Keeping it Fresh as a New Fallen Snow

Like some of the plot ideas in my head, the snow arrived early yesterday morning and was gone by the afternoon.

 The picture on the left was 9:00am.  The one on the right 12:00pm.

As a writer of Christmas mysteries, I always find the snow energizing.  I was able to get out with Mr. E (who was sporting his favorite scarf) for a bit before it melted and it was beautiful.

Mr. E

The snow was exactly the same as in my first novel The Stockings Were Hung.  Enough to whiten things up, not enough for everyone to be stranded in the town.  I had a list of items…heck, we’ll call them what they are – clichés – that I didn’t want to appear in the novel.  One of the first on that list was a major snowstorm that traps everyone together.  You know the one…all the trains are blocked!  The roads impassable!!!  

*yawn*

The challenge in writing is keeping it fresh.  At their basic core, many stories are the same.  There is a protagonist, an antagonist, protagonist wants something, fights with antagonist on a journey to get it, and depending on the genre the protagonist will normally win and grow on a personal level along the way.  My default example of this is any given episode of I Love Lucy.  Lucy tries to get into the show, Ricky says no, Lucy schemes to get in, and eventually finds a way – even though she normally ends up ruining it some comical way.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

The show ran for several seasons on CBS and airs in reruns today, BUT you can tell while watching which the earlier episodes are and which aired in later seasons.  Near the end, the show became almost a cliché of itself.  You can spot the set-up and the punchlines to the jokes before they are said.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s a phenomenal show.  Still, as it rolled along it lost the fresh writing that set it apart when the series began.

THAT is one of the most challenging aspects of being a writer.  Walk into the closest Barnes and Noble and the shelves are overflowing with books.  While yours may be a new entry, to some it may come across as that seventh season of I Love Lucy.

As you are write, find the way to make yours feel fresh.

What clichés annoy you the most?  How do you avoid using them in your own work?  Let me know in the comments section down below.