Comments on: How long should your story be? http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2010/03/how-long-should-your-story-be/ Before & After's creative director John McWade's conversations with subscribers Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:24:36 -0600 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Anne Anderson http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2010/03/how-long-should-your-story-be/comment-page-1/#comment-2746 Anne Anderson Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:44:24 +0000 http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/?p=3409#comment-2746 Sarah hits the nail on the head here. It's not that people don't read, it's that people don't read boring stuff. There's a formula <em>and</em> an art to writing engaging material. And sometimes more is too much. I've had clients who've panicked believing that if they don't swamp the reader with details and flowery prose the reader won't be able to tell what a great event/cause/idea they have -- event announcement postcards with way too much detail, articles that are full of high-flown corporate-speak and nearly content-free as a result. Sarah hits the nail on the head here. It’s not that people don’t read, it’s that people don’t read boring stuff. There’s a formula and an art to writing engaging material. And sometimes more is too much. I’ve had clients who’ve panicked believing that if they don’t swamp the reader with details and flowery prose the reader won’t be able to tell what a great event/cause/idea they have — event announcement postcards with way too much detail, articles that are full of high-flown corporate-speak and nearly content-free as a result.

]]> By: Sarah http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2010/03/how-long-should-your-story-be/comment-page-1/#comment-2695 Sarah Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:06:39 +0000 http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/?p=3409#comment-2695 I agree. It really is about how meaningful and applicable the content is to me, the reader. If it's meaningful, I'll read three pages. I lead a blog for executives of our company. They write articles that they care about, but the "meat" is buried in there . . . somewhere. My job has been to pull the gems from their writing and dust them off so that readers can actually appreciate them. So yeah, it’s not so much about being short or brief, but making it clear, engaging, and easy to read. Concise, not academic. Keeping the audience in mind. I agree. It really is about how meaningful and applicable the content is to me, the reader. If it’s meaningful, I’ll read three pages.

I lead a blog for executives of our company. They write articles that they care about, but the “meat” is buried in there . . . somewhere. My job has been to pull the gems from their writing and dust them off so that readers can actually appreciate them. So yeah, it’s not so much about being short or brief, but making it clear, engaging, and easy to read. Concise, not academic. Keeping the audience in mind.

]]> By: Don Cheke http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2010/03/how-long-should-your-story-be/comment-page-1/#comment-2684 Don Cheke Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:33:18 +0000 http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/?p=3409#comment-2684 Very well said! There are often times I have come across web sites where I wish wholeheartedly for much more information -- usually artistic web sites where I want to know more about the person behind the creations. Although I have been known to contact the artist(s) to inquire, this doesn't always seem appropriate. Very well said!

There are often times I have come across web sites where I wish wholeheartedly for much more information — usually artistic web sites where I want to know more about the person behind the creations.

Although I have been known to contact the artist(s) to inquire, this doesn’t always seem appropriate.

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