When writing (anything) non-fiction...

Get to the point. Most people don't have time to meander. They want to know the bottom line benefit from reading your stuff.

I don't want to sound cold; I simply want to help you get your ideas read. I know, I know: In order to make writing personal, we have to put a bit of ourselves in -- which takes up letters and spaces. Sincere, warm words let you through my personal door. Warmth is important, for you to know me.

But short vs. long can make or break your readership.

For anything that's not fiction (that's anything that's not a story, screenplay, or narrative), make your writing concise. Direct. Clear. Twitter and Facebook have helped people learn how to get to the point. (Maximum word count has a way of making you a better writer, and anyone writing a college paper or news/magazine article knows what I'm talking about.)

No maximum word count (no limit on the number of words that you can use) can get you in trouble. We tend to write too much, because we love our words (yes we do, much more than the reader loves them). But by the end of paragraph one, if your reader doesn't get the point, he or she skims, looking for the point -- and when it's not found, closes out the page. Bam. Like a heavy oak door that the reader's hesitant to re-open.

Most everyone writes long. My writing students mess up the less-is-more guideline constantly: students use big words and long sentences that muddy the point, with college papers rambling on and on and on like this sentence. Professionals do it all the time: emails sound like a stiff-collared prude talking to himself at a party where, truth be known, everyone wants to leave. Bloggers are the worst offenders: Blogs drone great ideas, followed by not-so-great ideas, followed by personal stories ... and the reader leaves.Whoosh, click; clop, clop, clop. That's the sound of the laptop closing and the reader walking away.

I'm not the only one touting "concise." Read Strunk and White's The Elements of Style (written in 1918); read George Orwell's six rules from Politics and the English Language (written in 1946); read William Zinsser's On Writing Well (written over 35 years ago and in its 7th edition); read Stephen King's On Writing (written 12 years ago and used in MFA programs.) My friend, Phil Bell, just came up to me here at Starbucks ... and guess what? The first thing that he talked about was how he'd heard recently that blogs "should be around 500 words." Hmm. (His blog just won the national "Best Youth Ministry Blog of 2012.") Seems to be, quite a few writers are talking more about writing less.

I say this with sincerity, warmth, good intentions, and a smile: You want someone to read your stuff? Then change your writing. Get to the point. Less is more.

Simple, short, and strong

Good sentences make good writing. If you want to write a good letter to the editor, a good memo to your boss, or a good academic paper for your professor, master the sentence.

While writing, some of our sentences become overstuffed with powerful words. Too much power actually dulls the reader. Oh, I know -- our intent is to wow the reader. We want to zap electricity into the reader’s brain, impressing her with our expertise. We want to capture the reader’s heart, wooing him into admiration. But in the end, the drench of powerful words simply pushes the reader away. More makes powerful words lose their influence.

One of the best ways to make a point is to “go simple.” Make the sentence with your key point shorter. I know, I know – it seems that we need to do the opposite. We think, “Here comes the most important point; time to lay it on thick….”

It's tough. The urge to write sentences longer and thicker makes our fingertips itch and tremble. Our digits hover over the keyboard, yearning to throw in just one more superlative or descriptor. Don’t cave! Go short, direct, and clean. With different sentence lengths, you create effective contrast. Contrast can And if you want to really make an impact, remember that the short sentence is strongest.

Cheers,
Erin