Great advise here Denyse. I always find that when a newsletter is broken up into sections with clear headings, I am more likely to continue reading it.
I'm using your tips and doing a rewrite of my very first Substack post. As I was going to use tabs and spaces to get the layout the way I wanted it to look onscreen, I remembered that it could be viewed on a phone or tablet or even a different sized screen and it won't look the same. So now the generation is not using the perfect numbering format, but it works well enough to get the meaning across.
Many thanks for the 6 tips on Ways to Format My Family History. As a very new Substack writer I found this to be very valuable and will put your suggestions into practice.
I do hope you will check out my upcoming post called "Summer of '73" and would love to hear your comments.
Excellent advice for writing anything - on the screen or on paper. Family histories can be fascinating, and it is understandable that a historian wants to showcase all their findings. However, inundating the reader with too much detail can obscure the interesting story (as well as bore the reader). As you edit ask yourself "does this add meaning to the story?" if not, remove it.
Thank you! Are you looking on a mobile device or computer? There's nothing I can change in settings it seems. I made those images with Grok, the Twitter/X AI image generator. It seems to have a better memory and able to build off of previous requests.
I have found that when I use a longish sentence filled with detail and nuance it is best to follow up with a three or four word power summary. Sum it up!
Use simple language and a clear message. It's always a good idea — unless you're specifically trying to confuse someone. Well done, @Denyse Allen. I'll be coming back to this reminder for all of my posts. Thank you for the reminder that virtually all of our work is read (or skimmed) on a screen today. Spot on.
Great advise here Denyse. I always find that when a newsletter is broken up into sections with clear headings, I am more likely to continue reading it.
Exactly!
Some great tips here and just in time for me to read them as I just start using Substack and crosspost to my WordPress and WeAre blogs.
Some great advice thank you! Keep it simple breaking up text with images is such a great way of presenting your work.
It’s a definite point worth noting I always preview my posts on a phone or tablet to see how the layout is viewed from a screen it’s a great tip
Thanks Paul! Most forget that we are writing for screens and scrolling, not pages and turning.
I had not considered the nuances in writing for those that read in screens. Good stuff!
Thank you! Welcome back from your travels!
I'm using your tips and doing a rewrite of my very first Substack post. As I was going to use tabs and spaces to get the layout the way I wanted it to look onscreen, I remembered that it could be viewed on a phone or tablet or even a different sized screen and it won't look the same. So now the generation is not using the perfect numbering format, but it works well enough to get the meaning across.
Very interesting tips, thanks for sharing Denyse
Many thanks for the 6 tips on Ways to Format My Family History. As a very new Substack writer I found this to be very valuable and will put your suggestions into practice.
I do hope you will check out my upcoming post called "Summer of '73" and would love to hear your comments.
Excellent advice for writing anything - on the screen or on paper. Family histories can be fascinating, and it is understandable that a historian wants to showcase all their findings. However, inundating the reader with too much detail can obscure the interesting story (as well as bore the reader). As you edit ask yourself "does this add meaning to the story?" if not, remove it.
Exactly! And if it’s online you can break it into many pieces. We don’t get charged by post!
Good advice as always, Denyse! One thing I am annoyed by is that Substack photo captions seem to be too small to read. Any way around this?
Thank you! Are you looking on a mobile device or computer? There's nothing I can change in settings it seems. I made those images with Grok, the Twitter/X AI image generator. It seems to have a better memory and able to build off of previous requests.
I have found that when I use a longish sentence filled with detail and nuance it is best to follow up with a three or four word power summary. Sum it up!
This was perfect. My father has been writing fishing articles for decades. He was my proof reader when I was in college. He always cut the extra out.
Use simple language and a clear message. It's always a good idea — unless you're specifically trying to confuse someone. Well done, @Denyse Allen. I'll be coming back to this reminder for all of my posts. Thank you for the reminder that virtually all of our work is read (or skimmed) on a screen today. Spot on.
Ask yourself, "How would Denyse write it?"
Great info! Love hearing your voice too!!
Great info! Love hearing your voice too!!
Good info, thanks!
Glad to hear it resonated.