How To Write For the 21st Century Reader: 6 Tips to Modernize Your Prose by Anne R. Allen

I found Anne's article most informative and thought I'd pass it along.  Its essential if you are a writer, but if you are a reader you might want to become more aware of your changing habits.

I read a lot, and write a lot, on my computer.  It has a large screen I still need to scoot toward me to see well.  I get very tired sitting here.  And I really get tired of reading from the screen.  I always long for the book so I can lay back comfortably or sit in a comfortable chair with my legs up and read every single word. That's my pleasure.

I tried skimming, but only do it if I find the work basically uninteresting for any number of reasons.  I'll get the gist of it and move on.  That's work, not a pleasure.

Now look over at least some of Anne's long article to find the points that fit you best, for now.  But keep it, because you may want to review it occasionally for its finer points.

Publishing isn't the only thing that's being transformed by the digital age. Reading and writing themselves are evolving.

We may not like it, but as writers, we need to be aware that our audience's habits are changing.

Last month I wrote about how to format your blog for easy skimming, and unfortunately, we need to keep the skimmer in mind when writing our books as well. A good percentage of readers buy their novels for screens now, and their habits spill over from Web browsing to novel-reading.

Continue blog HERE:

Have a great day and don't forget Mother's Day this weekend.