F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have intoned, "The rich are different from you and me." To which Ernest Hemingway answered, "Yes, they have more money." In modern-day business language, we might say, “The rich live in a different paradigm.” Likewise, writers must make a paradigm shift when they begin writing for the Web. They must let go of long-held views and adopt others. Doing so will not necessarily make them rich, but it will make them better Web writers.
--Chuck Lustig, owner, ExcitingWriting Communications

(Writing for the Web-3)

In Web writing, it is best to present articles in chunks. First, you provide an overall summary of the entire article, a summary which includes a series of hyperlinks. The reader clicks on the hyperlinks in order to read specific story chunks, or sidebars, of no more than four or five paragraphs each.

Many writers feel uncomfortable adopting this practice. It feels a little strange letting the reader decide the order in which to take in information. They’re afraid that if they use this approach, readers won’t read EVERYTHING.

I ask you to let go of that feeling. Your audience does not read everything when you publish it as a flowing narrative in printed form. Scanning is a Web practice spilling over into the print world (and vice versa). Most people scan longer communications rather than read them word for word—whether we want them to or not.

By breaking up longer content into several smaller modules, you give up control. That’s a good thing. You’re helping readers select the morsels most important to them, navigate the morsels in whatever order they wish or print off morsels one chunk at a time.

You can always link readers to a full version of the content they can read in its entirety, if they fancy. From there, you can give them a printer-friendly version they can print for easy reading.

Yes, “chunking out” stories may seem a little strange at first, but it works. Trust us on this. It’s best to let go on the chunk issue.

Jeff Herrington is president of Jeff Herrington Communications, a Dallas-based training and consulting firm. If you think the content editors in your organization could benefit from a seminar on how to write more effective print or intranet/Web content, contact Jeff at: jeffherrington@earthlink.net, 214.948.7954 or http://www.jeffherrington.com


Chuck Lustig owns Exciting Writing Communications—persuasive writing that turns heads, touches hearts and changes minds—and builds sales! For virtually every kind of writing, including articles, Web content, white papers, annual reports and proposals, remember: If the writing is exciting, it's ExcitingWriting! Contact Chuck Lustig at:
chuckiel@airmail.net, 972-867-7799 or http://www.marketnet.com/lustig

Email: clustig@excitingwriting.com

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