How do you get someone to read your work? Well, our class is writing an ebook on the Renaissance, and we're working closely with the new medium of digital books. But as we've begun this project, we are facing challenges, one of which is: Just how do we get people to read our book? Well, after reading chapter 11 and 12 of Writing About Literature in the Digital Age, I was happy to discover some examples of how to speak to an audience in a way that engages them, draws them in.
Chapter 11, A Letter from Hell: Screwtape on the Digital Age, was mainly written for people who had read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I have not read The Screwtape Letters, so parts of the essay weren't clear to me. But, I do think that he had the right idea. He knew that the people reading his chapter would probably be familiar with C.S. Lewis, and at least have heard of The Screwtape Letters enough that they could understand his approach. I felt that writing from a literary perspective was effective in helping me to look at the subject differently.The less-formal tone kept things readable. I felt like I was on the same page (pun intended) as the author.
In chapter 12 I appreciated the prominent and very real presence of the author in his writing. He mentioned his wife, and sneaking comic books into the house. He talked about his own passion, comic books. Bringing his personal interests into his work make the topic more approachable. It helps me, the reader, to step into his shoes. I can take a look at the topic from his perspective, as well as my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment