Comments on: Can You Run Out Of Words? http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/ Something to Think About Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:52:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ricardo http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/comment-page-1/#comment-2653 Ricardo Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:00:08 +0000 http://qmusings.com/blog/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/#comment-2653 The 5th grade level rule is indeed used for magazines and newspapers and while it sounds like a dumbing down of things it's really to allow for quick digestion since they now have to with so many other different types of mediums to get news. So they have to be quick and easy. The white space you speak of is also true. It creates the visual that things are open and it's not as punishing on the eyes. It flows much smoother as you read it. That's a rule that I was taught to follow when I work on my screenplays. And then of course there are always guys DigitalRich that can get away with writing big chunks of words because they have an excellent delivery. It's all in finding the right balance and developing your sense of style. When you do that the rest seems to fall into place rather nicely. The 5th grade level rule is indeed used for magazines and newspapers and while it sounds like a dumbing down of things it’s really to allow for quick digestion since they now have to with so many other different types of mediums to get news. So they have to be quick and easy. The white space you speak of is also true. It creates the visual that things are open and it’s not as punishing on the eyes. It flows much smoother as you read it. That’s a rule that I was taught to follow when I work on my screenplays. And then of course there are always guys DigitalRich that can get away with writing big chunks of words because they have an excellent delivery. It’s all in finding the right balance and developing your sense of style. When you do that the rest seems to fall into place rather nicely.

]]> By: MsQ http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/comment-page-1/#comment-2627 MsQ Sun, 08 Apr 2007 01:10:59 +0000 http://qmusings.com/blog/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/#comment-2627 <strong>Digital Rich: </strong>Just make sure to save a few words for your family! <strong>Ricardo:</strong> I'd never heard of that before - writing at the 5th grade level? Is that just for magazines and newspapers? I can see how that advice would hold true for the news and for something like celebrity magazines. When I first started blogging, I automatically began writing in a different style: I began to write in the style *I* would find easier to read. When it comes to reading articles online, I found I didn't like big chunks of words. Too difficult to digest! So I began to write 2-3 sentence paragraphs to give the readers a break. I later read how "lot of white space" makes for more readability. It's all a fine line and very subjective. I read blogs (like Digital Rich who just left a comment) and he is an excellent storyteller. I have no problem with his Big Chunks Of Words! Digital Rich: Just make sure to save a few words for your family!

Ricardo: I’d never heard of that before – writing at the 5th grade level? Is that just for magazines and newspapers? I can see how that advice would hold true for the news and for something like celebrity magazines.

When I first started blogging, I automatically began writing in a different style: I began to write in the style *I* would find easier to read. When it comes to reading articles online, I found I didn’t like big chunks of words. Too difficult to digest! So I began to write 2-3 sentence paragraphs to give the readers a break. I later read how “lot of white space” makes for more readability.

It’s all a fine line and very subjective. I read blogs (like Digital Rich who just left a comment) and he is an excellent storyteller. I have no problem with his Big Chunks Of Words!

]]> By: Ricardo http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/comment-page-1/#comment-2601 Ricardo Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:16:16 +0000 http://qmusings.com/blog/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/#comment-2601 Thank you MsQ, I appreciate that. No the posts are never easy and do indeed take a considerable amount of time to finish off and there's not much time to begin with. As far as being easy to read, yes, I learned (from somewhere) that you should write on a 5th grade level technically and pack the substance of a grad students thesis if possible. The 5th grade writing is not to dumb things down but to make the reading quick and easy. The Wall Street Journal began using this tactic as it's readership went down and it worked well for them. It's all about the readability index thing. Glad you noticed that. Thank you MsQ, I appreciate that. No the posts are never easy and do indeed take a considerable amount of time to finish off and there’s not much time to begin with. As far as being easy to read, yes, I learned (from somewhere) that you should write on a 5th grade level technically and pack the substance of a grad students thesis if possible. The 5th grade writing is not to dumb things down but to make the reading quick and easy. The Wall Street Journal began using this tactic as it’s readership went down and it worked well for them. It’s all about the readability index thing. Glad you noticed that.

]]> By: DigitalRich http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/comment-page-1/#comment-2505 DigitalRich Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:23:07 +0000 http://qmusings.com/blog/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/#comment-2505 My wife would say that whether its blogging or email, each written word drains from the finite pie of communication I am capable of each day. Since blogging, my emails have not reduced in size, but my spoken words have dipped to [I will finish this tomorrow. My days allotment of words have been depleted] My wife would say that whether its blogging or email, each written word drains from the finite pie of communication I am capable of each day. Since blogging, my emails have not reduced in size, but my spoken words have dipped to [I will finish this tomorrow. My days allotment of words have been depleted]

]]> By: TWIB: This Week in Blogs III » Mr. Gary Lee - Observations of an Aspiring Internet Marketeer http://qmusings.com/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/comment-page-1/#comment-2453 TWIB: This Week in Blogs III » Mr. Gary Lee - Observations of an Aspiring Internet Marketeer Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:21:56 +0000 http://qmusings.com/blog/2007/04/05/can-you-run-out-of-words/#comment-2453 [...] QMusings.com - The Queen of Musings is an up and coming blog I found through MyBlogLog. She’s been writing a lot about social issues, but the one that stuck out to me whether I can actually run out words to say. [...] [...] QMusings.com – The Queen of Musings is an up and coming blog I found through MyBlogLog. She’s been writing a lot about social issues, but the one that stuck out to me whether I can actually run out words to say. [...]

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