Words give meaning. Their purpose is to communicate: tell truths, murmur lies. To question and answer.
It reasons, then, that fewer words are deeper truths – bigger lies. Better questions, straighter answers.
It reasons that quantity is quality.
Reason misleads.
Words shine brightest – speak clearest, paint most vividly, sculpt and shape and wreck and ruin when applied with the lightest of touches. Short words make the sharpest image – few make the greatest effect.
But meaning needs more than just sharpness, just effect. Meaning transcends words as reality transcends art. For words to succeed, you must first choose which meaning to give.
***
Haven't properly written in a while. I heard once that limited art is great art, so I decided to limit myself to 100 words. It is actually very difficult to relay a concept in so few words and still have a worthy piece of writing at the end of it.
6 comments:
I actually hear the opposite: that by writing, say, 9,000 words, you practice sticking on topic, and by doing so, you make yourself something of a better writer by repeating this.
As opposed to Twittering your day away.
TO VERBOSITY!
Do dig the succinctness, though.
Are you saying that if I handed in a 100 word Ancient History essay with 134 annotations, I would get full marks? Because, uh, I wouldn't.
Are you commenting in response to your own blog, or my comment? And before you make some comment ridiculing that statement and how supposedly idiotic it is, keep in mind that YOU'RE the one talking about the benefits of 100 word essays, whereas I said that lengthier pieces of writing are beneficial.
So your comment doesn't contradict what I said, at all; if anything, you're arguing against yourself.
"few make the greatest effect."
"Are you saying that if I handed in a 100 word Ancient History essay with 134 annotations, I would get full marks? Because, uh, I wouldn't."
WHAT.
also, out of contaxxxxt
I thought that that was refering to my 9,000 word essay, and the essay I wrote after that saying that I made it that long so it would be really awesome, and that you were sarcastically calling me up on that by pointing out that I say here that writing short essays is good, but I also wrote a long essay to be good.
So perhaps I misread your comment.
What I was trying to say that there are different writing styles for different occasions.
No, I don't enjoy belittling people
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