The Web’s Impact on Writing   

Writing for the Information Age: Light, Layered, and Linked

By Bruce Ross-Larson
W.W. Norton & Co.
192 pages; $23.95

The Internet and other technological forces are changing so much about journalism that the inevitable question arises of how they will affect writing.

We can expect a tide of books proposing various answers. Bruce Ross-Larson's early entry is concise, creative and helpful, although not entirely satisfying. It is, indeed, a representation of perhaps the biggest problem writers now face: how to present the sophisticated content people need in the simplified formats today's attention spans require.

Ross-Larson, a writing and editing consultant, takes a no-nonsense, functional approach, keyed to his three dominating themes:

1. "Keep your writing light, especially at the beginning."
2. "Slice your content into layers of progressive density and detail."
3. "Try to inject links that point your readers to related material."

The book's format illustrates these themes. Some 75 techniques and suggestions are presented one by one. Two facing pages are devoted to each tip. The left column identifies the technique and defines it in a sentence or two, in large bold type. The next two columns display examples in crisp, reader-friendly visuals. The far right column offers a sentence or two of elaboration, plus links to related material elsewhere in the book.

This format is effective, and Ross-Larson covers a lot of material fast. Much of it is familiar (though still useful), but he has many original insights and catchy phrasings that writers will find stimulating.

In a section on clarity, for example, he says, "Write as if you are giving directions to a visitor."

Stressing the importance of a strong beginning, he writes, "Your main message is the one sentence you'd give to your readers if that's what you were limited to."

Where Ross-Larson differs from many traditional writing manuals is in his emphasis on how material is presented, how it looks on a page or screen, how it is packaged, how graphics and visuals blend with words. Again, his advice is sound and direct. He favors "engaging titles and subtitles," powerful section headings and well-conceived charts, graphs and lists.

He also takes care not to over-embrace the trendy. Though he endorses lists and bullets, he warns, "Avoid the big consulting firms' practice of using nothing but bullets--and thus destroying the coherence and elegance of your argument." Though he prefers short sentences and paragraphs, he cautions, "It's true that a single paragraph shouldn't contain more than one idea; equally true that some ideas deserve more than one paragraph."

Ross-Larson encourages writers to use new tools for efficiency and self-editing: Keep dictionaries and other online resources handy in your bookmarks file. Modify the "autocorrect" section of your word processor to flag frequent misusages such as "media is" or "irregardless." Improve flow and organization by using outline programs that let you easily keep track of headings and subheads.

The newest advice here is about format, structure and what Ross-Larson calls "attention-sustaining devices." He has numerous specific suggestions for reducing wordiness and clutter and for making sentences easier to follow. For example, he recommends arranging items in a series from short to long so they are easier to grasp.

But he also offers reminders on the old-fashioned matters of paragraphs, sentences and words. Keep sentences and paragraphs short, he writes. Get to the point quickly. Use repetition and transitions (or "signals," as he nicely calls them) to keep readers oriented.

As solid and sensible as all this is, however, something important seems missing: the vital, elusive quality of depth and weight.

In the Ross-Larson format, each two-page section makes a pithy, effective point. But all those points are not tied together into a coherent, comprehensive overview. So we miss the understanding and connection that come from an accumulating narration. The book is so focused on process that it has little to say or to show about substance.

The trick in producing a great book about writing is to convey the irreducible relationship between content and form. Traditional books probably underplay the role of format. But newer books may err in the opposite direction by subordinating content. While creative formats are vital to reaching today's visually oriented consumers, they are empty without significant content.

What matters is meaning, and meaning requires compelling content and an accessible format. This is a slippery combination, an artful right-brain-left-brain alliance, and a challenge for any single book to encompass.

Like many other books, "Writing for the Information Age" compares itself on the back cover to "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. So I picked up my 23-year-old copy of that book and reread it, wondering what makes it so enduring. After all, it is--much like Ross-Larson's book and many others--essentially a glorified list of how-to axioms.

But the magic of Strunk and White is that most listings are accompanied by short, pungent, inspirational essays, a few paragraphs that, like poetry, sparkle, delight and deepen understanding. As you progress, the material builds into a larger sense of what writing is all about.

"Style takes its final shape," Strunk and White remind us, "more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition.... If one is to write, one must believe--in the truth and worth of the scrawl, in the ability of the reader to receive and decode the message.... Let [a writer] start sniffing the air, or glancing at the Trend Machine, and he is as good as dead, although he may make a nice living."

Think about that for a while.