Avoid The Dreaded Wall of Text At All Costs
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You Don’t Actually Expect People to Read All of That, Do You?
The days when I would break out my laptop to read blogs/articles on the web are gone. It’s probably the same for most people.
I use my phone. Or my tablet. Doesn’t matter which.
It’s faster when I use them.
But they have something that computers don’t really have: small screens. Meaning that we aren’t looking at a document-sized webpage with one-inch margins. We’re looking at a tiny space that can only do so much.
This has taught us a few things.
- Do. Not. Read. Every. Word. Takes too long.
- Skimming is your friend.
- The faster you can scroll, the faster you’ll get to the end.
These are all good things in our technologically advanced world. However, there are some people, reasonably good writers, who treat our phones like computers. Or books. Both are pretty much the same here. And I can tell you that for me, if I see a long wall of text, I’m not reading it. I’m gonna find something else.
This is what I mean.
You’re not going to want to read this
There are articles and blogs that I’ve read where writers have a lot to say. And that’s totally fine. Completely. The problem is that they don’t really know how to structure said feelings/thoughts. So when we run into this issue, they tend to write paragraphs like they’re watching a youtube video with one camera angle. Just keeps dragging on behind them. And whether or not the writer has a specific point to make or whether they have a specific issue they want to prove doesn’t matter. Because all you see is text. Text, text, text, text, text. I’ve read whole paragraphs that are only one sentence long. A very long run-on sentence. I’ve read paragraphs that have five or ten different thoughts in them. They almost sound as if the writer is recording a stream of consciousness live as it’s happening in the brain. The writer’s brain, not yours. Sometimes the writer will put in two of the same sentence, word for word (which I coincidentally read on Medium of all places) in the same paragraph. Not proving a point. But literally saying the same thing. That’s the biggest problem I’m reading. Just using too many sentences to say one thing.
Well, did you read that? No?
Me either. And I wrote the thing.
If you want to read your writing, there’s a few things you can do.
Keep It Short
Make your paragraphs short. Like one to four sentences short.
Change Sentence Length
Don’t make every sentence the same length. Readers can see if all of your sentences are the same or not. It’s pretty easy.
Have One Point
It’s better to explain one idea well than ten ideas terribly. Or not at all.
Most articles have these basic things. And if you can do it, then maybe people will read your stuff.
If you want to see my short story, click here.
If you want to watch one of my Youtube videos, click here.
