Not Getting it

[Jaye]

Joy - Perhaps that 'not' in the editor's sentence is a typo. Do you think the editor meant to write 'now' instead of 'not'? That would explain an otherwise mysterious sentence.

[webscribe]

I think jaye is right. The editors probably meant now and not not. Now would make a lot more sense.

I think that, much of the time, writers just instinctively feel that something's wrong when they're mixing their metaphors. They edit them out without really knowing why. I can sort of explain why because I teach writing, but I still catch myself mixing my metaphors. What's worse is that sometimes I don't catch myself until it's too late! There's nothing so awful as finding a boo-boo in something that's already in print .

[BarryDavidson]

I'm still of the "old school" of thought on this issue. I love clichés, metaphors, idioms, etc. The "new school" of writing is death on those delightful turns of phrase. I actually got a bad review once because the reviewer thought one of my lines was too cliché-like. Of course I was a little angry at the time, but instead of letting it run away with me I wrote a short story almost entirely in clichés instead. (That story won fifty dollars, and got me my second publishing contract.)

In this particular context however, it's either write it the way the editors want it or it gets rejected.

[webscribe]

I love the idea of writing something entirely in cliches! Can you/are you allowed to leave us a link to your story?

[BarryDavidson]

I haven't had a problems with links to my creative writing here... http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/tnbw_pu ... liche.html

[Evelyn]

Barry, can I put your link on my Facebook? All my old friends from my MFA class would get a kick out of your story.

[BarryDavidson]

Barry, can I put your link on my Facebook? All my old friends from my MFA class would get a kick out of your story.

No problem... What's an MFA class?

[Judith]

MFA = Master of Fine Arts

[Evelyn]

Yep, Master of Fine Arts and class as in "Class of '99" because it was lots and lots of classes.

[BarryDavidson]

I hated my college writing and literature courses, with the sole exception of one. The rest were mostly taught by a high school adjunct, or by the department head - a 30 year old PHD who cut everything up so badly you couldn't enjoy reading it, and wrote more on your papers than you did. I was an art major, and the fall I started all the art teachers left leaving only the department head. He would assign work, and then criticize the subject matter used. He also had an iron-clad attendance policy.

[webscribe]

BD, your story is quite a display of virtuosity. You're a true wordsmith! I loved it when ". . . the sum of all evil lurked in the shadows . . ."

[ThisOldMan]

Goodness, BD, that's some writing alright. Reminded me of a song in my country with lyrics 100% made up of titles from other songs. Rode the charts for quite a while, too.

[BarryDavidson]

I wrote that particular piece because I was mad, and wanted to thumb my nose at the new crop of reviewers who have been taught that anything which hints at clichés or colloquialisms is bad. I really got to thumb my nose at them when it won the quarterly short story contest, not to mention the fifty bucks that came with it.

It was also the first 'comedy' piece I ever wrote. After that I started writing more humor, and wound up winning a few more contests.

[ThisOldMan]

Should get angry more often then.

[BarryDavidson]

Should get angry more often then.

You can rest assured that I do. Unfortunately, it only does me any good when writing creative pieces. If I use that anger to research an article extensively, cross the i's and dot the t's, there's still a high probability that it'll get called an op/ed piece - even if it article is based entirely on facts. Such is the modern world of writing.