Art is not just for oneself, not just a marker of one's own understanding. It is also a map for those who follow after us.
|
|
Visit our
Articles, essays, tips, & techniques
for writing, editing, & finding your story
|
| Know someone who could use the information in this newsletter? Click "Forward email" at the bottom of the newsletter, or contact me and I'll add their name to the list. |
|
Trust Your Audience
I had a lovely chat--an "informational interview"--with a recently-minted college grad this morning. She asked a question that makes me want to shriek and rip my hair out. It's a question I hear often--and not just from newbies. I heard it, plaintive and petulant, at the AAM conference in May, from people who've been in the museum world long enough to know better.
"What should I do," she wailed. "Is it better to make it easy, to dumb it down, so people can understand it, or try to explain it the right way, I mean, the story's really complicated, and-- "
"You are asking the WRONG QUESTION," I said.
Here's why.
When you say to me, "But I have to dumb it down because they won't understand it, it's too complicated," that tells me that you don't trust your reader. It tells me you think you're superior and they're inferior. It tells me you're too inexperienced--or too lazy--to figure out how to communicate effectively with your audience.
The question you need to ask is, "What do I want my reader to understand?"
Variations on this question that also work are, "What do I want them to think about?" or "What do I want them to wonder about?" or "to discover" or "to try."
Because here's the thing:
Our readers, our visitors, are smart.
They're as smart as you are, as smart as I am, and I'm sure plenty are smarter than both of us put together. And I am confident that if I tell the story well enough, they will understand it.
Even if I use "big words."
Even if the story is sooooo complicated.
Even if it takes me all day, every day for a week or a month to understand the material well enough so that I can create a strong, compelling, provocative interpretive theme to guide my story. Even if I bleed from my fingernails figuring out how to convey that story in a style, length, and format that works for the budget, medium, and site.
So quit whining and do the work. Learn your material. Create excellent interpretive themes. Use every ounce of your ingenuity and craftsmanship to write stories that do the work excellent interpretive stories are meant to do.
And TRUST YOUR AUDIENCE.
Judy
Comments? Questions?
970/416-6353 888/886-9289 email Judy
back to top |
Not sure how to get from excellent interpretation?
Learn how during
How to Create Stories that
Make a Difference
September 20-21, 2013
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
Holderness, NH
There are spaces available, but not much time left to register.
TO REGISTER, CALL603/968-7194.
You've no doubt heard (maybe even from your boss or supervisor), "Anybody can write. " After more than twenty years of writing, editing, and teaching people how to write and edit, I can assure you that anybody can write, but very few people write well.
Why does that matter? Because strong writing convinces people to support our agencies, institutions, and organizations. It persuades civic and political groups to fund us. Excellent writing brings in sponsorships and grant money. It gets the word out to people who never realized how wonderful and cool and amazing our museum, aquarium, forest, culture, WORLD is--and once they've made that discovery, they become supporters, too.
I hear from interpreters world-wide, from sites large and small, public and private, all worried about finances. The economy. Paying for training. Finding the money to continue the good work they're committed to doing.
I can't fix the world-wide economy, but I can tell you that excellent writing is key to solving these problems.
If you've been thinking about coming but have been delaying, don't wait any longer. CALL 603/968-7194 today.
REGISTER NOW:
Please note that Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is handling all registration for this workshop.
To register, simply call 603/968-7194.
back to top |
Join us this September in New Hampshire!
How to Create Stories that
Make a Difference
an affordable 2-day interp writing workshop hosted by
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
Holderness, NH
Sept. 20-21, 2013
CALL NOW TO REGISTER!
603/968-7194
Registration is $395 per person and includes all workshop materials and handouts, a copy of The Art and Craft of Interpretive Writing, and coffee, tea, and snacks.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Workshop participants receive a 15% discount on all writing, editing, writing coaching, and consulting fees through Greenfire Creative, LLC for the 12 months following the workshop and are eligible for discounts for future Greenfire Creative workshops.
How do you weave what you know into writing that moves readers, changes hearts and minds, and communicates in the most effective way possible? How do you change the ho-hum into powerful interpretive stories that inspire, intrigue, delight, and educate?
Join us at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness,  NH for a 2-day interpretive writing workshop that will crack open your creativity, energize your writing, and reveal new talents and skills. We'll practice the art and craft of interpretive writing through facilitated  discussion, in-class exercises, and sharing results. By the end of the workshop, you'll understand the critical components of interpretive writing. You'll have tools for organizing, editing, and dodging writer's block. You'll know how to create writing worth reading-and remembering. Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for interpreters of all experience levels who are involved or plan to be involved in interpretive writing or editing.
Where we'll meet each day:
Squam Lakes Natural Sciences Center, Holderness, Hew Hampshire.
Schedule:
All day Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21, 2013.
About the presenter:
Judy Fort Brenneman, CIT, owner of Greenfire Creative, LLC and author of The Art and Craft of Interpretive Writing (forthcoming), is an award winning writer and playwright, writing coach, and speaker. Her work has helped companies and agencies define their vision, inspire their employees and volunteers, educate their audiences, and increase their sales. Judy is an active member of NAI, the Council for the Interpretation of Native Peoples, International Museum Theatre Alliance, and AAM. Her passion is helping people tell their stories.
Ready to register?
CALL 603/968-7194 (Squam Lakes Natural Science Center)
back to top |
|
 | we help you tell the story
|
|
|
|
|
|
