Most writers avoid common metaphors and cliché sayings. But new research shows that spicing up a sentence with metaphorical language creates richer meaning and greater engagement.

Metaphor: A metaphor is language used to describe ... and is used to express that you share an opinion with someone. A cliche can be an idiom, but an idiom is not always a cliche.

Which, of course, is itself a cliché. Clichés are bad because they’re tired, overdone, unoriginal, dull, and mindless. They make you seem like everybody else, not like an individual with an ...

As a runner, I like to see running metaphors in stuff I read. As a writer, though, I wince when that metaphor is the most obvious -- and overused -- one. Basically, you see it everywhere.