Cliche

I was watching some videos of women caught on tape soliciting murder-for-hire.
http://by117w.bay117.mail.live.com/mail/TodayLight.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0&n=632440256
Interesting stuff, but hardly novel. If you tried to write that, you could count on getting the "that's cliche" line from critics, editors, agents, etc.

But, IMHUO, cliches are cliches because **it happens**. Happens all the time.

• Women get pregnant to trap a guy into staying with them
• Spouses murder for life insurance policies
• Lovers murder over jealousy
• Spouses abuse each other
• Cops are often dysfunctional
• Gangs deal drugs and murder in drive-by shootings
• The Russian Mafia exists, along with many other mafia/gangs

So...why can't we write about them? I've always believed that we can write about them, that it's all in the presentation. What I haven't figured out is **how** to write those situations so they aren't quite so cliche.

How do you do it? What are your thoughts on the dreaded cliche?

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Grrr...I'm rusty

A great opportunity dropped into my lap a few days ago. The president of another local writer's organization invited me to a workshop with a wonderful editor/writer who has given workshops through my RWA chapter in the past.

The editor will be reviewing the first 15 pages of each student's mansuscript. Only problem is that I've had these first pages reviewed recently by a best-selling author who gave a similar workshop through our RWA chapter last month, and I haven't had time to make the suggested changes.

So, now that 3 of my 5 ultrasound related tests are out of the way (that's a long, ugly story) and I'm a registered sonographer...again...I'm working on the rewrites.

And...it's...PAINFUL. My words stick, my sentence structure is all gummed up and I'm self-editing every other word--all traits that are not typically a problem for me. At least they haven't been in the past.

Do you ever get rusty?

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