2 definitions by Flies
Verb. To put a spin on an old cliche to make it seem more original to your audience. Usually the spin is ridiculous and idiosyncratic, but sometimes it can totally redeem a passage.
The term comes from the old cliche of a spy cutting through the rope (s)he is caught up in with a knife that (s)he finds in her pockets that the guards did not pat down correctly. A writer might put a spin on the old cliche by having the spy vomit up the knife, thus making it at least somewhat original.
The term comes from the old cliche of a spy cutting through the rope (s)he is caught up in with a knife that (s)he finds in her pockets that the guards did not pat down correctly. A writer might put a spin on the old cliche by having the spy vomit up the knife, thus making it at least somewhat original.
Writer: Did Josh finally fix the story?
Writer 2: Yeah, his explanation for why the character killed all of the bounty hunters went from "because they killed his family" to "because they were incredibly intelligent game show hosts on Mars.
Writer: Damn, he really knows how to swallow the knife.
Writer 2: Tell me about it.
Writer 2: Yeah, his explanation for why the character killed all of the bounty hunters went from "because they killed his family" to "because they were incredibly intelligent game show hosts on Mars.
Writer: Damn, he really knows how to swallow the knife.
Writer 2: Tell me about it.
by Flies July 3, 2007
The worst poetry site out there. Many teenage hopefuls come to get some criticism, but then get torn apart like an autistic kid at a MENSA convention. They frequently personally insult the writers themselves in their criticism of the poem. For them, "poetic license" is just an excuse for laziness. Their idea of a cliche is something that was written about once five-hundred years ago in Romania. If you're a sadist, it's perfect. If you want some real literary criticism, stay away from these forty-something balding nerds. If they criticized you, don't worry about it. They hate everyone but themselves. You're probably actually pretty good.
Average criticism:
Standard-issue beginner's self-indulgent, self-immersed prose journal-entry writing loaded with ungrounded and therefore meaningless abstractions and 31 first-person singular pronouns which makes clear that the real subject is you, a subject frankly devoid of interest. Why should anyone care about the interacracies (?/sic) of your naval when they can read someone else's wonderful poetry? Also, why do the lines have little to do with one another? (maybe because it's a DYNAMIC POEM, JACKASS?)
Example:
My poem got bashed at the PFFA, but so did everyone else's.
Standard-issue beginner's self-indulgent, self-immersed prose journal-entry writing loaded with ungrounded and therefore meaningless abstractions and 31 first-person singular pronouns which makes clear that the real subject is you, a subject frankly devoid of interest. Why should anyone care about the interacracies (?/sic) of your naval when they can read someone else's wonderful poetry? Also, why do the lines have little to do with one another? (maybe because it's a DYNAMIC POEM, JACKASS?)
Example:
My poem got bashed at the PFFA, but so did everyone else's.
by Flies June 5, 2007