--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Touching on universality is an important…" description: "\"Touching on universality is an important part of effective storytelling, but the problem with cliches is that they are tired and dull. And that's where..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/miguel-syjuco-8046_cliches_touching-on-universality-is-an-important_787828.png" --- # Touching on universality is an important part of effective… ![“Touching on universality is an important part of effective storytelling, but the problem with cliches is that they are tired and dull. And that's where writers must try to be artful.” quote by Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/miguel-syjuco-8046_cliches_touching-on-universality-is-an-important_787828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/miguel-syjuco-8046_cliches_touching-on-universality-is-an-important_787828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/miguel-syjuco-8046_cliches_touching-on-universality-is-an-important_787828.png) > “Touching on universality is an important part of effective storytelling, but the problem with cliches is that they are tired and dull. And that's where writers must try to be artful.” [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Universal themes help stories connect, but overused clichés make narratives feel stale; writers must seek fresh, artistic expression. **In simple terms:** Universal ideas are good, but avoid tired clichés. Key Takeaway Strive for originality while keeping universal appeal. Themes writing creativity storytelling Mood thoughtful inspired Type creative educational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - public speaking Key Concepts cliché avoidance originality artful expression Questions to Reflect On - What fresh angle can you bring to a common theme? - How do you balance universality with novelty? A Different Perspective Originality can be hard to achieve under market pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cliches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliches/) [Cliches Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliches-tired-6056856/) [Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) [Effective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effective/) [Effective Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effective-storytelling-5513697/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Must](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/must/) [Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/part/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Clichés](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-clich-s-3876645/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [The problem with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-problem-with/) [Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tired/) [Touching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touching/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-try-2051678/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The problem with clichés is not that they contain false ideas, but rather that they are superficial articulations of very good ones...If...we are obliged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-problem-with-clich-s-is-not-that-they-contain-false-ideas-but/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Effective storytelling is the key to getting users to understand and adopt your product as well as imperative to recruiting team members and future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/effective-storytelling-is-the-key-to-getting-users-to-understand-and/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [Never try to copy other writers, and never try to have a formula. It has to come from your heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/never-try-to-copy-other-writers-and-never-try-to-have-a-formula-it/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [We have to think bigger as writers. We have to try and change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-kramer/we-have-to-think-bigger-as-writers-we-have-to-try-and-change-the-world/) [Larry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-kramer/) > [I think that writers often try too hard in the name of expression, when often it's just a matter of reframing what's around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/i-think-that-writers-often-try-too-hard-in-the-name-of-expression/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [It's important for all writers to try to figure out what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/it-s-important-for-all-writers-to-try-to-figure-out-what-they-re-doing/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [I like to encourage young talented writers to try and help them get published and so forth, but that's all. That's the best I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-hijuelos/i-like-to-encourage-young-talented-writers-to-try-and-help-them-get/) [Oscar Hijuelos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-hijuelos/) > [Everyone has his own particular talent, niche and interests. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't try new genres or styles or explore forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-alexander/everyone-has-his-own-particular-talent-niche-and-interests-which-isn/) [Kevin Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-alexander/) > [There are other writers who try for subtle and minimalists effects, but I don't travel in that tribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/there-are-other-writers-who-try-for-subtle-and-minimalists-effects/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Bad writers are those who try to express their own feeble ideas in the language of good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/bad-writers-are-those-who-try-to-express-their-own-feeble-ideas-in/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“Writers, we can't please everyone, nor should we try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-e-fisher/writers-we-can-t-please-everyone-nor-should-we-try/) [R.E. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-e-fisher/) > [Natural writers will often try to force themselves into a form - novel, story, screenplay, or poem - that is not necessarily the appropriate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-olen-butler/natural-writers-will-often-try-to-force-themselves-into-a-form-novel/) [Robert Olen Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-olen-butler/) > [“Cliches remind and reassure us that we're not alone, that other have trod this ground long ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/cliches-remind-and-reassure-us-that-we-re-not-alone-that-other-have/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [It's counterproductive. The problem with sentimentality is that it kills the emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-dardenne/it-s-counterproductive-the-problem-with-sentimentality-is-that-it/) [Jean-Pierre Dardenne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-dardenne/) > [I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-douglas/i-have-my-meals-delivered-you-know-what-i-like-chicken-and-rice-but/) [Hugh Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-douglas/) ## More by Miguel Syjuco > [“Here, need blurs the line between good and bad, and a constant promise of random violence sticks like humidity down your back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/here-need-blurs-the-line-between-good-and-bad-and-a-constant-promise/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“He fidgets. Thinks. Observes his fellow passengers. Judges everyone, in the traditional Filipino sport of justifying both personal and shared insecurities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/he-fidgets-thinks-observes-his-fellow-passengers-judges-everyone-in/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [When I was young, I spent my days and nights trying to impress future generations. I spent them. They're gone. All because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/when-i-was-young-i-spent-my-days-and-nights-trying-to-impress-future/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [You can’t bring an unwritten place to life without losing something substantial. Manila is the cradle, the graveyard, the memory. The Mecca, the Cathedral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/you-can-t-bring-an-unwritten-place-to-life-without-losing-something/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“Let me welcome you to my first country, my Third World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/let-me-welcome-you-to-my-first-country-my-third-world/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“A man's life is all he has. When you're old, it's all you'll ever have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/a-man-s-life-is-all-he-has-when-you-re-old-it-s-all-you-ll-ever-have/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“The little things, you know, eventually become everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/the-little-things-you-know-eventually-become-everything/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“A father must take credit for his child, but never a child for his father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/a-father-must-take-credit-for-his-child-but-never-a-child-for-his/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [I surprise myself that I'm not dead in the gutter somewhere, surprised that I haven't given up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/i-surprise-myself-that-i-m-not-dead-in-the-gutter-somewhere-surprised/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“We liked to believe there is an alternate world, a better world, populated entirely by characters created by the yearnings of humanity--governing and inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/we-liked-to-believe-there-is-an-alternate-world-a-better-world/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [I have to believe that literature can effect change; otherwise, I would have no purpose in my life and would have wasted four years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/i-have-to-believe-that-literature-can-effect-change-otherwise-i-would/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [I don't see myself as any different from all the other Filipinos who have gone abroad looking for opportunity, to be a nurse, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/i-don-t-see-myself-as-any-different-from-all-the-other-filipinos-who/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [Clichés remind and reassure us that we're not alone, that others have trod this ground long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/clich-s-remind-and-reassure-us-that-we-re-not-alone-that-others-have/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [We referenced fictional characters as if they were people to learn from. As if real-life people were too nebulous, too private and unreal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/we-referenced-fictional-characters-as-if-they-were-people-to-learn/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“There are only three truths. That which can be known. That which can never be known. The third, which concerns the writer alone, truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/there-are-only-three-truths-that-which-can-be-known-that-which-can/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) [Explore all 85 Miguel Syjuco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) ## More Cliches quotes > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-twohy/there-are-trappings-of-science-fiction-which-i-kind-of-embrace-but/) [David Twohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-twohy/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-think-the-french-have-a-romantic-cliche-that-englishmen-have-great/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When academics claim a topic is obsolete, they mean merely they are tired of flogging it with their cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/when-academics-claim-a-topic-is-obsolete-they-mean-merely-they-are/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I'm sick of the old cliches. Bring me some new cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn-jr/i-m-sick-of-the-old-cliches-bring-me-some-new-cliches/) [Samuel Goldwyn, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn-jr/) > [Every cliche is true, right? That's why they're cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-di-piero/every-cliche-is-true-right-that-s-why-they-re-cliches/) [W. S. Di Piero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-di-piero/) > [“I understand why sometimes people speak in cliches because sometimes there is no other way to describe something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-understand-why-sometimes-people-speak-in-cliches-because-sometimes/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [They're all true - the cliches like 'one day at time' and 'ups and downs.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-elverum/they-re-all-true-the-cliches-like-one-day-at-time-and-ups-and-downs/) [Phil Elverum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-elverum/) > [Instinct is still important, but now I can easily identify problems like cliches and mixed metaphors, and I have a broader palette to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/instinct-is-still-important-but-now-i-can-easily-identify-problems/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [I just like cliches. I like tvtropes.com. It's pretty much my bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/i-just-like-cliches-i-like-tvtropes-com-it-s-pretty-much-my-bible/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [Desi, Desi, Desi what am I going to do with you? (Kyrian) Don't you dare take that flippant tone with me! (Desiderius) Why ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/desi-desi-desi-what-am-i-going-to-do-with-you-kyrian-don-t-you-dare/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“That night she wrote a hasty sketch and showed it to Oliver. "It's all right," he said. "But I'd take out that stuff about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/that-night-she-wrote-a-hasty-sketch-and-showed-it-to-oliver-it-s-all/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Browse all 175 Cliches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliches/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Touching on universality is an important part of effective storytelling, but the problem with cliches is that they are tired and dull. 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