Writing Talk - Rates Rant
Posted on 09 October 2008 by Sharon
Here’s something new for the blog: an occasional comic strip about an aspect of the writing life. The series is called Writing Talk. Here’s the first strip: Rate Rant
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Tags | writing
October 9th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
lol. too cute!
Dana’s last blog post..Wrideo: Like Digg For Writers
October 12th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I see you are expanding your multimedia empire
I applaud your creativity. This post offers an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of alternatives means of expression.
Communication must accomplish two things. First, the audience must have a reasonable expectation of comprehending the message. Second, the communicator must ensure that there are no barriers between the message and the audience.
Within this context, we must also consider how well the communicator matches the audience. An inexperienced communicator has little chance of conveying a meaningful message to a savvy audience, while an expert communicator can only deliver a message to an audience that is receptive and capable of comprehending. This is not to impy that levels of intelligence have to be equal between a communicator and her audince. On the contrary, a good match can exist between a pre-school teacher and her charges and a poor match can ruin many a college lecture!
Finally, we must consider the impact of the vehicle used to convey the message. Text requires skillful use of imagery and descriptive words to portray information. A photograph, on the other hand, has the potential to create a more forceful visual impact. Video goes even further, adding sound. Audiences respond differently depending on the medium upon which a message is delivered.
When a communicator wishes to impress a message upon an audience, should she tailor the message to the medium or, should she seek a medium that best conveys the message? The answer is not immediately apparent. If video is considered to have the most impact, the communicator would be ill-advised to make use of it if doing so would alienate a large part of her audience - perhaps because that segment doesn’t have the capability to view the video! That’s an obvious barrier, but each medium presents it own barriers:
Text - will be less effective if audience skims
Images - size and quality must not cause slow rendering on browsers
Podcasts - will not engage the hearing-impaired
So, what about comic strips? Does the message have to be shoehorned into the medium - sequential, panel-oriented storyboard - or is this format ideal for the message? As more Bitstrips are created, will the characters transcend the medium? A cartoon that becomes iconic has much more of an impact outside its original context, because the audience has personified the character and can relate to it in human terms. Snoopy can sell insurance, Bart Simpson can sell tee-shirts and Dilbert can adorn office cubicles.
I can’t wait to see where Writing Talk takes us!
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen’s last blog post..Showtime at the Blue Morpho
October 14th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Food for thought there, Mitch. I find creating the strips forces me to think of the essentials. It’s like writing the lead on a news story; you need to focus on your main point and how you need to get there. A strip is much the same, but in fewer words. It has constraints, but is also strangely liberating.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Hi Sharon,
In what way is using comic strips liberating? I have an idea of what you mean, but I want see exactly what your thoughts are.
Speaking of essentials, except for fiction, I assert that thinking of the essentials would be required for all forms of communication.
Especially in this short attention-span Internet age, we must get to the point before the reader gets to the back button.
Cheers,
Mitch
October 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I’m not sure why I find it liberating, Mitch. Perhaps because by inclination, I tend to be concise. I think comic strips are a great tool for sending a message without fluff and with humor, so they appeal both to my inner child and my inner teacher. You’re right about the essentials, though. You have to get to them pronto or you lose your reader.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I’m glad I asked. I thought you were going to say that you felt more free to be blunt / sarcastic, as your writing is so level headed. Even your rants suggest only the slightest hint of irritation at offenders.
So, your comic strip character, which I have not associated with your persona, would seem to be that person who tells it like it is - thus, the sense of liberation.
See? I was barking up the wrong tree.
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen’s last blog post..Racing around the Office