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Writing means paying attentionAs you write for the Web, you have a lot of things to pay attention to--
In wrestling with a paragraph, for instance, your attention may dwell on the event you are trying to describe, then turn to a particular group who care about the subject, switching back and forth repeatedly as you work to express your idea in terms they will understand. In editing a passage, you may notice that your attention is following along very nicely until, all of a sudden, you are thrown out of the text, as your attention goes into orbit, launched by some irrelevant but interesting analogy. You probably direct
your attention as you dig into your notes, and you may watch your attention as
if it were a reader's, to see how your own text makes it jump, or keeps it
hanging in there, as you review your output.
Where to
put your attention when writing for the web
As a craft, writing has always demanded concentration, which most
people think of as walling out the rest of the world, and putting a tight
rein on attention.
But writing for the Web demands that
This multiplicity of points of attention can make you dizzy, if you try
too hard to exert control.
Better to relax, and follow the conversation as best you can, recognizing
that it's natural for attention to move.
Are you
paying attention to me?
People who read what you write are very aware of your attitude toward
them, and toward your topic.
Between the lines of your text, they can sense when you have paid
attention to them, when you have been sensitive to their concerns, when
you share their interests, their passions.
In this sense, attention is the soul's antenna--soft, sensitive, quick,
alert.
As the eyes and ears of the spirit, attention is what we communicate. In
our virtual conversations on the Internet, attention is the exclamation
point. |
Bonus Attention! (Full chapter from Hot Text in PDF, 670K, or 12 minutes at 56K) |
Where does your attention go?
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