February 8-14

In your reading, Garrand quotes David Riordan as saying, "Infinite choice equals a database. Just because you can make a choice doesn’t mean it’s an interesting one." Think about this quote and its implications for multimedia and writing. What are the implications for you as a writer? Explain.

I had a similar case recently in the art world. I’m designing a pop-up book for a company and I was showing my husband different choices I was going to give them. One was a complex, burst-from-the-middle-in-glory design while the others were a little more standard. He chose one of the more standard ones as his favorite. Of course, having spent forever on the Complex Monstrosity, I pointed it out to him specifically. He (being ever diplomatic) said, “Yeah, that’s really cool, but just because something’s harder doesn’t make it the best design choice”. Jerkface, always being right . . . J Anyway, he had a really good point and, as a matter of fact, the folks I presented it to agreed. Complexity/”pizzazz” are awesome if used right, but sometimes they’re just overdone. And that’s the case with writing as well. I need to know when to bring out the big guns and when to let subtlety speak for itself. I’ve found when I’m really trying to make a point (and this could just be a matter of my personal style), I really pare down my writing. I make it choppy and simple and I find that brings the reader into the more raw emotion of it. Of course, with multimedia writing, I may not be going for anything emotional at all, but I think the base point still remains: make sure the pizzazz has a purpose.