Stale turns of phrases

>"the words of an individual, blah blah". Said Xer in an grumpy manner.
OH REALLY, COULDN'T YOU TELL ME HE SAID IT IN A GRUMPY MANNER BEFORE HE SAYS IT.
GOD DAMN
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO READ THIS OUT LOUD
WHY DO PEOPLE BEGIN WITH THE QUOTE THEN SAY WHO AND HOW?

>>9936867
There should be a level DH7, where, instead of refuting, you show that the other's conclusion actually feeds back into your premises, or that your argument somehow comprehends the other's.

Anyway:
>stretched his legs

>>9936894
elaborate

>>9936867
>darkness covered his eyes

>>9936894
Gotta love shit like that.
I mean what does "stretching your legs" even involve. I can think of many ways to stretch a leg.

They'd probably be better off saying something like: "he got up and slowly extended each leg to his side".

>knit his brow
What the fuck does this even look like? Like with needles and shit? Why do people do this so often in books?

>>9937036
fucking homer again with this bullshit

>She folded her arms across her breasts

As opposed to what? Her ankles? Double shit points for pairing an adjective of any sort with breasts like pert or ample

>>9937303
George Martin does this exact kind of thing, I don't know about that sentence exactly but over describing breasts in general.

>*Character* blinked
I don't know why but it bothers me when a full sentence is just them blinking.

>>9936867
People do this all the time in real life, though. The actual words used are irrelevant because it's just an utterance of frustration or anger, stifled somewhat by self-control.
>>9936886
This can be a problem in some circumstances but books aren't poetry and authors have no obligation to make them easy for you to read aloud.
>>9936894
If this is supposed to be a metaphor for going for a walk, I agree it's dumb. If someone literally stretches his or her legs out, I see no problem with just saying so.
>>9937192
>I'm too lazy to Google an actual expression that has a specific meaning and is even in Merriam-Webster's dictionary and others.
>>9937303
You can fold your arms lower, across your stomach, if you bend your back even slightly. I've seen "he folded his arms across his chest" before too so it's not a sex thing. In conjunction with the adjectives bit, I'm wondering if just seeing the word "breast" in a book makes you uncomfortable. It'd be weird to dwell on but still.
>>9937324
I think I remember a friend mentioning GRRM spent a couple of consecutive sentences describing Daenerys' vulva. That's pretty weird, I admit, especially when she's supposed to be like fifteen and he was in his 40s when the first book came out.

>>9937324
I can't wait for market fiction to begin using emoticons for shit like blinking, grimacing, glowering, etc

>>9937342
It probably won't due to the printing process. It can be done but it's a lot more expensive.

>>9937332
I love tits.. it has nothing to do with bad writing.

>She leaned back into her seat and folded her arms..

No need to mention breasts or stomach. You can fill in the blanks.

>>9936867
>eyes flashed
>grinned
>said grimly, sharply, angrily, etc...
Try reading The Name of the Wind as far as you can last, literally writes entirely in bad cliches.

>>9936894
Spoken like a true Hegelian.
>even if you disagree with me, you are still proving my point

>>9937332
>a couple of consecutive sentences describing Daenerys' vulva. That's pretty weird, I admit, especially when she's supposed to be like fifteen
T-text? I want t-to see how b-badly written it is...

>"Bla bla bla bla," he said.

Fuck off. I can TELL that he said that shit. This doesn't apply to sentences where the author adds more context like "he said as he walked over and..." or the sentences that specify the character talking like "Brian said." But when it's just "he said." as a sentence, it gets really annoying.

>>9937332
>>9937373
I'm interested in that description as well.

>>9937324
>Character hales

>>9937332
>People do this all the time in real life, though

That's not the point. The phrase is overused and betrays a lack of care or creativity. It is used frequently in YA and erotica.

One time I went on Literotica just to see what was up. Every second story had this exact phrase and it got old really fast.

It's also overused in the sense that while people may do it, the sheer frequency that writers insert it into the text is abnormal.

>>9937479
>(((One))) time I went on literotica just to see what was up
Yeah alright
>pretty much all similes in average prose

>>9936867

"His mind reeled."

>>9936867
>it all happened so fast