AVOID ALLITERATION....AND ELIMINATE YOUR MIXED METAPHORS EVEN IF THEY SING!!!!!!!!<BR/><BR/>Those are the rules I live by. Great post my dear. <BR/><BR/>Yours, <BR/><BR/>cicilyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-65166519626310309162007-09-28T23:44:00.000-05:002007-09-28T23:44:00.000-05:00Good post... one must know the rules before he cou...Good post... one must know the rules before he could break them. Use at your own risk (oops..that too cliche?) <BR/><BR/>One that really bothers me... "on the other hand" especially when the first hand isn't mentioned to begin with!Skiingredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12923651531269833377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-46056058698370844162007-09-28T22:47:00.000-05:002007-09-28T22:47:00.000-05:00I don't think I've ever actually heard "finer than...I don't think I've ever actually heard "finer than a frog's hair" either. The rest you list as cliches, yes. <BR/><BR/>As for metaphors, I tend not to care much for extended metaphors, where the author keeps it going and going. There are a lot of pitfalls in that, it seems to me. But I love metaphorical writing in general. It reminds me of a haiku in prose, capturing just a perfect moment or image.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-56966982638023962542007-09-28T22:41:00.000-05:002007-09-28T22:41:00.000-05:00Your father is quite a character. He's funnier th...Your father is quite a character. He's funnier than a... I'm terrible with cliches. Thanks for the tips. They will help me with my own writing.Adriannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10939555463939641790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-16642452523717173142007-09-28T18:19:00.000-05:002007-09-28T18:19:00.000-05:00Travis- Why do I find the frog ones the funniest?H...Travis- Why do I find the frog ones the funniest?<BR/><BR/>Helen- Sorry about that, but we can share! :)WordVixenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01713637403798552713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-40940674681123137222007-09-28T14:02:00.000-05:002007-09-28T14:02:00.000-05:00I think your posts on writing are great.Love the e...I think your posts on writing are great.<BR/><BR/>Love the exerpt from your story. I think it works quite nicely.Jensterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639970448069931471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-16011784532312063072007-09-28T11:36:00.000-05:002007-09-28T11:36:00.000-05:00eliminate...oh, wait, i din't finish my sentiment....eliminate...<BR/><BR/>oh, wait, i din't finish my sentiment.<BR/><BR/>eliminate great qualifiers.Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05716215892504806470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-11818070399076315452007-09-28T10:02:00.000-05:002007-09-28T10:02:00.000-05:00Okay I'll say it publicly. My dad, whenever he was...Okay I'll say it publicly. My dad, whenever he was actually around(which Jason can attest was not often) could carry on entire conversations in worn out phrases and colloquisms.<BR/><BR/>I have heard finer than a frog's hair since I was knee high to a duck. My dad uses to put me in a headlock and say I've seen better lookin heads on a mug of root beer or I've seen better heads of lettuce. <BR/><BR/>Maybe that is why I hate lettuce to this day. Anyway here are a lsit of more of my dad'a saying which I assumed were all cliche but I'll let you all be the judge.<BR/>But I'll warn you they are not all nice images.<BR/><BR/>runs like a Singer sewing machine.<BR/><BR/>I gotta pee like a stomped on frog.<BR/><BR/>ran like a scaled ape.<BR/><BR/>hungry enough to eat the ass end of a menstrating skunk.<BR/><BR/>stiffer than a preacher's dick.<BR/><BR/>sweating like a whore in church on judgement day.<BR/><BR/>That's enough for y'all to get what I'm talking about. One or two now and then would be okay but they get tiresome when there is some such saying every sentence.<BR/><BR/>By the way the fat man is a speedo was one I made up and included in my last novel.<BR/><BR/>And PretZel I agree you can break almsot any rule in the name of comedy. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for all the comments.Travis Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09420879160702098979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-44170679157300198742007-09-28T09:43:00.000-05:002007-09-28T09:43:00.000-05:00Tighter than a fat man's speedo.So awesome. Unfort...Tighter than a fat man's speedo.<BR/><BR/>So awesome. Unfortunately, I've seen alot of them around so the visual is not so awesome. But that frogs hair one has got me stumped!Ello - Ellen Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-54071242742475234702007-09-28T08:50:00.000-05:002007-09-28T08:50:00.000-05:00By the way, meant to mention it yesterday, but Tom...By the way, meant to mention it yesterday, but Tom Wolfe does similar things with metaphors that you did in Plundered Booty. He stacks metaphors along the same vein and let's them build on each other. <BR/>So... your example is not that far out there.alex ketohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08003786334665677107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-51720453692225017342007-09-28T07:11:00.000-05:002007-09-28T07:11:00.000-05:00"DO make your metaphors and similes fit the charac..."DO make your metaphors and similes fit the character and tone"<BR/>Glad you included this. The wrong simile or metaphor - no matter how clever - can jolt a reader out of the scene.<BR/> Avoid "piling on" - also good advice - with the type of exception you noted when he waxes eloquent and in character.Bernitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05264585685253812090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-76312964944586487802007-09-28T00:00:00.000-05:002007-09-28T00:00:00.000-05:00I've never heard of finer than a frog hair but som...I've never heard of finer than a frog hair but some one did tell me to scooch over a frog hair once. Similes are hard to write but when you think of a good one there's nothing better. I've never heard tighter than a fat man's Speedo, but my dad used to say tighter than a duck's arse...and that's water tight.<BR/><BR/>I'm gonna have to get in here sooner from now on. I was going to tag you too but that wordvixen beat me to it! Aren't you the popular one today?Helen Shearerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15471996799876515105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-83227711680215880682007-09-27T23:09:00.000-05:002007-09-27T23:09:00.000-05:00I love casinos! Last time won 400$Again where were...I love casinos! Last time won 400$<BR/><BR/>Again where were you during my comp classes at Purdue?!Phatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694684931757245608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-30615959349040030432007-09-27T20:56:00.000-05:002007-09-27T20:56:00.000-05:00Are you returning to "God's Country" (a.k.a Texas)...Are you returning to "God's Country" (a.k.a Texas)???<BR/><BR/>-- PPenelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765737667782111636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-89336486204824799412007-09-27T18:59:00.000-05:002007-09-27T18:59:00.000-05:00Oh, and Travis? Tag!Oh, and Travis? <A HREF="http://questtowrite.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-evil-i-tell-you-evil.html" REL="nofollow">Tag!</A>WordVixenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01713637403798552713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-19288254085583210562007-09-27T18:11:00.000-05:002007-09-27T18:11:00.000-05:00Nope- never heard of the frog's hair either. :) ...Nope- never heard of the frog's hair either. :) And while I hear "colder than a witch's tit", I've never heard of the brass bra!<BR/><EM>Hair darker than a new set of Michelin’s</EM>- I love this! Of course, I work for a tire wholesaler...<BR/><BR/><EM>Big and round like the headlights of a late-fifties sedan</EM> and this cracked me up. It also sums up the character's personality completely.<BR/><BR/>And this <EM>His footsteps echoed down the hall. Her heart hammered against her chest. Like a fly in a spider's web, fear held her in place</EM> was also very good. I actually got chills reading it. Of course, I hate suspense, but it would work in any genre so long as it was a suspenseful situation.WordVixenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01713637403798552713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-91617501195713164702007-09-27T18:04:00.000-05:002007-09-27T18:04:00.000-05:00I love writing to torture similes and over - use t...I love writing to torture similes and over - use the metaphors. Hell, that's what makes writing fun when you're looking for a good laugh. I'm going to have to look over some of my old writing and find some of the run - ons and such that I used to do just for fun. <BR/><BR/>"<I> She gasped with pleasure as his fingers, rough like the top - side of a cat's tongue, whispered over her skin like a feather whispering on the wind. </I>"<BR/><BR/>Or jumping off a line like...<BR/><BR/>One dark and stormy night...<BR/><BR/>And making it one huge run - on and using silly names for your romantic hero.<BR/><BR/>Rod Steel<BR/><BR/>Barry Hung<BR/><BR/>LOL! <BR/><BR/>Having fun with writing is how one gets moving. Torture it, over use it, toss it, re - write it, edit it, play with it, and then write some more of it. <BR/><BR/>Did you ever read my piece called Juror Deluxe? I wrote that one day after not being picked for jury duty. It's fully of cliches, metaphors, and similes. It's also a fun read and was totally cathartic. It's on my blog. :)preTzelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03536465579225240434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-57726029912324278752007-09-27T16:50:00.000-05:002007-09-27T16:50:00.000-05:00I thought your excerpt was great--loved the metaph...I thought your excerpt was great--loved the metaphors, thought they worked perfectly!<BR/><BR/>I don't do them so well myself--I can never seem to think of that perfect one, either coming in on the cliched side or the 'way out there' side. But I'm working on it.<BR/><BR/>Gotta chime in: never heard of the frog's hair one--maybe it's not as cliched as you thought.Alyssa Goodnighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12563271888054706202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-55519396414608265102007-09-27T16:38:00.000-05:002007-09-27T16:38:00.000-05:00I'm with Terrie and Alex in never having heard "fi...I'm with Terrie and Alex in never having heard "finer than frog hair" before. If that's cliche, I think it's only so on a regional basis.<BR/><BR/>That's the problem with cliches -- a lot of them vary from person to person. I remember this one English paper I wrote in college where I said something about a crowd of people bowing as someone went by, and used "like grass rippling in the wind) or something similar. I made that up, darn it all! But my teacher scratched through it and commented "Cliche!" In a later paragraph, I said something about a "sprawl of parking lot" which I'd shamelessly cribbed from any number of other writers, and <I>that</I> one got a "Good!" comment. [eyeroll]<BR/><BR/>The older cliches, the "sly as a fox" or "sharp as a tack" types, have a pretty broad range. But with others it can be tough to tell whether or not your audience will have heard them before. Even making something up from scratch doesn't always work, as demonstrated by my English teacher's comments. [wry smile]<BR/><BR/>You make a good point, though, about even the most blatant cliches sometimes being appropriate in dialogue. Heck, just about <I>anything</I> is sometimes appropriate in dialogue; it depends on the character. [nod]<BR/><BR/>AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-2599733569610477892007-09-27T14:43:00.000-05:002007-09-27T14:43:00.000-05:00Umm - "she's colder than a witch's tit in a brass ...Umm - "she's colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra". Actually, I <EM>don't</EM> have any uncles that say that! Must be an American expresion.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04991009842667783101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-23151147329251950182007-09-27T14:04:00.000-05:002007-09-27T14:04:00.000-05:00oh, and also, the list of metaphors you used from ...oh, and also, the list of metaphors you used from plundered booty works. it's not excessive.<BR/>Why, I'd even venture to say that that is an example of writing that is tighter than a fat man's speedo. (sorry couldn't resist)alex ketohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08003786334665677107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-22260876255786699102007-09-27T13:55:00.000-05:002007-09-27T13:55:00.000-05:00Same here on "finer than a frog's hair." It was ne...Same here on "finer than a frog's hair." It was news to me. <BR/><BR/>But that old cliche of "tighter than a fat man's speedo." <BR/><BR/>Hell, we use that all the time in Washington. Yep, just about every other phrase, and that old fat man is rearing his ugly rear again in the middle of the conversation. Can't barely get through a day without it. Why even the president uses it to describe his own budget. <BR/><BR/>On a more serious note, I will remember the phrase and actually try to use it in a conversation. I bet it will be a show stopper as everyone grimaces.alex ketohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08003786334665677107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174721864572618040.post-11768461273514392642007-09-27T13:30:00.000-05:002007-09-27T13:30:00.000-05:00Hi Travis,Get home safely.I'll have to think about...Hi Travis,<BR/><BR/>Get home safely.<BR/><BR/>I'll have to think about this. <BR/><BR/>Big city girl that I am, I am still reeling over the fact that "finer than a frogs hair" is a cliche. I swear I never heard it or read it before!<BR/><BR/>Back later, if I can.<BR/><BR/>TerrieTerrie Farley Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04980849018232866773noreply@blogger.com