Cliches

StoryMill appears to have a cliche highlighter along with a word frequency counter. I would find these very useful in Scrivener to avoid cliches and repetition of words. Would that be a big job?

I’m not sure I’d use a cliché highlighter (being quite fond of some cliches, which often have the overwhelming saving grace of being both true and economical - blame a journalistic training :confused: ), but for word frequency, change the focus in the Binder to a text document and select View > Statistics > Text Statistics > the little triangle by Word Frequency.

H

Truth be told, such a feature would take about as long as a piece of string by anyone’s yardstick, honest as day.

:slight_smile:

Me to a student once: You need to stop using so many clichés.
Student to me: Could you show me a few?
Moral: If you can’t recognize a cliché, you’re in trouble as a writer.

However, many cliché-list sites exist on the web.
Go to Google and enter “list of clichés”
Bingo, a very long list of hits appears.
google.com/search?client=saf … 8&oe=UTF-8

Try those out and put the best ones as URLs in your Research folder.
Then you have a built-in cliché detector, at no cost to Keith.
You may also add dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference sources
For a built-in BS detector, send a PM to our resident guru, Vic :mrgreen:

The only thing wrong with using clichés, is: an awful lot of people tell us we shouldn`t use clichés. If the cap fits…wear it!

WOSSATT!! :confused:

That’s a detective with a Bachelor of Science degree.

No, wait, it’s “detector,” not “detective.”

I know, it’s a Board Sertified detector.

No, that doesn’t look right either.

With the recent financial crisis in mind, it could be a federal investigator. You know, a Bear Stearns detector.

Not likely, huh?

How about Big, Strapping detector, who might be the hero of a Danielle Steele book.

No, she’d have called him a Big Strapping Delector.

Still, big strapping might show up in an SM movie.

I dunno, Vic. Running out of ideas.

Phil

Mister filip
I fink wot `e meens, is a rood werd: BULL [size=50]SHIT[/size] DETECTOR
or cud be Bisar Seks

Now I ave t fink, wot issa SM movie?
rat

Q/

A/
старый меньшевик
Doctor Zhivago, for instance.

Bonus datum
Old routine from the Smothers Brothers:
TOM: I hear they have this really fantastic ballet company in Moscow,
DICK: Bolshoi.
TOM: No, really.

ps

That comrade, ees a MS movie, Old Men Sevik
vee dont do [i]'kinky'[/i], in Mother Russia. And vee dont do old jokes!! :open_mouth:

Позаботьтесь товарищ

A quick note to the op, Mikethebook: I seem to have set the tone of the replies to this thread, I do apologise. :slight_smile: So I’ll give a more serious answer as I didn’t intend to make fun of the suggestions, I just couldn’t resist replying in clichés…

As Hugh pointed out, there is a word frequency indicator available for individual documents (and also available in Edit Scrivenings mode), which can be accessed via the Statistics > Text Statistics menu item.

I’m not a big fan of writing aids that do things such as highlight clichés, I’m afraid (not to disparage StoryMill, which is a wonderful product; it’s just my personal opinion on this one small feature that until now I didn’t even know StoryMill had). I tend to think that the use of clichés or avoidance of them is down to the style of the writer, and that’s something that software shouldn’t be touching. Like I say, that is just my personal opinion, and I completely understand that others may have a different take on it, but that is at least why I won’t be incorporating this feature into Scrivener.

Thanks and all the best,
Keith

Dus vat meen vat its yoor folt, Cap`n Keef? Will you bee warkin the plank :open_mouth:
rat