Iām a big fan of pull quotes. Especially if there is no other art in a long piece. They are guideposts of encouragement and give the eye a place to rest for a minute. They are a little desert island oasis in a sea of sentences.
Where I differ with most editors is that I donāt require the pull quote right next to where it originated in the text. I see it that way in the majority of publications, but I choose them based on uniqueness or āwhoa!ā factor, and if they must be there (I tend to ignore them as a reader) I consider them little seducers into a story. Pull quote as seduction!
I donāt think readers have the same stamina for long form as they did pre-digitally. Readers need visual breaks. All of us scan, but breaks build trust and help readers slow down if they are engaged and read more deeply.
I understand your reasoning behind your use of pull quotes and think itās very sound. For long essays itās a great idea. Personally I tend to ignore them, though, as they distract me from the intended flow of the piece. The ones I do read are very short and function more like headers.
Thanks for the tender regard. I suppose I believe every sentence has to function as a pull quote to the next one. ā¤ļøš·
Iām a big fan of pull quotes. Especially if there is no other art in a long piece. They are guideposts of encouragement and give the eye a place to rest for a minute. They are a little desert island oasis in a sea of sentences.
Where I differ with most editors is that I donāt require the pull quote right next to where it originated in the text. I see it that way in the majority of publications, but I choose them based on uniqueness or āwhoa!ā factor, and if they must be there (I tend to ignore them as a reader) I consider them little seducers into a story. Pull quote as seduction!
I tend to skip right past them, but I understand exactly why you use them :-)
I donāt think readers have the same stamina for long form as they did pre-digitally. Readers need visual breaks. All of us scan, but breaks build trust and help readers slow down if they are engaged and read more deeply.
I understand your reasoning behind your use of pull quotes and think itās very sound. For long essays itās a great idea. Personally I tend to ignore them, though, as they distract me from the intended flow of the piece. The ones I do read are very short and function more like headers.