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Making fics accessible
Sep. 25th, 2011 05:42 pmI'm using you guys as the guinea pigs for the post about accessibility I want to make over at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
deancasbigbang
How does this sound and have I forgotten anything major?
I've been asked to provide some tips on how to make fics easily readable and accessible when it comes time to post. Below are some suggestions, none of which are mandatory but which I hope will be useful.
1. A lot of people read longer fics on an eReader so if possible post on somewhere like AO3 or post the fic as a PDF to make it easier for people to put it on these devices.
AO3 requires invites but if you need one (or have some to offer) please comment on this post and we'll try and match you up
2. Include a version of the fic that doesn't have any art embedded as this can cause problems with formatting.
3. Don't hard code your fonts (including colour and size) so that it can be adjusted easily if needed.
4. Make sure you include breaks between paragraphs/lines of speech. I know books aren't formatted that way but it's much easier on the eyes when reading on a screen if you're not presented with a wall of text.
Bad example:
Dean woke up that morning with an aching head and a disgusting taste in his mouth. He really needed to lay off the drinking.
"God, please kill me."
"I'd prefer it if He didn't," Castiel replied with a lazy smile. "I much prefer you alive."
"And I'd prefer it if you two would shut up," Sam's muffled voice came from beneath his pillow.
Good example:
Dean woke up that morning with an aching head and a disgusting taste in his mouth. He really needed to lay off the drinking.
"God, please kill me."
"I'd prefer it if He didn't," Castiel replied with a lazy smile. "I much prefer you alive."
"And I'd prefer it if you two would shut up," Sam's muffled voice came from beneath his pillow.
deancasbigbangHow does this sound and have I forgotten anything major?
I've been asked to provide some tips on how to make fics easily readable and accessible when it comes time to post. Below are some suggestions, none of which are mandatory but which I hope will be useful.
1. A lot of people read longer fics on an eReader so if possible post on somewhere like AO3 or post the fic as a PDF to make it easier for people to put it on these devices.
AO3 requires invites but if you need one (or have some to offer) please comment on this post and we'll try and match you up
2. Include a version of the fic that doesn't have any art embedded as this can cause problems with formatting.
3. Don't hard code your fonts (including colour and size) so that it can be adjusted easily if needed.
4. Make sure you include breaks between paragraphs/lines of speech. I know books aren't formatted that way but it's much easier on the eyes when reading on a screen if you're not presented with a wall of text.
Bad example:
Dean woke up that morning with an aching head and a disgusting taste in his mouth. He really needed to lay off the drinking.
"God, please kill me."
"I'd prefer it if He didn't," Castiel replied with a lazy smile. "I much prefer you alive."
"And I'd prefer it if you two would shut up," Sam's muffled voice came from beneath his pillow.
Good example:
Dean woke up that morning with an aching head and a disgusting taste in his mouth. He really needed to lay off the drinking.
"God, please kill me."
"I'd prefer it if He didn't," Castiel replied with a lazy smile. "I much prefer you alive."
"And I'd prefer it if you two would shut up," Sam's muffled voice came from beneath his pillow.
