Freshen Up Old Cliches

What is the worst thing about cliches? Is it the way they take up space while diminishing meaning? Their rhythmic patter as several cliches rain down on the reader in quick succession? The lazy writing they promote?

No. The most annoying tendency of cliches is that sometimes a cliche is the most accurate description--but no one will know it.

What if something actually is the exact icy gray-white color of freshly fallen snow? But "white as snow" is a cliche, so you shouldn't use it. And even if you break the rule and stick it in there, "white as snow" has been overused so much that the reader won't see snow in their mind, they'll just hear the word "white" and miss the beautiful nuances.

So how do you say, "white as snow" without saying "white as snow"?

Method One is to put a twist on it. This could be achieved by adding descriptors: "White as freshly fallen snow" might be slightly better than the plain ol' cliche.

Or you could make the descriptors oddly specific: "White as the light dusting of snow on the doe's back as she leaps over the barbed-wire fence." This takes up a lot of space and could add a comedic tone to the work, however.

Or you could get creative: Keep the snow analogy but take out the comparison word--basically what I did above: "the exact icy gray-white color of freshly fallen snow."

Method Two: Whenever I'm tempted to fall back on a cliche, I stop myself and open another document. There has to be another way to say, "black as midnight" or "pitch-black," and I am officially on a quest to find it.

First, I write down the cliche: "White as snow." Then I start thinking of alternatives. Get crazy. Maybe you won't find an alternative on your first try, but it's worth a shot. I usually save the little lists I make. Here's the progression for "white as snow":

White as snow, white as a marshmallow, white as a sheet of paper, white as birch bark, white as fog, white as a lily.

Did I end up using any of these? I honestly can't remember. "White as a sheet of paper" has prob'ly cropped up in my writing a couple of times. "White as birch bark" sounds pretty, but I don't think I've used it yet. (If you have a purpose for it, feel free to take it.)

Don't get bogged down by cliches. Freshen them up with new words.