Next week: A visit with the editor of this publication.
Hi everyone,
Here's an update following our class on Monday, Sept. 10. It was great to see everyone back after the Labor Day weekend.
First, let me welcome three new classmates: Jane Czaschke, Norah Magliocchetti, and Andrew Simons. Great to have you in the course!
Postcards: I sent Susan Orr a description of the postcard discussion we had in class, and it turned out to be clearer than I think I was on Monday night.
That sometimes happens. So here it is for everyone to consider:
Okay, in Monday's class, we looked at the postcards that people sent. Out of the five I received, only one came through completely legible, meaning it wasn't covered by bar code scans and messy cancellation notices and the like.
The point was that even the best writing faces barriers to comprehension that are beyond your control. Some barriers are human: reader attention wanders, people skim and scan, and so on. But some are inherent in the media itself. A postcard is not a novel. A radio commercial is not a billboard. They have different purposes, and different expectations are applied to them. You can't carry a car in a wheelbarrow.
So with postcards, they're not the place for detailed info, as even one ingredient that's blotted out or illegible renders the communication useless. Best to recognize that perhaps, in this interlinked world we live in, that the best way to use a postcard is to provide a clear URL to more complete info on the Internet. And beyond that, the postcard space might be used to "sell" me or "hook" me on why I should use THIS recipe rather than all the others.
That's important. Reading does not take place in a vacuum. A reader is constantly pressed for time and needs to be really motivated to actually READ what you write. So with the postcard, it's a mistake to assume that I will make use of your recipe. There are other recipes everywhere. Why yours? That's why I asked for the "WORLD'S BEST" recipe. I wanted to plant the seed of you thinking along those lines.
So we got a lot out of our little postcards. I'll post this on the blog, as it's more coherent than anything I said in class.
Writing: Here's a reminder of what assignments you're working on this week.
• A press release promoting the Fall Down festival described in Chapter 3 of the Ben & Jerry's book.
• A blog proposal, meaning I'd like to know what topic you'd like to write about in the class blogs you'll be creating.
Both of these are due by end of day on Friday, Sept. 14. Please send them to jeffrapsis@gmail.com.
Any questions? Please reach out. I'm available by the above e-mail address or by phone at (603) 236-9237.
As I mentioned on Monday, you're not bothering me when you contact me outside class. I welcome it!
Reading: For our next class, please read Chapters 4 & 5 in the Ben & Jerry's book. Also, please read Chapter 12 in Dynamics of Media Writing.
One of the sheets I handed out in class says read Chapter 6 in Ben & Jerry's, but only 4 and 5 are required. Sorry for any confusion!
Also next week, we'll spend some time with Matt Mowrey, editor of Business NH Magazine.
Matt will chat with us about the stories we'll be writing for him later on this semester as part of the class.
All for now. Looking forward to seeing everyone's writing in my inbox, and all of you in class next Monday!
