In this section, we'll examine how to assemble a complete multimedia script, focusing on larger style issues and formatting guidelines.

I have divided this section into six parts. General Rules will lay some groundwork for the task at hand. Organization will help you start to put a script together. Text-Based Scripts and Audio Scripts examine differences between writing for the eye and the ear. We'll cover some principles of Instructional Design, and wrap up with a look at Interactivity, multimedia's greatest asset.

General Rules

When writing a multimedia script, think concision. As William Strunk, Jr. best put it, “Vigorous writing is concise.” If you prefer a mnemonic device, try KISS: Keep it simple, stupid (an old TV writing term). When trying to get across a procedure or process, the simpler the explanation, the easier it is to understand.

One way to achieve this is by keeping your scripts in the active voice. Active voice is more direct, and usually shorter than a passive construction. The passive voice tends toward imprecision, which affects clarity. A good way of cleaning up your scripts is performing a global search for words like “be,” “can” and “will.” There are some instances where passive voice is acceptable, usually shifts of time, or sentences where the person who performs the action is unknown or unimportant:

This CD-ROM has been distributed to your coworkers.

If you have trouble ending a sentence with a preposition, get over it. When writing about buttons and other inanimate objects, it's often necessary to end a sentence this way, if only to keep commands shorter and avoid repetition of terms. Remember Winston Churchill's retort to an editor who caught him breaking the rule: “This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put!” If Churchill (a Nobel Prize-winning author) could end a sentence with a preposition, so can you.

Organization

Tutorial scripts are generally divided into chapters and lessons. This may not always reflect the way the actual program works, but will help you keep your script in order.

Organize chapters and lessons thematically. Before you begin your script, review the available information and compose an outline. This will ensure you include all necessary information. It will also make the script easier to write.

Chapters should cover large concepts, such as separate programs. Here is a sample chapter listing:

1. Word Processing
2. Spreadsheets
3. Databases
4. Presentation Programs

Lessons should cover smaller concepts, such as individual menus or each step in a process. You will usually also need some introductory lessons, such as how to open a particular program, or an overview of features. Here is a sample lesson listing:

1. Installing the Program
2. Opening the Program
3. Examining the Program
4. The File Menu
5. The Edit Menu
6. The Tools Menu
7. The Help Menu
8. Creating a Document
9. Saving a Document

Obviously, use of chapters or lessons is dictated by the scope of the project you are writing. A smaller project may not need chapters. A very large program may require levels higher than chapters, such as sections.

Text-Based Scripts

As mentioned earlier, this type of script applies to text-based training programs or Web sites. The user receives information by reading, and there is little to no accompanying audio or video. Text is the chief agent for conveying information, just as it is within a book or magazine.

An individual screen within a text-based multimedia program is called a page. This convention also works when writing for an instructional Web site. A page should convey information, or instruct the user to perform an action. A user moves to the next page by performing an action, or clicking a forward button or link.

As mentioned earlier, try to present information in digestible chunks. Each page should display a complete thought, usually conveyed in just a few sentences. If you need to continue information on another page, but no action is required, have the user click the forward button or link.

Within the actual program or Web site, any action a user must perform should appear on screen in red:

Now let's enter the physician's name in the text field:
Type Bob Melton

Indicate this action text within your script by underlining it or making it bold. This will make it easier for you to quickly locate any instructional text.

Now let's enter the physician's name in the text field:
Type Bob Melton.

Use numbers to designate chapters and lessons. “3.2” represents chapter three, lesson two.

Program, chapter and lesson titles should appear in bold text:

3.2 The Button Bar

Remember to provide context for your user. Virtually every instructional program or Web page needs some kind of an introduction. Here's an example:

Can't get a laugh? FunnyCo brings you Joke Writer. Joke Writer generates humorous asides on your computer, providing you with a fast way to find the perfect bon mot for any occasion. Not only will you split your sides (and those of others), but the program is easy to use, and saves paper. During this tutorial, you will learn how to open Joke Writer, generate some chuckles, and leave 'em laughing.
In all seriousness, this program contains proprietary information.

In most cases, when a user completes a lesson, the program returns them to the appropriate menu, so that when the user selects a lesson such as “Generating a Joke,” he or she has a reasonable expectation of what's coming next. However, some clients prefer that the user proceed directly from one lesson to the next, bypassing the main menu. In such cases, keep the user focused by reiterating the title of the lesson in your introduction:

Generating a Joke
To generate a joke, you must use the New Joke dialog box. This dialog box appears automatically when you open Joke Writer.

Audio Scripts

The same formatting rules apply when writing audio scripts, but your words are now intended for the ear, not the eye. Conversational writing needs to sound natural, not stilted and artificial. The best way to see if your copy passes the test is to actually read it out loud.

Audio scripts allow you to inject personality into programs. Because the narrator is an actual person, you can use inclusive terms like “we” or “our,” creating the illusion that the narrator is viewing the program along with the user. This makes the program less sterile and helps puts the user at ease. Using this method, the narrator can act as an actual guide:

First, let's take a look at our slide show. By viewing it now, you'll better understand the changes and enhancements we make during this tutorial.

Write everything the way you would say it, not the way you would read it. You might know what you mean by a certain symbol, but an announcer may read the word in the wrong way. For instance, what does “.25 in.” mean? Point-two-five inches? A quarter of an inch? Don't make others guess your intent.

With numbers, write out one through nine. Use numerals for 10 through 999. Write out words like thousand and million. Use the appropriate combination of names and numerals for numbers like 22 million.

Write out names for symbols. When cutting audio, “Dollars” is easier to read than “$.”

If you use an acronym or an abbreviation in a script, make sure you use (or “establish”) the full name first:

We'll examine optical character recognition, also known as OCR.

As a TV producer, I wrote for some anchors who had, shall we say politely, an incomplete grasp of pronunciation. But as side-splittingly funny as it was to hear a word like communiqué rendered as comm-yu-neek, mispronunciations ultimately make the writer look bad as well. With that in mind, try to anticipate specific words or regionalisms that may cause trouble to an announcer. Phoneticize any danger words:

Spice up your dinner with some Worcestershire (Wooster-sheer) sauce.

Remember too, you may not be present when the audio is recorded. If your script reads the same as you want it to sound, you can save the announcer (and yourself) a trip back to the studio.

Audio scripts are not locked into the page concept we explored in the previous section. A segment of audio can continue until it is time to perform an action.

All audio-based programs should display text for any action the user must perform. You can also display text of the full script along with the audio. This creates a closed-captioning effect, helping reinforce the audio. It's also a good idea if there is a possibility some users may be hearing-impaired.

When displaying text in audio programs, make sure the written text follows the appropriate style rules. While you want to write out “ninety-thousand dollars” for the audio script, “$90,000” obviously looks better on-screen.

Instructional Design

Instructional Design is a process of designing, writing and producing educational materials (in our case, computer-based tutorials) that are based on proven and established principles and methods of learning and instruction.

A tutorial teaches a person how to use something. Therefore, the script must present subject matter in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, re-emphasizing key points to help users retain the most important information. This begins with navigation, helping the user understand the path they will follow.

When using chapters and lessons or a similar format, you may want to identify the student's current location:

Welcome to chapter three, file management.
Welcome to lesson four, Europe.

Begin each chapter and each lesson with an objective, the general or particular information the student will (hopefully) learn:

In this chapter, you'll learn how to fax a document.
In this lesson, we'll examine the File menu.

Because you are writing for people with varying degrees of computer proficiency, break information into digestible sections. Make each separate action a distinct sentence. Avoid run-on sentences.

When a user is required to perform an action, make sure the onscreen instructional text stands out; as suggested before, you can use red text. When writing an audio script, this display text usually repeats a section of audio; if possible, try to vary it slightly.

Audio: The Exit button is on the right. Click it to close the program.

Text: Click the Exit button now.

Sometimes, you may want to indicate the end of a section:

Congratulations, you have completed this lesson.

You can also repeat (and thereby reinforce) key instructional points at the end of a lesson:

In this lesson, you learned how to:
turn on your computer;
turn off your computer.

For more on instructional writing, see the next chapter.

Interactivity

For users to truly learn how to use a program or a product, it's essential that they actually use it. That's where interactivity comes in.

Interactivity allows the user to participate in the learning process, instead of passively watching the material presented. The nature of the program determines the amount of interactivity you can (or should) use. Games like Myst or programs like Microsoft Bookshelf give users complete control over where they go and what they view. Other programs lead the user by the nose through nothing more than a slide show.

Most instructional material requires that you lead a student down some type of pre-determined course. Let's say you're writing a tutorial on how to drive a car. For a new user, it's probably not a good idea to skip the lesson on braking. On the other hand, not everyone is a novice. Some users may only need to view the lesson on using manual transmissions. That's why it's a good idea to present the student with a recommended course of action (the lesson menu), but the option to view material in any order. During individual lessons, students should always have the option to return to a menu or exit the program.

Interactivity should reinforce the information provided. Don't use it just to use it. You need to find a balance, providing enough interactivity to engage the user, but not at the expense of information or clarity. Interactivity is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

As you'll find, sometimes a subject doesn't lend itself to interactivity. It's acceptable to walk a user through this type of material:

Let's examine the back of your computer.
Make sure the machine is unplugged. Now, beginning at the left is the video connection. This is where you plug in your monitor.
To the right of that is the mouse port. This is where you plug in your mouse.
The next connection is the fax/modem port. By inserting a phone line in this port, you can use your computer to explore the Internet. You can also use the Fax/Modem to transmit documents to anyone with a fax machine.

Conversely, some procedures don't require a lot of explaining:

Let's move to the next box.
Press the Tab key.
Enter 5000.
Now, close the window, and save your changes.

Again, indicate any interactive points in your script by underlining the appropriate action text.

There are two usual methods of progression within a tutorial. To advance within the program, the user either performs a set action, or makes a choice.

Actions include, but are not limited to, clicking buttons or links, selecting menu items and entering text. While most of these actions are preset, text entry can be programmed so the user can type in random information, such as their name.

Choices include chapter and lesson menus, the forward button or link, and lesson branching. Branching allows you to target users by having them proceed in specific directions. For instance, let's say we're writing a tutorial on an application available for both Mac and PC. It functions the same way on both platforms, but there are some slight differences. When those differences occur, buttons appear, allowing the user to select their platform. Only information specific to their platform is displayed, bypassing the information for the other platform. This technique is especially useful whenever you are presenting information that does not need to be viewed by all users of a tutorial or program.

This is a good time to discuss linearity and nonlinearity.

Linear refers to a progression in a straight line, like reading the chapters in a book. Time is linear, as is travel from one place to another. Most tutorials, such as this section on script guidelines, are linear.

Nonlinear refers to items that can be selected out of order, much like the shuffle play feature on a compact disc player. Nonlinearity involves randomness or freedom of choice. Truly interactive programs (where the user decides where to go) are nonlinear.

It helps to think in a nonlinear fashion when writing for multimedia or designing Web sites, since you are often working on sections out of order. When writing nonlinear script sections, make sure all the possible iterations flow together. Transitions should be smooth and invisible, not jarring and blatantly obvious. Again, a good way to check your transitions is to read them out loud. Not surprisingly, nonlinear writing also requires diligent organization.

One last point: don't be afraid to try new interactive methods and ideas. Just because it hasn't been tried before does not mean it can't be done.