Back in high school, I dreaded writing those 500-word essays. Those two-page, double-spaced monstrosities loomed over me like an upcoming final exam in AP Chemistry. Now, I can crank out a couple thousand words a day and still have plenty left in the ol’ reserve tank.
Recently, however, I’ve been writing some pieces that are quite a bit shorter – maximum 450 words including a 100-word sidebar. I figured I could churn out these bite-sized nuggets in about an hour or less. But what I’ve found is that they actually take me quite a bit more time to develop than my standard 500-750 word pieces. Trying to say something relevant and useful… and engaging in 350 words or less is tough. Slashing content when I invariably overshoot the target on early drafts is painful.
It reminds me of that scene in the movie A River Runs Through It, in which the father is teaching his son how to write. The son hands the essay to his father who reviews it, hands it back to the son, and tells him something like, “Half as much.” This goes on several times until the father is satisfied with the quality of the work.
It’s made me realize that less is more, and often more work, too.
