If we
carry our thoughts back to a time just 100 years ago, we will find that the
common writing style was very different from today. In the past, technology was
different. Color illustrations and photography, radio, television, and the
internet were all either nonexistent or barely capable of performing what they can
do today. The common writing style 100 years ago was very informative in design,
and it needed to be. Especially when considering that most people had limited
worldly knowledge due to their limited travel opportunities. Writers today do
not need to explain everything in as much detail as they did in the past because they understand that their audiences
have a much broader experience with today’s worldly views. We simply understand
more about today, today.
For
instance, today's writers can write sentences like "When Bob was in
London, he drove his car through a flashing red light without stopping. If Bob
had been on a horse and riding through a flashing red light 100 years ago, it
would be very necessary to explain the scene with some detailed description to
give people an idea of what’s going on. A great majority of readers in the past
would never have traveled to London, and they would have never had to stop their
horse at a flashing red light in any part of the world.
For all that is written through mind
and keystroke, we mean either to inform,
persuade, or to please ourselves. What
other reasons would we have for writing?
Writing in its purest form provides mankind with the advantages of recording
information, allowing the convenience of
time, and as an emotional outlet with distance. The recording of information
may be the most obvious to us when considering the advantage of learning about
the ancient Greeks through their own writings. The writing advantage of
allowing for the convenience of time can be imagined by you sending an email to
a friend in Germany. You did not have to walk and swim there to deliver your
message. I would say that’s quite an advantage. Also, writing allows us an
emotional outlet with distance, a two in one advantage. First, we have the
advantage of being able to say whatever is on our minds, next, we can say
whatever we want from a comfortable and safe distance.
Improvements in technology and
education have made it possible for more and more people to write well and to
publish their writing in as many ways as necessary. This writing freedom has
resulted in an abundance of experimental writing styles. We live in a time that
is truly a writer’s paradise. Think of the many media channels
available for writers to publish their works today. The restrictions placed on writing
in the past through primitive and costly technology along with the societal
limits restricted only to the wealthy,
the influential, and of the well-educated classes, have all been replaced today.
Writers are becoming savvier in the technology that is available to
them, and they often assume that everyone else is just as connected. Writers
have an infinite amount of access to information through the internet. They can
produce much broader and faster writings than before. Spell check sites and
grammar check sites offer anyone with even limited writing ability to produce
highly publishable works. Skill in writing is essentially no longer an issue.
Instead, the main concerns of a writer today are simply finding a subject, and then
the time to write about it.
Today’s writing is more about its simplicity,
its readability, and its level of plain talk. Plain talk is exactly what it
sounds like. We write the way we speak. But, what’s most important is how the
writing will be understood through its clarity and its transparency. For
example, we would not want to post a writing of scientific explanation on the
social media channel Facebook. It probably would not be readable to the
majority. We must consider our audience, and the channel we wish to use. They all
have their unique differences in writing style, readability levels, and simply
what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Facebook as an example has a common
readability level compared to that of an American grade school level of the 4th
and 5th grades. Students of the 4th and 5th
grades are often in the age range of 9 – 11 years old. How do we know this? We
test it of course, and so can you. Readability is an enlightening element of
writing. Rudolf Flesch published a wonderful book in 1949, titled “The Art of
Readable Writing,” and it is still very useful
today. In it, he provides a formula for determining the readability levels of
writing. Google it, or buy it, the book will certainly not disappoint you.
It’s true that there exist so many different
but usable writing styles today. The style that will work best for you will be the
style that is commonly used by the
audience and media channel you wish to publish in. You must know your audience,
and you must know the media channel you plan to use. Read other writings found
on the media channel, and perform comparisons of that writing. Find out what
common language and writing styles are being used. Don’t try and start a new
writing style trend. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. You can vary your writing
styles a bit, but be sure that it complies with what is more common and
acceptable. Today, we need only the time and the subject to write about. The
rest can easily be managed with the plethora of tools available. So, write to
your heart's content.
For
more information about writing and readability, or to develop your personal
public relations campaign plans.
Contact:
Outstory
Public Relations Group
A
Modern Public Relations Agency
Solving
Problems, Changing Attitudes, Creating Understanding, and Influencing Behaviors
Outstory
PR Group solves business and public relations problems. We serve organizations
of for-profit, non-profit, governmental authority, and well-known persons. We
develop and manage creative problem-solving campaigns for businesses small and
large, both nationally and globally.
Call
Outstory PR Group Today: 704-904-0682
Website:
http://outstoryprgorup.com
Shawn
Stoffel
Shawn@outstoryprgroup.com
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