Overused Writing Devices to Avoid Like the Plague

If a phrase comes to mind easily, you probably need to work harder

Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
—William Safire

Image: Pexels/ Tess Myrl

When it comes to overuse of cliches and other ineffective writing devices, we’re all guilty. You probably know several of these devices, and if you use them, you’re not alone. Whether you understand what I’m talking about or not, let me tell you what this post is about.

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, the above paragraph is one of the worst I’ve ever written. It’s loaded with writing devices—phrases that say little to nothing—that we should all strive to avoid. Yet I run across these empty writing devices daily as an editor and a reader.

My list of offenders goes beyond what’s typically considered cliche, so you’re apt to be surprised. The worst of them make us readers cringe. And even the least offensive of them indicate a writer has room to grow.

Full disclosure: Now and then, I fall back on some of these devices myself. But I try not to let them overwhelm my writing. And you should, too. The trick is to have a simple strategy for spotting and eradicating them, and you’ll find that below.

I can’t possibly list all of the ineffective writing devices. The potential is as unlimited as the topics we write about and the sentences we construct. So let’s start with a few examples of pat phrases that aren’t overly cringe-worthy but which are, at best, avoidable crutches, fluffy padding:

Whether you…
If (whatever), then you’re not alone.
It is important to remember…
When it comes to…
That being said…

None of those phrases adds an iota of meaning or elucidation to your story. They are easy (read: lazy) ways to get a story started or to transition inartfully from one sentence to another. None of them do any of the things good writing should do: surprise, delight, entertain or inform. So nix them.

Next up are the laziest devices in the writer’s overused toolbox, the sorts of obvious phrases that tell a reader nothing they don’t already know: