I don't use pull-quotes at all. As a reader, I find them annoying and a huge distraction. Like a sign blinking as I'm trying to read, telling me something I've either already read or am about to read. I honestly have never seen the point. I'm the opposite of everyone else, I suppose, but I'm okay with that. I would much rather use static pictures to break things up, if they really need breaking up.
I get what you're saying about long passages, but I don't use long passages, either.
I'm a huge fan of short paragraphs and lots of white space. I also have stopped putting buttons within my text--another distraction. They're all at the bottom now, and I'm much more comfortable with that.
In fact, I've gone through some of my older posts to delete any buttons I may have inserted before I decided I really didn't want them there.
I hate pull quotes. I'll be reading, and then feel like I have to read this thing that comes next, but either I already did, or I then encounter it immediately after, and then feel dumb for getting distracted like that. I get breaking up the flow, but a picture or a symbol or even a space will do that. Just find them constantly annoying. But I guess they must work because they are so common, so I am probably in the minority.
Wow, I really appreciate all the lessons about how and why you use pull quotes. That was fascinating.
I get that we're all wired differently & attention spans vary. As a reader, I find pull quotes incredibly distracting and I typically never let myself read them but instead scroll down until the story picks up again. I absolutely hate reading news online because the page is so busy with pop-ups, videos, quotes and a dozen other headlines. Despite not liking pull quotes in long-form reads, I do really love seeing photographs on Oldster. I love seeing the person behind the words. And I almost always finish an Oldster piece by doing a Google search to learn more about the writer. Thanks for opening my eyes to so many incredible humans!
Judging by the other comments here, I feel like pull quotes are like cilantro: you either love it or it tastes like soap. :)
Hmmm. I don’t think Substack offers us an elegant situation for pull quotes to be used effectively. As a pretty devoted longform reader, it just creates a repetitive set of words that doesn’t add to the richness of the story. In a magazine or newspaper layout, I’m 100% for pull quotes to help add shape to a story, but we don’t really have that design flex here.
I do agree with your concern about helping the “hoppy” online reader but I think there’s a different way to achieve that, which is through a series of appropriate H2 tags that reflect the progression of the story (in hopes it will inspire them to jump into the longer writing below it).
I guess I am in the minority. I hate more than one or two. I believe you use too many, and it annoys me. I signed up by choice, so it is not like flipping through a magazine or newspaper and deciding where to feed. I'm already in. The people who are PAID subscribers are REALLY in. And I don't like reading what the author wrote out of sequence. I want to experience her rhythm and cadence. Thank you Laurie Stone for letting me do that.
I find pull quotes annoying and distracting. When I first started reading your articles, I almost unsubscribed because of how many there were. I stayed because I enjoy the articles. Now, I scroll past them, wondering every time what purpose they serve.
From my perspective, a pull quote should give the reader a quick sense of the piece so they can decide if they want to read more. One quote per piece would serve this purpose.
I thoroughly hate pull quotes. I find them distracting as they interrupt the flow of reading and redundant. To me they feel like filler when I would rather the same physical space be used to move the narrative along. I would rather come to an end sooner than be slowed down by what a pull quote is; repetition. The imaginative deployment of typography and illustration is, to my mind, a better way to break up the visual monotony of a long body of work.
I would much rather read a subtitle to get a hint of the content than a pull- quote. It’s different in a print magazine, where the big quotes might pull me in to read the article. Scrolling on my phone, the quotes are a repeat and annoying.
Pull quotes are a fad I hope falls out of fashion. Annoying. And my device collapses all graphic design into text, so it is stupid and repetitive to read the same thing again. Looks like someone did not finish edits.
Points for originality! The short answer is no, I don't like them.
I remember reading years ago about how you should put up signposts, headers, etc, for the blogging audience. I dabbled, and I see the value in it, but I naturally write in bite-size paragraphs. Someone pointed that out in my writing, and I've paid attention ever since.
Sometimes it is nice to see what the editor pulls out because the writing is lovely, I'm assuming, drawing attention to the words. But generally speaking, I skip them. Thanks for asking!
I'm on the side of no pull quotes. I never know if they are an addition or a pull quote because sometimes they are both. Also, I don't want to read something twice. Plus, they're not in the right place. I could go on. But yeah, I don't read them at all.
Bring on the pull quotes...in print magazines. Then they’re equal parts info and design element. In the hands of a good designer, at least. For newsletters, they throw off the rhythm of a piece. I’d rather see pieces broken up by white space or art.
As a former print magazine editor myself, I see the value in pullquotes. However I do find them a bit confusing online because sometimes they seem to be just bolded run-on text, other times, actual pullquotes (eg: you will read it in the main text as well) so I'm never quite sure if I need to read them in the story or can skip along. Which can be frustrating but is not the worst!
I don't use pull-quotes at all. As a reader, I find them annoying and a huge distraction. Like a sign blinking as I'm trying to read, telling me something I've either already read or am about to read. I honestly have never seen the point. I'm the opposite of everyone else, I suppose, but I'm okay with that. I would much rather use static pictures to break things up, if they really need breaking up.
I get what you're saying about long passages, but I don't use long passages, either.
I'm a huge fan of short paragraphs and lots of white space. I also have stopped putting buttons within my text--another distraction. They're all at the bottom now, and I'm much more comfortable with that.
In fact, I've gone through some of my older posts to delete any buttons I may have inserted before I decided I really didn't want them there.
Don't hate me, but I've made a few converts along the way, too. In my defense, I'm talking about creative writing here, where distractions really are the pits: https://writereverlasting.substack.com/p/think-of-it-as-a-concert-of-words
I hate pull quotes. I'll be reading, and then feel like I have to read this thing that comes next, but either I already did, or I then encounter it immediately after, and then feel dumb for getting distracted like that. I get breaking up the flow, but a picture or a symbol or even a space will do that. Just find them constantly annoying. But I guess they must work because they are so common, so I am probably in the minority.
Wow, I really appreciate all the lessons about how and why you use pull quotes. That was fascinating.
I get that we're all wired differently & attention spans vary. As a reader, I find pull quotes incredibly distracting and I typically never let myself read them but instead scroll down until the story picks up again. I absolutely hate reading news online because the page is so busy with pop-ups, videos, quotes and a dozen other headlines. Despite not liking pull quotes in long-form reads, I do really love seeing photographs on Oldster. I love seeing the person behind the words. And I almost always finish an Oldster piece by doing a Google search to learn more about the writer. Thanks for opening my eyes to so many incredible humans!
Judging by the other comments here, I feel like pull quotes are like cilantro: you either love it or it tastes like soap. :)
Hmmm. I don’t think Substack offers us an elegant situation for pull quotes to be used effectively. As a pretty devoted longform reader, it just creates a repetitive set of words that doesn’t add to the richness of the story. In a magazine or newspaper layout, I’m 100% for pull quotes to help add shape to a story, but we don’t really have that design flex here.
I do agree with your concern about helping the “hoppy” online reader but I think there’s a different way to achieve that, which is through a series of appropriate H2 tags that reflect the progression of the story (in hopes it will inspire them to jump into the longer writing below it).
I guess I am in the minority. I hate more than one or two. I believe you use too many, and it annoys me. I signed up by choice, so it is not like flipping through a magazine or newspaper and deciding where to feed. I'm already in. The people who are PAID subscribers are REALLY in. And I don't like reading what the author wrote out of sequence. I want to experience her rhythm and cadence. Thank you Laurie Stone for letting me do that.
I find pull quotes annoying and distracting. When I first started reading your articles, I almost unsubscribed because of how many there were. I stayed because I enjoy the articles. Now, I scroll past them, wondering every time what purpose they serve.
From my perspective, a pull quote should give the reader a quick sense of the piece so they can decide if they want to read more. One quote per piece would serve this purpose.
Not a fan of pull quotes in this format.
Years ago, when I was an editor at a chain of community newspapers, someone “discovered” the pull-quote tool in our pagination program.
Suddenly it became a mandate from on high: Every story must have a pull quote.
Not only did it clutter the article, but quite often the quotes pulled were ridiculous!
“I agree.” Mayor Pat Jones.
“He now lives in California.”
“I’m thrilled we won.” Coach Robinson.
In the hands of a competent editor, however, they can be effective.
But I, as a reader, find them bothersome breaks in what I’m perusing.
I thoroughly hate pull quotes. I find them distracting as they interrupt the flow of reading and redundant. To me they feel like filler when I would rather the same physical space be used to move the narrative along. I would rather come to an end sooner than be slowed down by what a pull quote is; repetition. The imaginative deployment of typography and illustration is, to my mind, a better way to break up the visual monotony of a long body of work.
I would much rather read a subtitle to get a hint of the content than a pull- quote. It’s different in a print magazine, where the big quotes might pull me in to read the article. Scrolling on my phone, the quotes are a repeat and annoying.
Pull quotes are a fad I hope falls out of fashion. Annoying. And my device collapses all graphic design into text, so it is stupid and repetitive to read the same thing again. Looks like someone did not finish edits.
Points for originality! The short answer is no, I don't like them.
I remember reading years ago about how you should put up signposts, headers, etc, for the blogging audience. I dabbled, and I see the value in it, but I naturally write in bite-size paragraphs. Someone pointed that out in my writing, and I've paid attention ever since.
Sometimes it is nice to see what the editor pulls out because the writing is lovely, I'm assuming, drawing attention to the words. But generally speaking, I skip them. Thanks for asking!
I'm on the side of no pull quotes. I never know if they are an addition or a pull quote because sometimes they are both. Also, I don't want to read something twice. Plus, they're not in the right place. I could go on. But yeah, I don't read them at all.
Bring on the pull quotes...in print magazines. Then they’re equal parts info and design element. In the hands of a good designer, at least. For newsletters, they throw off the rhythm of a piece. I’d rather see pieces broken up by white space or art.
I’m with you all the way, but I’m a long-time magazine editor who teaches a class called “surf, snorkel, dive” on how readers get into stories!
As a former print magazine editor myself, I see the value in pullquotes. However I do find them a bit confusing online because sometimes they seem to be just bolded run-on text, other times, actual pullquotes (eg: you will read it in the main text as well) so I'm never quite sure if I need to read them in the story or can skip along. Which can be frustrating but is not the worst!
I don't really like them. If I don't like what I'm reading in the first paragraph or two I'm moving on.