Keila’s Korner -

A Bi-weekly article for Proud ViM Productions:

My name is Keila -pronounced like the “quila” in tequila – which is why I have gone to using the pen name, KJ - easier for people to remember, spell and pronounce. I answered to a lot of different pronunciations of my name growing up – especially in a time when odd names weren’t common. But I digress.

I’ve been a member of the Vocal+ platform for three years – much less time than some and more than others. In that time, and for much time before, I have read an innumerable amount of articles, poems, journal entries and stories online, mostly with the intent of entertainment, but always with the mindset of learning.

What I have gleaned from those opportunities is what appeals to me as a reader, as far as formatting the written word to entice more readers to keep reading your work, or look you up in the future.

My goal in offering this and future articles for Proud Voices in Minor Productions, is to provide insight into how you, as a creator, can better communicate to, and grow your audience.

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If you want people to read your work, first, make it readable.

These things won’t make up for poor-quality writing, but they can sure detract from good!

White-space is your friend

When I click open a link to read, and am met with a long block of text, my fist instinct I to click off. It gives me a headache to try to read such a piece. It also makes me feel out of breath. Was that the intention of the writer? I doubt it.

Instead, try arranging the wording so that the reader feels encouraged to dive in.

You can do that by breaking up your paragraphs and adding space between sentences. This allows the reader to ruminate on your words, not just feel like you want them to fly breathlessly though your work without remembering it. Unless that is what you want. Utilizing white space to enhance your message and consider the reader experience is important for attracting and maintaining readers.

Formatting.

Formatting, such as working in the use of bold lettering, italics, headings, white space, etc. is also important for relaying your message. It can provide a welcoming experience to the reader. Poorly formatted work can be, at best, boring to read – and at worst, disrespectful to the reader’s experience.

Neither are good ways to establish repeat readers.

Pictures/graphics.

Pictures and graphics can be distracting if used too much. Only use them where they enhance the story. Especially welcome when personal pictures are used in place of stock photos, and can be a good way to break up text, but if over-used or contain a lot of movement, they are just annoying. They can also be seen as a way to distract a reader from less-than quality text, so use them strategically!

Grammar/spelling/punctuation.

It goes without saying that if you can’t be bothered to proofread for simple and repeated errors, why should we bother to read?

Yes, as humans, we all make seemingly silly mistakes – typos, grammar or punctuation errors creep in – but if it’s a chronic occurrence, it comes across as lazy or amateur writing. With all the choices out there to read, why choose that one?

Reject Perfectionism

Lastly, as writers, we can get too focused on wanting anything we release to the world to be perfect. Do your best in a reasonable amount of time, and let it go! Readers can not read what is not there.

And you cannot grow and improve as a writer without human feedback.

In the next article, I’ll dive further into Perfectionism and it’s detrimental impacts on Creating.

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