It’s time to edit and revise the collection of words that is the first draft of my current work-in-progress. That is to say, Take My Hand, the third book in the Trust No One series is starting to take shape.
The first draft was a hard-won victory. Now the real work begins. Editing is hard work. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Said tags, passive phrasing, unlikely scenarios, commas, commas, commas! Yikes! And all the time keeping an eye out for those dreaded clichés.
Today, I mercilessly cut and removed the phrase “time of day”. Used in the negative, usually refers to not giving the time of day.
Not giving the time of day—to ignore someone or something, refuse to pay the slightest attention. This phrase was first recorded in 1864 and alludes to refusing to answer the question: What time is it?
Well, that wasn’t much of a stretch, was it? Lol!
Rest assured, my character found another way of saying she wouldn’t give the time of day. Mind you, she replaced it with three other clichés before coming up with something all her own. Apparently, taking away these time-honored phrases is like killing my babies. Who knew? I will muddle through, though, and be stronger for it…maybe.
What’s your favorite cliché?
