This, Then That
Pompeii and Organizing Interp Stories
 If you were designing an extensive touring exhibit about the ancient city of Pompeii, whose primary claim to fame nowadays is being buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted, where would you begin?
You've probably heard plenty of advice--begin at the beginning, write the perfect hook, make sure your theme is in the first paragraph--and there's some truth to these tidbits. But before we get there, we need to back up a bit.
We need to begin with the audience.
What do they need to know?
When do they need to know it?
For some writers, "This, Then That" is intuitively obvious. These writers automatically sort the content into a decent sequence without consciously thinking about what the reader needs to know now in order to understand something that comes later. Some writers figure out the sequence by listing or outlining. Others discover the best sequence through the act of writing itself.
No matter where you fall on this "organizing continuum," it will  benefit you and your interpretive story if you consider the sequence at the outset.
A decent sequence guides readers through new and complex information without confusing or overwhelming them. An excellent sequence draws readers deeper into the story. They form stronger emotional connections with the story and have a richer understanding of it. They spend more time with the story. They linger in the exhibit hall and spend extra time on the nature trail. They discuss and share the story with others and seek out more information. They understand and remember the core meanings of the story--your interpretive theme--and they are much more likely to behave in ways that support your interpretive goals and objectives.
A Day in Pompeii
One logical starting point for telling the story of Pompeii would be with the poignant casts of people who were trapped in the ash.
Beginning at the end--after the disaster, with the eerily life-like forms of people captured in their final moments--is dramatic and heart-rending. It certainly captures our attention. From that point, we could work our way backward, to what happened in the moments and hours before they were buried, and from there back to the morning before their world changed.
We could also begin at the moment of the eruption. It's dramatic, too--an ominous rumble rattles the windows. Some people ignore it, others begin to leave. Things get worse; roofs and walls topple, fires break out, the sky fills with ash, more people flee. From there, we could rewind to before the eruption, or continue on to the end result: utter devastation, ultimate rediscovery, and the casts.
The exhibit, A Day in Pompeii took a different approach, one that at first seems a bit ordinary for such a dramatic topic.
The first three-quarters of this touring exhibit is much like a  traditional museum exhibit: vitrine after vitrine filled with neatly labelled artifacts. Original and reproductions of artwork. Maps and models of buildings and architectural elements, a charcoal stove, couches, a loaf of carbonized bread.
The information and displays in this part of the exhibit are grouped by broad themes: What was daily life like in Pompeii? What did people eat? What were their religious beliefs? What was social, business, and political life like?
Audio headsets supplement the wall-mounted labels. A few first-person costumed interpreters and docents manning discovery  carts add personal interaction.
It's all quite interesting, but it doesn't work--yet--as a powerful or compelling interpretive story. That changes as you enter the final stretch.
The final quarter of the exhibit area is partially divided from the previous sections by a curtained seating area, where visitors watch a five minute digital re-creation of the final 24 hours of Pompeii. A nearby timeline puts these 24 hours in context (beginning seven years earlier, when major earthquakes hit Pompeii) and fills in more details.
Immediately beyond the timeline and movie are the famous body casts, plus a cast of a bone bed recovered in Herculaneum, a city four miles north of Pompeii.
This last area is the smallest section of the exhibit and holds the fewest displays. Several large wall-mounted panels briefly describe each cast.
Visitors linger here. They take their time. They study the casts. They read the panel text. They talk quietly with others, sharing observations and thoughts.
This last section is what many of us think of as "The Story of Pompeii"--the eruption and the buried people, literally uncovered centuries later.
Now, at last, the purpose underlying the exhibit's organization becomes clear.
The first part of the exhibit teaches us the vocabulary we need to know to truly understand what "the destruction of Pompeii" means.
By the time we reach this final section, we know a lot about day to day life in Pompeii. We've been steeped in their architecture  and their artwork. We know where they sleep, what they eat, that they like to throw parties and spend a lot of time outside. We've made friends with a slave who bought her own freedom and runs a food shop. We've formed a community of sorts, and even as we're approaching information overload, we're lulled into a "so this was what life was like way back when" mindset. We've stopped thinking about Pompeii as the site of a cataclysmic event; we've started thinking about it as a place filled with people living full and fascinating lives much like our own.
Now when we wander through this final section, we aren't simply looking at amazement at the body casts of unfortunate Pompeiians. We're looking at people we know. People who were just here. We're not merely willing to spend time contemplating what happened and what it means; we are compelled to do so.
These casts would be striking regardless, but because we have learned the vocabulary of Pompeii, they are far more significant and affecting. We feel the loss more sharply; it's more personal to us than it would be if we'd just walked into this section and skipped the rest.
This: The basics of daily life in Pompeii; the geology of volcanoes
Then That: The eruption and its aftermath
This is the power of organization: understanding what our visitors need to know first, so they will understand and connect with what comes next.
What do your readers and visitors need to know in order to understand the interpretive story you want to tell?Judy
Comments? Questions?
970/416-6353 888/886-9289 email Judy A Day in Pompeii exhibit based on the design and presentation developed by the Gulf Coast Exploreum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and Discovery Place. Organized by Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. This essay is based on the organization of the touring exhibit that appeared at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, September 14, 2012 through January 13, 2013. Photos, from top to bottom: Pomeiian candelabra panel; marble statue; carbonized bread; display panel title; garden wall fresco detail; timeline detail; cast of a young Pompeiian woman.
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Interp Writing Workshops
I'm still working on scheduling 2- and 4-day writing workshops for 2013 and 2014. If you're interested in hosting a workshop, drop me an email or call me (888/885-9289, toll-free in the U.S.).
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Hey, How's the Book Coming?
Assuming all goes well, my new book, The Art and Craft of Interpretive Writing, will be available later this year. Thanks to generous friends who let me hide out in their mountain cabin for an extended writing retreat earlier this month, the first draft and a fair amount of editing are almost complete. Book and cover designs are underway, and with a little luck, everything will come together in grand fashion in the not-too-distant future.
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