In our real lives we hear of something that nearly leaves us
speechless, we have no idea what to say to the bereaved, the victims, the
injured… we’re at a loss for words and we utter meaningless and overused phrases
meant to comfort but lacking conviction.
These are called platitudes, clichés, banalities, or stock
phrases. The common expressions are so overused that they are far from unique
and people don’t seem to listen to the moral lessons or words of comfort. In
the long run, these words are mere sounds with no effective meaning. The
platitude comes across with no apparent thought; maybe it was easier to dismiss
those around you and extricate yourself from the situation by tossing our
meaningless words.
Dialogue in a story needs to be as real as real life needs to
be. Your character’s character should be reflected in the way he speaks and in
the way he relates to others around him. Let your readers see into the
character by the actions he takes, the words he says, and the way he responds
to others. If your character is thoughtful and caring then certainly he will
put thought into the things he says and the way he treats others. If your
character is shallow then his laziness and easy choices in words will help to
demonstrate that.
A character could have a trademark statement that helps to
identify her — I once had a friend who uttered the words “yea, for the grace of
G-d go I” whenever she heard of someone else’s misfortune; basically that
became her signature phrase and to this day I think of her whenever I hear
those words. It’s okay if you assign a signature phrase to a character so long
as they are more than just that phrase, or string of clichéd phrases. In the
old TV sitcom The Golden Girls, Sophia (Estelle Getty) often started one of her
stories with “Picture this…”; it was characteristic Sophia to hear those words
followed by unique and amusing stories.
A catch-phrase can be as unique an identifier for a character
as a moniker, a limp, a scar or the scent of perfume. Use a character’s manner
of speaking to describe the character the same way authors use the show-don’t-tell narrative to pull the
reader in. The manner of speech should be characteristic of the character’s
age, ethnicity, economic status, education, regional influences, and social
standing. Use language and vocabulary equal to the level of education. If a
character was born and raised in one region and now resides in another, be sure
to use colloquialisms common to the birth region IF it would be characteristic
for that character to say, such as if he/she was a recent transplant.
Using an occasional cliché is permitted because, just like in
real life, there are times we really don’t know what to say and rely on
comfortable words instead of remaining silent. When you fill your manuscript
with common and meaningless platitudes you will most probably lose many of your
readers before they reach the next chapter.
Writing Exercise: Do the following WITHOUT using clichés
or common platitudes as much as possible: 1) Your friend just heard devastating
news about a relative’s suicide — write words of comfort and sympathy. 2) Give
advice to a young couple who have to tell their parents that they are about to
have a baby out-of-wedlock. 3) Your spouse comes home with the news that he/she
was fired from the major supporting job for your family — be encouraging.
Writing Prompt:
Pick any five people in your life and think of ONE catch phrase that
would be characteristic (a signature line) for each individual. Pick a
different phrase for each of the five people.
Challenge Assignment: Pick up any fiction book near you and open it
to a random chapter. Rewrite that chapter using as many clichés and platitudes
as you can think of. Don’t change the story line.
