Re: LONG - A colloquial writing style?

[Kelley Greenman <writinglists -at- inkworkswell -dot- com>]

I wrote technical use policy manuals this way. It was a real hoot to come 
up with fun and interesting copy. For some clients, we'd have the 
"not-so-straight-dope" (the formal, attorney-approved language) on one 
page, the fun, jazzy stuff on the other -- a CYA maneuver.

Going into this, I thought it was a really bad idea. I thought it 
condescended to users. But, for whatever reason, they liked it. Years ago, 
as a sales rep, I used to think people would prefer the $100/head a company 
spent on fancy dinners and boring speeches at company parties. But, people 
loved this stuff. And, personally, I'd rather see a raise than get coffee 
mugs, but in my informal surveys, people love this stuff. (Speaking of, I'm 
wondering what people consider their favorite office giveaways. Has a 
company ever given you a prize, a trinket, or promotional item you _really_ 
liked? Something unique? I had to put together a proposal this weekend and 
it set me to wondering what other people think. Offlists are best since 
it's OT. TIA.)

Anyway, the books were four-color, produced with the look and feel of a 
best-selling novel--complete with promotional copy on the back, starbursts 
on the front cover, jokey, company-insider acknowledgements in the forward, 
that sort of thing.

We worked hand-in-hand with an illustrator in the creative process. We'd 
come up with the copy and then brainstorm about ideas for the cartoons and 
illustrations. Invariably, about one-third of the way through, we'd hit 
upon what we called "mascots" who'd have different temperaments and would 
generally represent the company culture and/or industry-wide iconography.

With one client, the mascots we developed were actually caricatures of key 
figures in the company. The two running this particular project actually 
bickered a lot and it was a running company joke. So, we incorporated that 
relationship into the 'toonography. They were the lead characters and the 
supporting players were CEO, VPs, Department heads, etc. One particular 
artist's style was very complex, with plenty of 'extras' in the background. 
Either all the extras were caricatures of company figures or even us, the 
writers, project managers, etc. People loved it because they'd scour the 
faces to see who the illustrator had caricatured.

At another company, if we had to set up a situation where users make 
mistakes, we'd create caricatures of top-level execs (with their 
permission, of course.) In the narrative and accompanying illustration, it 
was a 'big cheese' who was making the mistake, not a caricature of a 
"typical user."

There is also some very good evidence that narratives appeal to some 
learning styles. People have a hard time remembering disembodied 
information. However, when it's encompassed in a narrative style of 
writing, it's more memorable. I call it didactic writing, in a vain attempt 
to reappropriate the phrase. A good example of it? Lou Quillo's writing.

What didactic writing does is stimulate the senses. Alliteration, 
synedoche, metonymy, metaphor, lyricism, cadence, etc.--all of these have 
long been used to evoke that sensory experience for the reader. Didactic 
writing encourages readers to slow down, enhancing that sensory experience.

Didactic writing uses techniques that make the reader stop and think. In 
technical writing, we usually consider that anathema to clear writing. 
However, the approach is an attempt to avoid cultivating passive readers 
who simply soak up the information and move on, to get the job done. 
There's notching wrong with that approach. Many situations call for it. 
Getting readers to stop and slow down is another approach to making 
information more memorable -- which is what you want to achieve with 
policies. Policies are things you want people to remember. Giving life to a 
procedure, by describing how a particular "persona" does something helps 
concretize what you're talking about. It gives the reader something to 
latch on to, identify with -- even if they _hate_ it or it irritates them, 
they are still, paradoxically enough, relating to it.

Not sure if this clarifies things, but that's my take on how the process 
worked with a few clients.


Kelley
--

When you need to communicate, Ink Works!
http://www.inkworkswell.com
+1 (727) 942-9255 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

New from Quadralay Corporation: WebWorks ePublisher Pro!
Completely XML-based online publishing. Easily create 14 online formats, including 6 Help systems, in a streamlined project-based workflow. Word version ships in June, FrameMaker version ships in July. Sign up for a live, online demo! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.