Archive for August 29th, 2009
Webcast: How to develop “reader sensitivity”
In his 1985 book “How to Write Like a Pro,” magazine writer Barry Tarshis makes the following provocative statement about what it takes to be a good writer:
The most important attribute you can have as a writer is something I call “reader sensitivity.” I define reader sensitivity as an ongoing awareness of how your readers are processing and reacting to what you’ve written. It’s being able to put yourself in your reader’s shoes . . .
In accomplished writers, reader sensitivity appears to be intuitive, in the same way that some entertainers have an innate feel for how an audience is responding to their performance. But in the event this awareness is not an intuitive part of what you, as a writer, bring to writing, you are operating under an all but fatal handicap - and you will remain handicapped until you sensitize yourself to the likely response of your readers.
Reader sensitivity - part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Reader sensitivity - part 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Reader sensitivity - part 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Reader sensitivity - part 4: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
