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Table of Contents

1. WHAT IS MULTIMEDIA WRITING?
WHAT CONSTITUTES MULTIMEDIA?
WHAT CONSTITUTES MULTIMEDIA WRITING?
HOW MULTIMEDIA DEVELOPED
WHERE MULTIMEDIA WRITING STANDS TODAY
THE FUTURE OF MULTIMEDIA WRITING

2. WHY ARE WORDS IMPORTANT?
HOW WORDS AFFECT YOUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
HOW WORDS AFFECT YOUR DESIGN
HOW WORDS AFFECT YOUR AUDIENCE
HOW TO MAKE YOUR WORDS MEMORABLE

3. TRADITIONAL WRITING VS. MULTIMEDIA WRITING
WHAT DEFINES TRADITIONAL WRITING?
WHAT DEFINES MULTIMEDIA WRITING?
IN WHAT WAYS THESE TYPES OF WRITING ALIKE?
IN WHAT WAYS ARE THESE TYPES OF WRITING DIFFERENT?

4. CREATING YOUR CONTENT
CONSIDER THE LEGALITIES
PLAN AND ORGANIZE CONTENT FOR A WEBSITE
PLAN AND ORGANIZE CONTENT FOR A SLIDE PRESENTATION

5. MAKE YOUR WORDS WORK
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER SPELLING, GRAMMAR, AND PUNCTUATION
HOW TO DEAL WITH SLANG, JARGON, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

6. WRITING WITH STYLE
SET THE TONE OF YOUR MULTIMEDIA ENDEAVOR
ENGAGE AND INVOLVE YOUR AUDIENCE
CHOOSE ACTIVE OVER PASSIVE VOICE
KEEP WRITING LIVELY
WRITE CONCISE YET COMPLETE CONTENT

7. WORDS AS GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
THE EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION OF WORDS
USING FONT STYLES AND FONT SIZES EFFECTIVELY
ADD COLOR TO TEXT FOR SPECIAL EFFECT
UNDERSTAND HOW CONTRAST AND MOVEMENT IMPACT TEXT
EXPLORE OTHER EMPHASIS TECHNIQUES AND MONITOR THEIR USE

8. FORMATTING TEXT IN A MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENT
COMPOSITION
CONTRAST
CONSISTENCY
SPACING AND LAYOUT
HIERARCHY
A TRADITIONAL FORMAT THAT DOESN’T WORK
SOME TRADITIONAL FORMATS THAT DO WORK
WORDS AND DESIGN: WORKING TOGETHER

9. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR WEBSITES
THE ORGANIZATIONAL ESSENTIALS TO CONSIDER
CONSTRUCTION BASICS FOR THE WEB
INTERACTIVITY IS THE HEART OF THE INTERNET
HOW EDUCATIONAL THEORY APPLIES TO YOUR VIEWERS
UTILIZING HYPERLINKS

10. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR VISUAL PRESENTATIONS
AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO CONSTRUCT A GOOD SCRIPT
FINAL TIPS TO ENLIVEN YOUR PRESENTATION

APPENDIX A
GREAT (WRITER-FRIENDLY) SOFTWARE FOR WEBSITES AND PRESENTATIONS
APPENDIX B
FINDING HELP ALONG THE WAY
GLOSSARY
INDEX

Product Details

* Paperback: 256 pages
* Publisher: Prentice Hall; Bk&CD-Rom edition (July 12, 2004)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0130990027

Here is an excellent resource for those in Journalism, Business, Education, Multimedia writing, Communications, and Web design.

This unique, exciting book introduces “new media writing” strategies and techniques. Understand how to write and how to display content for websites, slide shows, and other visual presentations. Differentiate between viewers (who see words projected on a computer or projector screen) and readers (who read words on paper).

Book's Introduction (excerpt)

Within the last ten years, the practice of presenting written information on a screen rather than on paper has grown dramatically.

The essence of multimedia communications is its interactivity and the fact that you write in “layers” rather than a linear, traditional way.

For those who may be “Trekkies,” I compare it to Mr. Spock’s three-dimensional chess game, which he liked to play on Star Trek. Unlike traditional chess, which is played on a flat, linear, one-dimensional surface, his Tri-D Chess is a three dimensional form of chess that requires its users to consider plays on a multi-dimensional platform. Not only must they consider the linear move in front of them, but they must also ponder the impact of those moves on separate, clear boards located above and below the main board.

Each piece impacts a number of levels. Players have to remain aware of how every piece on every level interrelates.

This reminds me of the challenge of multimedia writing. Not only must you ponder the linear story you must write on the main level, but also you must consider upper levels and lower levels accessible by hyperlinks or mouse clicks. You have to think about how each word connects to words on screens not yet visible. It is a form of three-dimensional writing that we are only beginning to comprehend, much less master.

Each piece of information impacts a number of levels. Writers have to remain aware of how every level interrelates. The computer screen – through the development of websites and presentation software such as MS PowerPoint – is now used interchangeably with paper as an output device for information.

• What types of information are more suited for output to the computer screen vs. paper?
• How does reading information on paper compare with viewing written information on a computer screen (or projector screen)?
• Should information be presented in the same way for paper as for the computer screen?
• Are currently accepted multimedia emphasis techniques (such as moving text) enhancements or distractions?

Research into these areas is new, but certain conventions have emerged. This book will examine the current state-of-the-art implementation of multimedia writing. It will show differences between viewers (those who see information projected on a screen) and readers (those who read information on paper).

"Many books discuss the larger issues of design, proposals, script writing, and interactive narrative elements. What has been missing is this -- a book that discusses the place, power, and purpose of words in multimedia applications and that discusses the nuts and bolts of word choice, style, tone, editing, visual hieracrchy, and font selection size, style, and color.

"This book's many references to films, television shows, scientists, filmmakers, television writers, actors, information architects, and human factors experts makes it interesting, relevant, and fun."

-- Diane Chute, Portland Community College instructor

"Take a basic course about writing for the Web and information architecture as soon as possible in the [web-based] project."

-- quoted from usability "guru" Dr. Jakob Nielsen's
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