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hello i write and i'm a mess. so that's why i'm asking for some help. i'd like to improve my work, so i want to know; what's a way to avoid cliches and to what are some things that define a cliche? thanks!

A mod will probably move this to the Writing Workshop just fyi, but as for the question itself, honestly I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Although I guess it would be useful to know if you're talking more about plot or style? Cliched plots never actually hurt anyone, any plot that sticks to the rules for plots--setting/characters/conflict/rising action/resolution--can be good and engaging as long as the writing is solid. Style meanwhile is something that you'll just develop organically on your own with time and practice, although there's certain things you want to avoid. (overuse of adjectives and -ly adverbs, passive language, certain cliched ways of describing things, etc.)

Really it may be unpopular to say this but writing, like drawing is one of those things where it can be most useful getting a solid foundation in the basics before you try and mix things up too much. Too many people try to be 'artistic' or half-assedly emulate a style they like, or mistake pillaging a thesaurus for creativity without getting a handle on the more basic elements of storytelling first.

They are called a cliche for a reason: because they work. Do you know how many different tellings and versions there are of Romeo and Juliet? Some are completely identical, but most of them work. Why? Because people know the story and are comfortable with the story. People like things that they know. If you were to only to write things that are completely new, that people have never seen before, they won't know it and likely won't understand it. So just write, write, and write some more! And if your story is similar to another, that's perfectly okay.