As the school year winds down for those in "normal" school (I of the special school - aka distance learning - am on a completely different schedule) many of my friends are currently engaged in writing various papers and finishing up final projects. Some are putting in late nights/early mornings to finish up 20, 30, even 50 page papers, while others are assigned a word count. One friend recently told me she had a class paper due this week and when I asked how many pages, she shrugged and just said, it's only 500 words. Holy crap. I could do that in my sleep! And that got me to thinkin'.... (always a dangerous thing)
Three of my last five posts have been well over a thousand words. That's a one with three zeros after it -- or in a couple of cases a one with three larger digits after it. More than double than my friend's paper. I'm grateful for those of you who took up the challenge and waded through all those words, but some of your teased me about how loooooong the posts were. And too be honest, I tend to shy away from long posts in other blogs myself, especially if the first paragraph or two don't capture my attention, because I just don't have the time to read all that. If I wanted a novel, I'd have ordered it from Amazon.com. I'd wager that many of you feel the same.
So here's my thought: For the month of May I will keep all my posts to 500 words or less (with two notable exemption: Bible verses and dictionary definitions won't count against my own word count). Now, that may mean a topic gets a two-part post (or a three-part, or four...). But mostly what it will mean is that I must curb my verbosity. I'm hoping it will help me get to my point quicker, cut down on all the repetitious examples and make my writing just a bit more palatable to those who don't have a lot of time. To keep me honest, I will publish the word-count at the end of the post.
I think I'm a decent writer and that what I have to say is good. However, I also think my wordy posts are keeping some from reading and thus from partaking in that "goodness". That, to me, is regrettable. So what say you? Are you open to shorter Lu-posts, or do you prefer the longer treatises? For my part I will keep it short sweet and to the point this month. Let's just see how pithy I can be.
word count: 438
A worthy goal - Lu. I like to write ramblin' posts too but sometimes, less is more!
Posted by: Marti | May 01, 2007 at 01:58 PM
A worthy goal - Lu. I like to write ramblin' posts too but sometimes, less is more!
Posted by: Marti | May 01, 2007 at 02:00 PM
Glad I found your blog (via your comment on Marti's).
Keep up the good blogging!
Posted by: paul merrill | May 03, 2007 at 05:42 AM
Now if you could just get your counselor to keep it to 500 words you would be in great shape.
Posted by: CBS | May 03, 2007 at 08:11 AM
I'd say make the story as long as it needs to be.. but could you please make the type bigger? You recently changed, and the new small type is very hard for me to read.
Posted by: Larry | May 03, 2007 at 02:44 PM
I agree with Larry. Don't skimp on the words, if those words are necessary. But do up the font size. I don't know about the rest of the group, but my eyes aren't as good as they used to be (though they're still attached to the same tired brain ;-) ) and could use a little help. :-D
Posted by: KatRose | May 04, 2007 at 10:13 AM
Okay, okay already! :) It's back to the "larger" font. I was just trying to make the big ole long posts look smaller. But I can't fool ya'll can I.
It's good to know my friends will still read no matter how many words I use. Thanks! You guys are awesome!
Posted by: Lu | May 07, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Thank you. My eyes thank you too.
Actually, small type does make the post shorter because I just give up on trying to read it. :)
Posted by: Larry | May 09, 2007 at 11:58 AM