{"id":867,"date":"2013-10-07T15:20:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T02:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=867"},"modified":"2013-10-07T15:20:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T02:20:39","slug":"the-plural-of-cliche-is-not-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=867","title":{"rendered":"The plural of clich\u00e9 is not communication"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=866\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-866\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-866\" alt=\"BananaSkin\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/BananaSkin-300x286.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/BananaSkin-300x286.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/BananaSkin.jpg 419w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again: good writing can be hard work.<\/p>\n<p>Good writing requires effort and it requires commitment.\u00a0 Good writers think about each and every word that they write.\u00a0 They think about whether or not each word will say what they want it to say.\u00a0 And, even after they are satisfied that it will, they still wonder if there is perhaps a better word; not a more important word, not a grander word, but a word that will communicate better with their reader.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, lazy writers \u2013 and many writers in a hurry \u2013 often try to get away with stringing together a succession of hackneyed clich\u00e9s.\u00a0 The result is usually word count without meaning.<\/p>\n<p>Rich-listers attempt to ride roughshod over the wishes of concerned residents.\u00a0 Politicians are forced to make humiliating U-turns.\u00a0 And marauding gangs of disaffected youths go on booze-fuelled crime sprees.<\/p>\n<p>In a harbinger of things to come, communities slam government plans and express their frustration with an outpouring of support (or maybe grief).\u00a0 And then, in a last-ditch attempt to pull off a stunning upset and avert the potentially-fatal wholesale destruction of the pristine environment, a source close to the group\u2019s leadership calls for a citizen referendum.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t get me started on the much-loved mother of 12 losing her battle with cancer.<\/p>\n<p>If you have something to say \u2013 preferably something that is worth saying \u2013 think about it carefully.\u00a0 And think, too, about your reader.\u00a0 And then write what you have to say as clearly, as concisely, and as freshly as you can.<\/p>\n<p>There must have been a time when wholesale destruction conjured up an image that meant something, but that time has long passed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again: good writing can be hard work. Good writing requires effort and it requires commitment.\u00a0 Good writers think about each and every word that they write.\u00a0 They think about whether or not &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=867\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,6,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}