A Quote by Geoff Dyer

Beware of clichés. Not just the clichés that Martin Amis is at war with. There are clichés of response as well as expression. There are clichés of observation and of thought - even of conception. Many novels, even quite a few adequately written ones, are clichés of form which conform to clichés of expectation.

Geoff Dyer

Quote Topics

Beware Conception Conform Even Expectation Expression Few Form Just Many Martin Novels Observation Quite Response Thought War Well Which Written

Quote Author

Geoff Dyer
English - Writer
Born: June 5, 1958

To idealize: all writing is a campaign against cliché. Not just clichés of the pen but clichés of the mind and clichés of the heart.

Martin Amis

Two cliches make us laugh. A hundred cliches move us. For we sense dimly that the cliches are talking among themselves, and celebrating a reunion.

Umberto Eco

Clichés can be quite fun. That's how they got to be clichés.

Alan Bennett

I'm not a guy who likes cliches. I don't think that stereotypes and cliches are the end of the line, when it comes to a performance.

Chris Bauer

Clichés are what good writing is all about. Because our lives are basically clichés.

Sylvester Stallone

The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.

Terry Pratchett

There are no worse cliches than southern cliches. They make my skin crawl.

Mary Steenburgen

When told a script was full of old cliches: Let's have some new cliches.

Samuel Goldwyn

I'm sick of the old cliches. Bring me some new cliches.

Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.

In every election in American history both parties have their cliches. The party that has the cliches that ring true wins.

Newt Gingrich

When you're a writer, you want to try to avoid cliches. Unfortunately, when you're writing about marriage or family, all cliches seem to apply.

Dan Savage

Morals always sound like cliches, but usually cliches are based on things that are ultimate truths. Be grateful for what you have; appreciate what's right there in front of you.

Henry Selick

I've never understood why artists, who so often condescend to the cliches of their own culture, are so eager to embrace the cliches of cultures they know nothing about.

Brad Holland

In 'Windtalkers,' the director John Woo is meticulous in melding his own intimate style into the cliches of a large-scale war movie, paying homage to all the tired conventions of the genre. But it's an honor that these cliches don't deserve.