Life’s a cliché - 19th April 2012
And this post’s title is one.
I have been thinking about clichés and whether they add value or just suggest creative laziness from the author (i.e. me). Some think that clichés should be eradicated but I have found them to be useful or humorous when making a point. From my simple perspective, if a cliché helps a reader make a connection with the copy, or just makes a point better than my alternative copy, then I’d use one.
I have received some feedback from an individual, whose viewpoint I value, that my written work would be significantly enhanced by avoiding clichés (the observation being that I use too many of them). Now this individual is classically trained and views clichés in the same way I would view spelling or grammatical errors (i.e. not acceptable). His view is also that Anglo Saxon inspired language trumps the Latin inspired alternative – I use both interchangeably and often in the same paragraphs.
The fact is that the amount of feedback I get as a result of my written efforts is minimal – just try and find some blog entry feedback. This means that I have little idea whether my readers find my copy engaging or embarrassing. Friends and family congratulate me on my posts but then they are hardly likely to say that the stuff “sucks”. I monitor the web site statistics and they prove that visitors spend enough time on the pages to be reading the material (and that they come back for more) but that doesn’t help me improve the copy.
So, are you prepared to help?
My questions are:
Do you find my written work engaging (even if you disagree with my perspectives)?
What qualitative feedback would you share with me right now?
Would you be prepared to complete a Survey Monkey questionnaire if I created one?
Three simple questions at this point. To have your say, you can use the contact me form.
Should I wait on tenterhooks (another cliché) for an avalanche of feedback (yet another cliché) or will this post just have wasted some creative energy?
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I have been thinking about clichés and whether they add value or just suggest creative laziness from the author (i.e. me). Some think that clichés should be eradicated but I have found them to be useful or humorous when making a point. From my simple perspective, if a cliché helps a reader make a connection with the copy, or just makes a point better than my alternative copy, then I’d use one.
I have received some feedback from an individual, whose viewpoint I value, that my written work would be significantly enhanced by avoiding clichés (the observation being that I use too many of them). Now this individual is classically trained and views clichés in the same way I would view spelling or grammatical errors (i.e. not acceptable). His view is also that Anglo Saxon inspired language trumps the Latin inspired alternative – I use both interchangeably and often in the same paragraphs.
The fact is that the amount of feedback I get as a result of my written efforts is minimal – just try and find some blog entry feedback. This means that I have little idea whether my readers find my copy engaging or embarrassing. Friends and family congratulate me on my posts but then they are hardly likely to say that the stuff “sucks”. I monitor the web site statistics and they prove that visitors spend enough time on the pages to be reading the material (and that they come back for more) but that doesn’t help me improve the copy.
So, are you prepared to help?
My questions are:
Do you find my written work engaging (even if you disagree with my perspectives)?
What qualitative feedback would you share with me right now?
Would you be prepared to complete a Survey Monkey questionnaire if I created one?
Three simple questions at this point. To have your say, you can use the contact me form.
Should I wait on tenterhooks (another cliché) for an avalanche of feedback (yet another cliché) or will this post just have wasted some creative energy?
Return to Observations Home
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