Comments on: Web-writing tip: Rewrite paragraph intros to add value for skimming readers.

By: Adrienne

Adrienne — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:17:11 +0000

Bleh.
If you can say everything in five words, then you shouldn’t write the article.

“A story is a way to say something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is.”

Apparently I read online material for the story.

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:21:09 +0000

Lowell’s mention of reading “in-depth” and Richard’s preference for bullet points may seem contradictory — but they shouldn’t!

If our society regained the ability to read and analyze a _single sentence_, then you could rewrite the majority of today’s popular non-fiction books as one carefully-constructed bullet point per chapter.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:29:42 +0000

Oh, shucks! It’s Downhill Both Ways, isn’t it? Sorry!

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:28:11 +0000

Bullet points are the key. I “read” 40-60 blogs a day. Needless to say I skim a lot. So I look for bullet points. I LOVE bullet points!

BTW, two blogs that I really read: 22 Words (for obvious reasons) and Uphill Both Ways (because the writing is so darn good!). Just sayin’ :-)

By: Paul Wilkinson

Paul Wilkinson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:04:48 +0000

I’d already scheduled tomorrow’s post (Thursday, Mar 18) when I read this, but I’m trying an experiment with sidebars or more accurately, text boxes.

I have a guy doing a guest post for me and since that gave me some extra time, I started thinking about how I could draw readers into his article, since there was no obvious photograph or graphic.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Nothing closeted about me. The Onion rules.

By: Steffi

Steffi — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:48:26 +0000

It’s emerge.

(Hello, my name is Steffi, and I am a compulsive know-it-all. Sorry about that.)

By: Lowell Stoltzfus

Lowell Stoltzfus — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:46:48 +0000

Ha. Another closet Onion fan emmerges into the open.
(or is that immerge?)

By: Dianne

Dianne — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:39:50 +0000

“Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text”

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nation_shudders_at_large_block_of

By: Lowell

Lowell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:18:51 +0000

I agree.

It does raise all sorts of philosophical questions…

1. In the age of the internet, do we actually have more to read than before?

2. Do we only “skim” read now, and no-one knows how to read “in depth” anymore?

3. Is there so much pressure to “produce” writing on a daily basis (or more), that we lack the ability to write thoughtful writing?

Long Live the Classical Education!

Lowell