Here’s a golden rule of writing I follow as much as I can:
Keep.
It.
Short.
When you write an article, email, headline or post, reread it and cut out a word.
Then another.
And another, until it’s irreducibly compact.
There’s a tale about Ernest Hemingway, who laid a bet among his peers that he could write a 6-word story that would make them cry.
His tiny tale has passed into legend:
For sale: Baby’s shoes, never worn.
Hemingway spurred a tradition which endures to this day, as writers love to practice their brevity chops.
Next time you’re about to press send/post/publish, look again.
Is it too long?
Jonny