What readers WANT to DO is more important than what they NEED to KNOW
When you're planning a chapter or a whole book, chances are you have a clear idea in your mind of what the reader needs to know in order to succeed.
"HTML", "Understanding the TisWas Module", "Overview of Taxonomies". To succeed in writing you try to put yourself in your readers shoes. And readers are far less interested in what they need to know than they are in what they want to do. So instead of planning chapters that tell your readers the things they need to know, plan chapters that show them how to do the things they want to do. Chapter titles and major headings should all make the reader think: "this book is going to show me how to do exactly the things I want". Just looking at the headings should make the reader say, "wow! my dreams have come true!" It certainly shouldn't make them feel bored or overwhelmed with a ton of technical jargon, background, and overview. So what about things that the reader really does need to know? At the planning stage, forget about them. They will crop up as you are writing, and you won't struggle to work them in. Identify what the reader wants to do, show them how, get out of the way.
Comments [10]