1·Dec·2005 · "With The Devil" · champagne1982

[KillerMuffin]

Killer Muffin,

It's very nice to see you on the forum. I'm in the midst of rewriting the dreaded epigraph. I am still torn over keeping it as a vital part of this poem or editing it out and putting any key elements of its narration inside the body of the poem.

I agree, the vB formatting isn't the greatest medium for this poem. I'll be continuing the experiment, I'm sure.

Thankyou for the editor's eye you've used on this poem. I'm glad for the advice.

You're welcome.

An epigraph does two things in your poem. It gives us vital information that most of your readership will not come to the poem with. It tells us who the General is, what his position is, and what's going on in Rwanda. Frankly, most of the rest of the world will have completely forgotten about it, if they even knew about it in the first place. Ignorance, in my opinion, will diminish the poem's message. Two, it sets a tone for the poem (almost all epigraphs do that). I'd keep it and edited version, personally.

vB formatting isn't the problem. It's the fact that you're posting it on the web. You can hard code it into HTML to look exactly like you want it to and it will still look completely different on all three of my computers. Different sized monitors, different resolutions. Even switching web browsers can change the look of a poem. Because formatting can be so important, keep that in mind. The only way to even out the variables inherent in the 'Net is to make it an image smaller than 800x600.

 

[wildsweetone]

You're welcome.

An epigraph does two things in your poem. It gives us vital information that most of your readership will not come to the poem with. It tells us who the General is, what his position is, and what's going on in Rwanda. Frankly, most of the rest of the world will have completely forgotten about it, if they even knew about it in the first place. Ignorance, in my opinion, will diminish the poem's message. Two, it sets a tone for the poem (almost all epigraphs do that). I'd keep it, personally.

vB formatting isn't the problem. It's the fact that you're posting it on the web. You can hard code it into HTML to look exactly like you want it to and it will still look completely different on all three of my computers. Different sized monitors, different resolutions. Even switching web browsers can change the look of a poem. Because formatting can be so important, keep that in mind. The only way to even out the variables inherent in the 'Net is to make it an image smaller than 800x600.

hey dear, welcome back.

could another way be to set the poem correct on a, say, word document and then upload it to the site? it should keep its formatting that way, shouldn't it?

 

[KillerMuffin]

hey dear, welcome back.

could another way be to set the poem correct on a, say, word document and then upload it to the site? it should keep its formatting that way, shouldn't it?

Thank you!

No, actually it wouldn't. The problem isn't how Lit codes the poems. It codes it all the same way. The problem is what stuff is used to access the poem.

As a fer-instance, change the resolution on your monitor and look at Carrie's poem. Change the resolution again, then look. You should have at least three different settings to try it on. It changes the way the poem is read. Change the size of your browser window. My laptop is 15". My work monitor is 19". The family monitor is 17". It changes a lot.

When writing a poem like this one, the formatting versus the wide variety of monitors, resolutions, and browsers should be kept in mind when creating it. Most formatted poems have flexibility. The only noticeable difference is in white space--like "With the Devil". The lines are short enough that the web browser's automatic word wrap isn't going to line break where no line breaks are supposed to be. However, white space, particularly in a powerful, formatted poem like Carrie's, is very important. Too much and your poem loses something. Too little and the point of the formatting is lost.

 

[wildsweetone]

good grief, i understood what you said. thanks for the explanation.

 

[KillerMuffin]

good grief, i understood what you said. thanks for the explanation.

Heh. I'm glad someone did. I didn't.




Just to because I made it sound the exact opposite and I didn't mean to: about the uploading a word document. Lit will format the poem the way you send it in a word document. They'll use Word to view the poem so they can put it on the site the way it's presented by Word. If that makes any sense.

 

[wildsweetone]

yes, but it's your browser or whatever you use to view the poem that is likely to mess about with how the poem 'looks'. see, i get it.

odd how i've not noticed any big differences in the formatting before. must pay more attention to that. one day.

sorry Carrie for getting sidetracked on your thread.

 

[champagne1982]

yes, but it's your browser or whatever you use to view the poem that is likely to mess about with how the poem 'looks'. see, i get it.

odd how i've not noticed any big differences in the formatting before. must pay more attention to that. one day.

sorry Carrie for getting sidetracked on your thread.

This is actually an excellent discussion that should be on a thread for a poem with a format as integral to the structure as With The Devil's is. It is something I'll keep in mind.

The poem as it is posted on Lit, reads and looks as I intended if the computer it's viewed on has the browser settings at Windows default (which would encompass most casual users, I'll bet some folks don't even know that they can change how things look).