If I ever write "tears were streaming down my face" can someone please come over and slap me.

I'm writing this because I saw that someone had taken their 'tear streaming' line and turned it into an image to post on their twitter. So, I mean, it's not so bad to sometimes use these simple cliches, but I don't think that is a keystone moment for your book.

Ok, ok. There are 83 books on my "read in 2018" list. And, let's face it, plenty of them are 'sizzling' romance novels. I'm not going to lie. I  L.O.V.E  them. But if you read (listen) pretty much constantly to stories, there are some things which as so common that they lose all impact. At least for me. Maybe this wouldn't be the case if I didn't read this a couple of times a week.

'Streaming tears' is up there with 'cold as ice' and 'hard as a rock.'

For me, doing figurative language is about evoking emotion. I try to describe what is happening in a way that couldn't be described in any other place and time. Something like this:

"The salt wind rushing from the ocean chilled my tears. It felt like ice was cutting lines down my face."

I want the reader to think; to engage their brain to picture what's happening. Cliche sometimes just feels like telling to me.

Am I being too judgmental? Is my figurative language too much? What doozies have you seen lately?


PS I'm over 20,000 for the month doing NaNoWriMo.  Look, some novels couldn't come out this way. But this one can, mostly. Except for one part which I'll outline and then check my research later.

NaNoWriMo Mania

It's something to bash out a bunch of un-edited words. Normally my process involves writing it, reading it over. Re-writing it. Listening to the text-to-speech version of it. Editing it again. And then reading it over finally after a day or two. Rinse, repeat for each section. 
That process means that I normally get about one thousand words on a good day.
The NaNoWriMo month is an interesting way to write for me. I have unfixed typographical errors and I'm learning to see those red squiggly underlines and (pause for effect) leave them there.

I know right? Bats!

But the best thing about this process is that I have this many words in my second book the prequel.

My normal process would never have gotten me there. And if it's possible to write the first draft of a novel in a month that I'm working, then I reckon that bodes quite well for the future of me as a writer.

Sure it took 10 years for the first one. If the second one emerges after just 1 year, then I'll be ok.

I am still getting feedback from the first one and after this process, I'll go back through and give my first attempt another zhuzh before I go and actually contact an agent.

Oh I also made a mock Title Page.