Last March I was encouraged by a few friends and peers to host a panel at SXSW to discuss the topic of writing better (not, absolutely not, to be confused with blogging better, I'll leave such discussions to the Google ad/rank whores). For a person who cheated on vocabulary tests in Mrs. Chesburo's (AKA The Great Satan to David Booth and I) senior English class, this is dark humor at it's best.
Perhaps it's the circles I run in but I find the lack of discourse on the subject of writing better a bit troublesome. We, my friends, peers, and I, talk at length about all facets of design and we tinker with the latest in Internet enabled technologies but when it comes to our command of the English language, that subject rarely comes to the forefront and is normally delegated to milestones titled "write content".
Content is supposed to be king in the royal order of what makes or breaks online endeavors (for those who care executive management is the queen while design and development are the bratty step children who never, ever, get along and are always being talked about in the tabloids) but we don't really talk about it.
It is strange to me that in the web design/development world countless hours are spent discussing the wrappers and distribution mechanisms for content but very little time is spent on how to improve the content itself. I think it has become a traditional assumption that crafting good content is best left to the capable hands of our clients or nearly unemployed English majors who didn't go on to attend law school. Yet, anyone who has ever crafted websites over the years should know better — hell, I should know better — most clients look to their designers and developers for help. From editing to writing the copy from scratch, rare is the project that does not require our involvement with words.
After looking over the last months roster of panel proposals¹ for next year's interactive festival in Austin, I see a lot of topics that are more of the same (albeit some with a fresh focus and road-tested panelists here and there) but nothing on writing or creating better word architecture.
What gives?
So in response to the black hole of prose and encouragement from said friends, I have tentatively confirmed a list of panelists who write for different reasons, styles and audiences on the web. We'll take forty-five minutes to talk about what makes for good writing, what each person does to keep fit with verbs and vowels, and what the future might hold for the written word in a world that is being inundated with podcasts and video. The panel is called "Writing, Better" and you can find it under the Content category. I'd appreciate your up or down vote.
In the meantime lets talk about how to mold this future discussion into SXSW gold.
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I'm a tad disappointed that SXSW panel submission process has been left to crowdsourcing (unless I completely missed something). Leaving it up to the masses to choose a recording artist is a brilliant business scheme and a great victory for capitalism. But in the history of human civilization mobthink doesn't have an impressive track record: the masses re-elected Bush to a second term, nailed Jesus to a cross, and wore bell-bottom pants.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
I, for one, would welcome such a panel. Along with our new robot overlords.
Well said. Consider my thumbs facing upward. It's amazing to see how many of us are clueless when clients ask for recommendations on formatting content. If our best answer is, "Um, keep it short, I guess", I'd expect your panel to be standing room only.
Already voted for as I agree with you on the general lack of interest in decent writing. Huzzah!
Finally! I'm appalled by the lack of good content or even basic English on the internet. Best of luck.
If there was a way to team good writers with good designers (ie the advertising agency model) then design companies might start building more useful websites for their clients. Heck, we might all be visiting a few more blogspots instead of designer's blogs. The state of writing on the web is pretty disturbing, but perhaps there's also a better way to cross pollinate those who care about content with those who care about fonts.
In response to the black hole of prose, I would like to see - for Accessibilities readling level requirement and Useability - an attribute for "Slang" with attribute title and one for "Sarcasm" with attribute title. And, maybe, "Metaphor". "Simile". "Spoonerism".
An attribute with a class attached would be nice, e.g., <Composition style="Shakespeare + Runyonesque + Raymond Chandler">, for sentences that may be dense.
How do you propose to fill your forty-five minutes?
You have my vote.
A restaurant can have terrific decorations on the walls, fantastic menus, be in a prime location, but if the food sucks, then what's the point?
Most people don't create anymore. They just link to sites that link to other sites. It's as if no one has the confidence to put themselves out there and really express original ideas. Plus, they lack the skill to communicate those ideas with compelling, eloquent language. It's a shame. And in this age of the weblog, someone ought to at least start the discussion.
Kudos on raising a topic so often overlooked and yet so basic.
How do you propose to fill your forty-five minutes?
Great question. Obviously I'm hoping that this post will generate a few queries and points of dicussion. I have a fair amount of research to do myself and have books lined up for that purpose. In general I'd like for the panel to be as much of a self-contained experience that is informative and inspiring while also kicking off an on going discussion and pursuit of improving how we write.
I made this out to be a panel vs. a presentation beacuse I think it's important to get participation from a small variety of techniques and vocations.
Not to cut you down, but I think "The Design World" doesn't talk about writing because it doesn't know what it's talking about the vast majority of the time. I would rather learn from someone whose profession is writing than someone who has gleaned the infromation from someone whose profession is writing.
Or as Greg would say, "black whole." First question for the panel: Is good spelling part of good writing? Sincere question.
Excellent subject. I've been researching the very same for over six months now (similar project).
There are of course tons of 'how to' writing books, but for the designer specific angle I've found these:
Writing for Design Professionals: A Guide to Writing Successful Proposals, Letters, Brochures, Portfolios, Reports, Presentations, and Job Applications, Second Edition
Review: Writing for Design Professionals book review by Kevin Potts from Graphic Push
100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists
Writing discussed on design sites:
A List Apart: Calling all designers: Learn to write!
Change This: Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!
A List Apart: Attack of the Zombie Copy
Spelling Counts - The Top 10 Words Most Often Misspelled on Web Sites
A List Apart: 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web
Writing words vs. writing software
Creative Latitude: Simple Tips for Writing an Engaging Article
Creative Latitude: Designers must write
Creative Latitude: About Writing
The Rise of the Copywriter/Designer by Shaun Crowley
I'm a designer who feels the need to learn how to write. In my opinion, it's not enough to point out the problem. With this in mind, I've put together an extensive list of resources to help designers (books, articles, sites, blogs, software, etc). If you want a gander just holler.
I've also bought several writing programs and books to review (and hopefully learn from). Wish me luck. And of course good luck on your project - it's all for a good cause.
My gut feeling is that good writing is not as tangible as design or technical facets. If people can't touch it or hold it or observe it, it's more difficult to assess its value at a glance.
In other words, good writing is one of the things that takes a serious time investment to review and edit, whereas design can be glanced at and an opinion formed in a moment. And facets of technology are a very straightforward and binary situation that lend themselves to objective conclusions of good or bad.
As for the panel, I'm so there.
Or as Greg would say, "black whole." First question for the panel: Is good spelling part of good writing? Sincere question.
The sound you are not hearing is my palm smacking loudly against my forehead, first slammed on the table. Yes, I believe five minutes will be spent on the art of self editing followed by finding a good editor and raising the capital to hire them through bake sales, handyman work, or medicinal marijuana sales (not applicable in all states).
Excuse me while I check out the edit features of Movable Type.
I moved into web development from a journalism background, so the writing part comes pretty easy to me - or at least as easy as writing ever gets.
That said, I think there's a lot of reasons writing on the web is so generally poor:
1) Writing in general is in a poor state these days. Few people know how to do it well.
2) Writing for a purpose is especially hard. This is where your English majors fail. There's a difference between writing wonderful prose that you hope will someday become the Great American Novel and writing content that actually compels the reader to do something (even if it's just compelling them to keep reading). If you're hiring a writer, look for one with a journalism background. I could write a zillion reasons why, but seriously, they'll do a better job.
3) Marketing and sales people have a tendency to muck it up. They think they know how to communicate with the reader, but too often they just know how to shout the sales message louder. It's a turn-off.
4) "We have to add more instructions/explanation. The user won't get it. Looking down on the reader is a great way to start a conversation with them.
5) Time. Good writing takes time, and the content is too often treated as an afterthought. This is another reason to hire the journalist - they understand deadlines like nobddy else.
I've been pretty disappointed with the mob rule voting process so far as well. It's a joke that none of Khoi's panels made it to the second round, and of course they let a jerk like you get through! Here's hoping for a little executive decision-making behind the scenes. Otherwise I'm going to be sleeping in a lot more this year.
It's a joke that none of Khoi's panels made it to the second round, and of course they let a jerk like you get through!
I'm confused by this second round because my submission wasn't in the first group. I don't think this is round robin style but maybe I missed the disclaimer. It will be interseting to see what the crowd thinks of the results after the conference. Maybe it's time to create a new conference centered around smaller groups of people. Excuse me while I add that to my to-do list.
I liked "black whole". It could be read as "Nothingness".
And, that to me is where any discussion on writing good content versus writing prose/instructional/informative content swerves. It's homophones. "Whole" v. "Hole". "Their" v. "They're". "Naught" v. "Not". It's fascinating reading My Space. Fundamentally, I know that when they write with grammatical errors it is unintentional; however, from too many years spent with puns, it's delightful. I wonder how many My Space writers will begin writing content for commercial venues. Scary, isn't it.
My background isn't journalism but literature. Two opposite but mutally inclusive poles. My Space content falls in the center. Writing good journalistic or literary content does take time to learn. Most - it seems - don't want to take that time.
You have my condolences with sorting all of this out in your alloted forty-five minutes.
If you think about, all content comes from just that, writng. Even vidoe is tied to a script. The entire focus of a website, even the design is part of the larger picture, that is, for the most part, controled by content. Graphics often have words and are generally only relevant because of the content (words on the page) or more to the point, the writing on the site.
So, yes... what don't designers and the like care more about writing. Not that it's the only answer, but writing is hard work.
Typing is easy. Writing is hard.
Well, I was hoping you'd host a dolphin-milking panel, but this is a close second. Of course, I speak only as a lowly, gainfully employed former English major, so what do I know?
I guess that's my cue to refute one of Baxter's points above: I don't think it matters what you majored in during that four-year liberal arts exercise in postponing the inevitable. What does matter is that most good writers read a lot. And guess who had to read a lot in college? English majors. I had and have no illusions of writing the Great American Novel. Or the Mediocre American Novel. Or just Novel. English majors do not necessarily study to write fiction. They study to understand it. I did, anyway.
That and to look cool reading Norton Critical Editions in the cafeteria. Whatever.
One of the probable culprits in our declining abilities to properly compose a sentence is our reliance on quick correspondance, such as email and instant messaging. So often, we opt to communicate with sentence fragments as a matter of convenience. Our writing skills, in turn, take a nose dive within a few years. I know I'm guilty of it. This panel gets my vote.
I'd remind folks not to be too cool to be corny. It's scary to write with flair. Take some risks and don't be such a tittybaby.
Yes I would love to right better.
Garrett's now defunct Notable Words was how I found this site, and probably a good number of the people who tag up here from time to time. But other than the superstars who care enough not to spew drivel, is there a way to reach the infidels? In other words, how do you avoid preaching to the choir on this one?
As someone married to a agency copywriter, I've watched over the years as that job function has been pushed further and further to the back of the bus -- not by the agencies but by the clients and the corporate world. I mean, let's face it: every client is writer, don't cha know. And if the client isn't a writer, the client's second cousin's brother-in-law's wife is, and she "made a few changes to the copy."
In other words, how do you avoid preaching to the choir on this one?
By publishing the transcript as a PDF book available for $19.95 with a free podcast teaser?
icy
Nice.
There's certainly a market for it.