Online Writing

Online Writing (Part I)Be Simple & Be Smart

- Samrat Phadnis

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

What makes Difference? Do’s & Don’ts Skills to develop Use of technology

Topics of Discussion

Story telling If a story can be told differently Use of simple tools Value Addition

What is Writing?

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols. (Ref: Wapedia)

Purpose:

To inform To express To convey message

Story Telling

You have something to inform You have something to express You have some message which

must be/can be conveyed to some one.

You have something which will be helpful to someone

Modern Forms

Print Radio TV WEB/ONLINE MOBILE

Online Story Telling

Difference

Print & Online

Formally written and passively read

Informally written; chunked out

It's linear Non-linear

Narrative Interactive

Dated Dynamic & Current

Presents a continuous view

Involves Readers

Online Story Telling

Online Story Telling

Online Story Telling

What is Good?

What is Good?

Interactive

Interactive

Interactive

Breaking News

Learn from others From Print Books:

Tell readers where they areProvide a convenient map of the work (TOC, index)

Provide a title page Let users mark their spot and

progress Show users how long the text is Break the text into standard pieces

(chapters)

Learn from others From Newspapers:

Keep the front page fresh Tell human stories Tell them what you're going to tell

them, tell them, then tell them what you told them

Keep writing short, muscular and active

Provide surprise and a sense of discovery

Learn from others From Comics:

Social relationships do not depend on bandwidth

Completion is a powerful tool for engagement

Tell a story with pictures Keep dialogue crisp Tell a human story

Learn from others From Movies:

To think of character as response to conflict

Figure out whose story it is Provide tension and release Break story into fractal units

(acts/scenes/beats) Give the story a dramatic arc

Learn from others From TV:

Keep visuals interesting Make screen graphics readable Tell a story with pictures Online cannot compete as a rich

media experience

AvoidAvoid Using Because It’s… Solution

Please check back shortly for...

Rude. The burden isn’t on users to figure out our Web site. No one will come back.

If you don’t know the exact date, use some sort of safe, far out, or relative time. E.g., “This information will be updated after an hour/20 minutes.” But be sure you do it, or explain then why not.

Avoid

under construct-ion

Bad form. If pages (or sections of) aren’t ready, don’t post placeholder links or pages.

If it’s truly critical information, instead of a link to a nonpage, indicate clearly when users should come back (see above).

Avoid

Welcome to our Web site.

Irrelevant. Miss Manners doesn’t serve tea online.

Leave it out.

Click here to enter our Web site/skip intro

Uninformative. This doesn’t tell anyone what the link is, except that it’s a link.

Craft link text that states what the link is. This will also help anyone with assistive technology who’s looking only at links.

One Step Ahead

We read differently from screens and must write differently for them. Here are some points to bear in mind when writing for the web.

Good Web Writing

Hit your reader with the salient points at the top of the web page.

Write short paragraphs: White space helps web display so write in 'chunks' - 30-word paragraphs separated by a line space works.

Good Web Writing

Write simple sentences: Use one idea per sentence and keep sentences under 17 words.

Use the present or present perfect tense.

Good Web Writing

Be direct: The web is friendly. Use 'we' and 'you' instead of 'the insured', 'the applicant', 'the society', and so on.

Be positive: 'the web works well' rather than 'the web doesn't function badly'.

Good Web Writing

Structure the site, and its tone of voice, for the people whose needs and expectations you hope to satisfy.

Summary

Try asking yourself the following questions:

What is your site for?

Who does it aim to attract?

How should you address your audience?

Contact Details

Email:

samrat.phadnis@esakal.com

FACEBOOK:

samrat.phadnis

TWITTER:

samaphadnis