Obsessing Over Formatting #1

Pursuing writing as a career has made me understand the importance of formatting and oh boy, now there is no escape! But the obsession with formatting started long ago; back in the day, even as a kid, I had this thing with certain strict particulars when it came to formatting. For instance, margins! I had a thing with margins. I would draw them in my notebooks, on both sides of similar sizes. It felt like creating my own little writing kingdom. I used to write everything in a manner with properly sharpened pencils for the similar thickness of fonts. 

Fast forward to the era of computers, and things couldn’t get any serious! I once spent a solid two days formatting a 40-page document of my random musings. Font choices, sizes, alignments, highlights, bolds, and don’t even get me started on italics! Then I used to print those pages, take a ruler and check whether the margins were upright! It would be fair to call it an obsession back then and even now!

Fast forward to the year, I got my first job as a content writer when I got introduced to Google Docs! Oh, how I adore thee, Google Docs! It became a playground for me to experience new formatting styles and fonts, some so quirky that only I can decipher them like this one, right now as I type this, my font is set to ‘Homemade Apple’ (because why not?), size 11, Justified alignment, and light green colour.

Formatting is not just a daily checklist item for me professionally or personally, it comes under the soul satisfaction checklist. Here are some points I would like to present as a justice to the ‘art of formatting’:

Importance of Formatting: Because Who Wants a Bland (read blah) Text Anyway?!

✨Catching Eyes, Winning Hearts:

Imagine formatting as a snazzy outfit your text/content wears to the party. The dazzling dress to a sharp suit will help it to grab attention and stand out in the crowd because after all, who wants to be the wallflower at the literary soirée?

✨Making Sense out of the Chaos:

No matter how much chaos you intend to create from your content, the formatting should not be the promising actor for that! Ever tried reading an unformatted wall of text?  I feel like I have to navigate through the jungle without a map, not exaggerating! Formatting adds structure and clarity that guides readers through your thoughts with ease. It's the difference between stumbling blindly through the wilderness and strolling down a well-marked path.

✨Setting the Mood, Turning the Heads:

Believe me or believe me, font styles, sizes, spaces, pointers, and colours are not just for show - they are mood setters! Want to convey urgency? Go for bold, red text. Feeling whimsical? Try a playful font like Comic Sans. Formatting lets you sprinkle a little personality into your prose, turning a dull digital or physical copy into a vibrant attractive masterpiece.

✨Keeping Readers Engaged:

Honestly, for people like me who choose a book to read by its fonts, it is really irritating if the content is interesting but the font size is too small or giant, it won’t capture the attention for a longer span. I mean, in a world where attention spans are decreasing every day. Formatting tricks like bullet points, headers, and a snappy subheading will help to break up the monotony.

✨Organising like a Pro:

Picture formatting as the Marie Kondo of the text world – it is all about tidying up and decluttering. With proper headings, lists, and indentation, your content transforms from a chaotic jumble into a well-organised masterpiece. 

Formatting is like sprinkles on the top of your content cupcake. Well, it is 4:06 in the morning and I am really hungry, so gonna add some examples including food items - plain text is like a bland potato – perfectly fine, but nothing to crave for! Now, add some formatting pizzazz, and there you will have a perfectly diced spicy potato wedges extravaganza! Fonts, colours, and quirky styles inject personality into your text, making it uniquely yours and impossible to ignore. I mean it by all means - formatting should not be optional if you want all the eyes on your content.