If you grew up in the church, you know that there are certain turns of phrase that get popular and spread and never go away.
There's nothing wrong with that; nothing bad about it.
But the words do lose a lot of meaning and potency after a while, and the writer in me cringes b/c a lot of phrases just feel cliche when I hear them now. Overused.
So sometimes, in my head, I rephrase things for that person while they keep speaking, as if I were writing their dialogue instead of listening to it.
Writing realistic dialogue has always been one of my strengths, even when I was starting out. Vary the structure, keep it flowing but to the point, and never reuse memorable words or phrases. If I use the word saccharine, I can't use it again for at least four chapters, because it is a word that stands out. And another character can't use it as if it's an original turn of phrase. They have to use another word or reference that they got it from the first person who used it.
I can't decide if repetitive phrasing annoys me more as a person or as a writer. I THINK that my feelings about it are something that have always been part of me and have informed my writing.
Anyway, that's a long-winded way to say nothing. :D Not a rant, just a factoid. Every now and then, I cringe because of phrases I've heard way too much in the past. The end.
