MetaChat - i never really realized this until recently

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19 April 2010

i never really realized this until recently when I'm writing something I feel like I can 'read' a sentence like a new reader especially if I look at the draft after a while. but if there's a quote of something I've heard (song, speech, joke, etc.)→[More:]
it's difficult for me to 'read' it the way an uninitiated reader would read the quote (which can really make the quote seem better in your head than in a random reader's head)

I bet this is a well defined cross-disciplinary problem, especially in design right? Like if you've worked on a subway map for 5 years you can't really tell what a random person looking at it for 5 seconds actually 'sees'

post by: Firas at: 13:14 | 6 comments

Yes. Which is why there are editors and focus groups and critics.

posted by rainbaby 19 April | 14:11

Who may see or receive material differently than other editors, focus groups, or critics, or people generally. Once it's out there, it belongs to them.

posted by rainbaby 19 April | 14:12

Even when writing something, I can't see it the uninitiated way.

posted by Obscure Reference 19 April | 19:01

It makes a big difference if you read it out loud.

posted by warbaby 19 April | 22:19

Yeah, gotta agree with Obscure Reference. I don't have that sort of distance with anything I write, but I find it pretty compelling that you encounter that distance when something is quoted in your own writing. That may be something fruitful to explore.

posted by treepour 19 April | 23:10

I agree with warbaby: reading slowly aloud helps me tremendously. When I am really desperate, I turn the page upside-down and read it that way. It makes the reading so much less fluid, such actual work, that I can get a little distance from it.

And yes, I think this is pretty common cross-discipline, which is why it's a good idea to show someone else your early draft without explaining what the [phrases/ charts/ maps] represent, so they can come to their own conclusions and point out where things get confusing.

posted by Elsa 20 April | 09:00

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