Tag: editing
2016 Is Bringing Out the Sweetest Creative Juices!
As 2016 progresses, I’m finding lots of things moving and shifting. Big changes. Little changes. Changes so small, they’re hardly perceptible to the human eye! One change in particular that I’m noticing: I’m falling in love with creativity and the creative all over again. And it isn’t taking the form I thought it would as 2015 came to a close.
First? I’m loving my instructional design (e-learning) work. A lot. Why? Well, I’m working with some really creative people and it’s giving me a chance to create new storylines, copy, and design ideas. I’m taking what I’ve done and pushing it to the next level. Stretching out in new ways. Very exciting.
Second? Changes in my non-work life are prompting me to think about my creative writing in different ways. Instead of focusing solely on book-length manuscripts, I’ve started mining the everyday for creative stems. I got away from that for a while, but it’s good to be back. These tiny fireflies don’t have to light up the big city just yet. They just have to exist as kernels–ready to pop at a moment’s notice.
These are just two examples. But y’know? They are exciting. And the best part of new creative juices is the sweetness they bring to the rest of life. As 2016 progresses, I have to say I’m really looking forward to tasting more.
If you need instructional design/e-learning services, creative copy, editing, proofreading, or any other projects of that nature, reach out! Let’s make 2016 great all around.
SmoothingIt.com Asks: Do You Look Back before You Look Ahead?
[In this series, Creative Blog Profiles, we take a peek at what other creative bloggers are writing about and profile them here. They don’t necessarily know it’s happening (although we do the pingback/trackback where we can), so we’re prepared to remove an entry if they get mad. Hopefully they won’t. We just want to find creative stuff to tell you about.]
Today, I ran across a blog post at SmoothingIt.com by someone who is, quite literally, out there in the blogging wilderness! His name is “Duncan,” and he is a woodsman and writer. He says his site is for folks to get information on outdoor living. Sounds good to me! And the pics on his site make me yearn for my days camping with my friends. The cool breeze. The sound of leaves. Ah, memories.
Anyway, Duncan put up an interesting post about his writing process. He says he doesn’s like to go back and read over drafts until he’s finished with the first run. I personally have a hard time doing that, but it seems to work for Duncan (although, he says he had to break his own rule recently!).
What do you think? You can let us know or head over to Duncan’s site and let him know. Come to think of it, just head over there anyway and look around.
His editing style is certainly something interesting to think about as you write. Thanks Duncan, for getting us thinking (and writing!) today!
Quick Keys to Better E-Learning: Less Is More (Or, The Fika Rules)
Okay, so you have all your research done. You have pages of notes from your SME. You have input from relevant stakeholders. You’ve tossed the idea around to anyone and everyone who could possibly create a problem.
Team is on board. Client is on board. Designer is on board.
You’re ready. You’re set. It’s time to GO!
Your fingers fly. You and the keyboard are one. This is it. This is how it feels to have the metaphoric ADDIE winds blow through your hair.
It’s all coming so easily. The intro. The text. The activities. The conclusion. Magic.
This is the one. This is the mix of policy and prose that’ll earn you the Nobel Prize for e-learning. Picture it: sitting in Sweden with that medal around your neck, eating…um…whatever they serve in Sweden, while talking instructional design with the greatest minds on the planet.
Your masterpiece script is completed. Sit back now. Take a swig of that free soda they have in the break room (if you are fortunate enough to work for a company that has the vision to understand that freebies like this can improve morale).
Drink it all in. Bask in the glow of a job well done….
Now, cut out about a quarter of what you’ve written. Aw, shucks. Let’s be bold and cut about a third.
Now, take a little more off the edges. Don’t worry, you can redline it and add it back in later if you absolutely must.
You see, editing isn’t just for the e-learning world. Editing is for your stories, articles, lectures, in-person trainings, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, office visits with managers, and pretty much everything else in the universe.
According to a very interesting (and a little scary) website, statisticbrain.com, the average human attention span in 2015 is 8.25 seconds. To put that in perspective, a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. That means that a goldfish will pay more attention to your 10 second passage on bribery than the average human.
You’d better hope the most important points about bribery come in the first 8.24 seconds.
For those of you who write scripts, take time after the first draft to dig in and edit. I emphasize this in the Quick Key series, because I know how important this is. See where you can shrink things down. Lead sections with your most important information. Along the way, use graphics and interactive scenarios instead of script-speak to get people refocused. Tell folks why they should care. Give them real-world consequences early. Keep people invested.
In my last fiction manuscript, I spent a few months writing the first draft, then close to a year (or more?) putting the thing through 15 additional drafts. Each time it got tighter and tighter. When I look back at that first draft now, I am amazed at all the word splatter I created in the first go.
Unlike this post, shorter is usually better. Learn to not get so attached to your writing that you forget that your masterpiece and your audience may not agree.
Oh, and keep in mind that in Sweden, they have a national coffee break called the fika. So, if you plan on winning the Nobel Prize for e-learning, you may want to create a course with a short run time so people don’t miss that.
Just some extra incentive for you.
How do you cut and trim your e-learning scripts?
Welcome!
This is a site for creativity. The creative process.
It’s about writing, editing, e-learning, classroom learning–lots of things!
But it doesn’t have to be all about me. Isn’t the best learning/creating/editing done collaboratively? Okay, maybe not ALL the time, but SOME of the time, right?
Anyway, this is a place for thinking, creating, and fun. Welcome!