Do you write short or long? Do you meander into a story, or just get right to the point? And does it make a difference? I’m asking this because I’ve been aware for a long time that I have a prejudice against reeeaaallly long blog posts. There are people I like whose blog topics interest me, but I can never finish reading them because they go on and on and on. Is this merely a personal failing on my part–or is there something to the issue of length and readability when it comes to on-line material?
Turns out, it’s not just me. According to the experts, Lynch & Horton, who have written what seems to be the definitive textbook, Web Style Guide, readability relates to how much material the eye can take in at a scan.
“People read differently on the web, and a new writing genre designed to accommodate the reading habits of online users has emerged. Given the low resolution of the computer screen and the awkwardness of the scrolling page, many users find reading on-screen uncomfortable, and so they scan on-screen text and print pages for reading.”
So–shorter is better than longer. But, hey! what about all my complicated ideas? Am I supposed to just cut them off at the knees? On the Write For Us page of MidLifeBloggers, I say this about length:
“I’m not a fan of posts that go on and on forever. Say it short, say it sweet, say it to the best of your ability. Having said that, I’ll also say that a post should be as long as it takes to say what you need to. Write it your length and leave it to me, the editor, to suggest either adding or deleting.”
That’s fine for MidLifeBloggers, which is an edited site. But what about your own blog: is there anything you can do to arrive at optimum readability on your own?
You can revise for structure. Break up those dense paragraphs into shorter chunks. Yes, I know your English teacher drummed into your head: topic sentence, development, conclusion. But, Toto, we’re not in English class anymore. Now we’re big people and we can end and begin our paragraphs anywhere we damn please.
Here’s a paragraph from the Web Style Guide as it’s printed:
“Documents written to be read online should be concise and structured for scanning. Most online readers are at some point “scanners” who skim web pages rather than read them word by word. Even methodical readers will appreciate your efforts to accommodate online reading patterns rather than forcing readers to slow down and pick their way through your pages in order to glean information. That said, keep in mind that much content is not well suited to the telegraphic style that works well for online documents. Web authors often cut so much out of their presentations that what remains would barely fill a printed pamphlet. Concise writing is always better, but don’t dumb down what you have to say. Simply make printing easy for those who prefer to read offline, and you can use the web to deliver content without cutting the heart out of what you have to say.”
Now here it is as I would edit it for posting on MidLifeBloggers:
“Documents written to be read online should be concise and structured for scanning. Most online readers are at some point “scanners” who skim web pages rather than read them word by word. Even methodical readers will appreciate your efforts to accommodate online reading patterns rather than forcing readers to slow down and pick their way through your pages in order to glean information.
That said, keep in mind that much content is not well suited to the telegraphic style that works well for online documents. Web authors often cut so much out of their presentations that what remains would barely fill a printed pamphlet.
Concise writing is always better, but don’t dumb down what you have to say. Simply make printing easy for those who prefer to read offline, and you can use the web to deliver content without cutting the heart out of what you have to say.”
No word changes; just paragraph breaks. That, I would submit, makes all the difference.
