How do I make instructions come to life?
The book that I'm working on comes in 5 sections (which I'll probably turn into 5 separate books). Actually there are a couple more sections, but it's the main 5 that I'm focusing on here.
The first of the 5 sections contains lots of exercises for the reader to do. It's for guitarists and all of the exercises involve playing scales.
The other 4 sections are exactly the same, and the only difference is that the exercises are slightly different. But the principle for the exercises is the same throughout the 5 sections.
Before each exercise there's a bit of introductory text to explain the reason for the exercise, and what it's all about etc. That bit I found easy.
But I'm having trouble with explaining the exercises themselves. It's not that I can't lay out the instructions. I've done that. That's the easy part. But it's so boring. It's like a list.
And when they go to the other 4 sections, it's just the same. Boring. And by then, they understand the exercises so there's not much more for me to say except to give the instructions again.
As for the intro to the book, the first couple of introductory lessons, and the conclusion, although they all still need work they're mostly done. It's just the exercises that I'm having problems with.
They all have diagrams and eventually I'll make videos of me doing them exercises. But it's the list of instructions itself that is boring. Especially when they're all repeated again in the other sections, and they already understand them, meaning that there's no need for me to explain them again.
How do you liven up something that? How do you make a list of instructions interesting?
The first of the 5 sections contains lots of exercises for the reader to do. It's for guitarists and all of the exercises involve playing scales.
The other 4 sections are exactly the same, and the only difference is that the exercises are slightly different. But the principle for the exercises is the same throughout the 5 sections.
Before each exercise there's a bit of introductory text to explain the reason for the exercise, and what it's all about etc. That bit I found easy.
But I'm having trouble with explaining the exercises themselves. It's not that I can't lay out the instructions. I've done that. That's the easy part. But it's so boring. It's like a list.
And when they go to the other 4 sections, it's just the same. Boring. And by then, they understand the exercises so there's not much more for me to say except to give the instructions again.
As for the intro to the book, the first couple of introductory lessons, and the conclusion, although they all still need work they're mostly done. It's just the exercises that I'm having problems with.
They all have diagrams and eventually I'll make videos of me doing them exercises. But it's the list of instructions itself that is boring. Especially when they're all repeated again in the other sections, and they already understand them, meaning that there's no need for me to explain them again.
How do you liven up something that? How do you make a list of instructions interesting?
'I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion'
-Muhammad Ali