Comments on: Why Writing Less is More: The Wisdom of a Few Words

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:44:55 +0000

Thanks Seth and Melissa!

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:49:14 +0000

For me, it depends on what I’m writing. Some pieces beg for loads of detail while others function better at a minimalist level. Style and voice for a given piece can also dictate how much excessive wording is warranted.

Still, brevity is often the mark of a good writer. It is much harder to write the second example piece in your article than to write the first. Nice job on that, by the way. I appreciate the forty minutes.

-Melissa Donovan
Writing for Writers

By: Seth

Seth — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:58:15 +0000

Just for fun, Brian… a re-work of your response. No criticism here–I know exactly what you mean, though.

“With a history in abstract scientific papers, I’ve never had to work for concise writing. My biggest challenge was to meet creative standards with verbosity.”

Great post Mike.

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:51:52 +0000

Hi Dianna and Brian;

One thing I learned in college is this.

It is very easy to ramble on endlessly.

It is much harder to present your ideas in only a single page.

The art is knowing what words to use to convey a rich idea.

Brian, you are the exception to the rule my friend!

Mike

By: Brian Spare

Brian Spare — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:29:20 +0000

Hi Mike,
I’ve never had a problem being succinct. The hard thing for me was being wordy. I have written scientific papers where it’s just the facts please and no frills. That suited me just fine. Getting into more creative writing where more words than the minimum are required was was the challenge.

It takes all kinds.

By: Dianna Huff

Dianna Huff — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:42:41 +0000

Mike, I used to have to write a ton of product blurbs for those “advertorials” for print publications. The product blurbs always had word lengths — i.e. 25 words, 50 words, etc. You learn pretty fast how to cut fluff. You also learn how to be ruthless when editing your own work.

Just last week I had to write a one page sales letter. To make everything fit, I had to cut, cut, cut.

It’s the same for email subject lines — it’s a challenge to be pithy in 60 characters or less!