Dear Inner Writer,

As someone who doesn’t write often, this week was a busy one for you. You managed to learn a few topics here and there about better writing and how to make your content more readable, introduced yourself, looked at examples of great vs poor readability, and reflected back and provided feedback on other writers’ assignments.

Honestly, I know you prefer visuals over vocabulary, however you were forced out of your comfort zone. We spent time dissecting what makes writing comprehendible, especially in a society with short attention spans, mainly from the help of William Zinsser and many other writers with published works online.

To your surprise, it wasn’t just about formality, but instead about so much more. For example, blog writer Jakob Nielsen, shared eye-opening information on how elements such as subheadings, bullet points, and a lower word count all contribute to being able to understand content better. Zinsser only furthered this idea by mentioning clutter and how too many words, which aren’t necessary, can lead to readers losing interest in what you’re writing. This was a wake-up call, revealing that similar to bad design, bad writing can also confuse and lose a reader instantly.

After learning about this, we had the opportunity to not only have our own writing critiqued, but the chance to critique the writing of others. Giving feedback initially felt a little daunting at first. What if what I say sounds too rude or harsh? What if they think I hated everything?

Those were questions that ran rampant in my mind, however, they soon left after reviewing feedback I was given. After reading my own, I realized the purpose isn’t to make someone feel bad but to improve their writing as much as possible. After realizing this, I felt confident to give feedback, allowing me to also view perspectives of other students within the course. This new perspective introduced me to different ways I can present information within my own writing.

So Inner Writer, luckily we survived week one. And not only did we survive but we engaged with writing properly, something that we haven’t done in a couple of years. Hopefully we can continue this streak and not only be a designer, but a designer with writing in our tool kit.

Sincerely,

The Designer Who Writes Now (Sometimes)