Sunday, March 26, 2006
Get your wind up...
...elsewhere.
One of my threee sons has a checkered past in the newspaper business: A&E (not the network) writer, political columnist, editor, editor-in-chief, currently an editor-at-large (all papers to remain nameless). He sometimes "attaches" with an e-mail to me, "Submitted for you approval," or "Could you proof this really quick?"...(with full knowledge that spelling ain't a strong point for any old one-eyed broke-tailed tomcat like me).
These attachments are becoming evermore rare, as "buddy" has learned that such requests (for approval/proofing) always open the back door to merciless attacks from this ornery old half-fossilized coot who's tasted blood & likes it.
To the point: one of my triad of "most-made mistakes by writers" is "too windy; excessive wordiness".
Well I just skimmed some of the blogs that've been judged "best" for one thing or another (not by me) and is seems that windy, excessive wordiness is one thing all the winners have in common... Six words when one will do; ten sentences when one will do; a dozen paragraphs when one will do etc etc.
The problem: Who duh fuck has the time, patience, and/or infinite attention-span to wade thru' 1,000 words in order to get a handle on a 100-word assertion? Not me! In my mind: Word Count Don't Count. Not so in bloggoland, I guess.
Dozen't matter. I must re-locate the closing line in a letter from one 18th century writer (an American Founder) to a friend, wherein he finished with, "Sorry this letter is so lengthy, but I don't have time to shorten it." (So I can give credit where credit it due.)
That pretty much sez it all, Don't it?
GET TO THE POINT & STOP. PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. THE END.
!
One of my threee sons has a checkered past in the newspaper business: A&E (not the network) writer, political columnist, editor, editor-in-chief, currently an editor-at-large (all papers to remain nameless). He sometimes "attaches" with an e-mail to me, "Submitted for you approval," or "Could you proof this really quick?"...(with full knowledge that spelling ain't a strong point for any old one-eyed broke-tailed tomcat like me).
These attachments are becoming evermore rare, as "buddy" has learned that such requests (for approval/proofing) always open the back door to merciless attacks from this ornery old half-fossilized coot who's tasted blood & likes it.
To the point: one of my triad of "most-made mistakes by writers" is "too windy; excessive wordiness".
Well I just skimmed some of the blogs that've been judged "best" for one thing or another (not by me) and is seems that windy, excessive wordiness is one thing all the winners have in common... Six words when one will do; ten sentences when one will do; a dozen paragraphs when one will do etc etc.
The problem: Who duh fuck has the time, patience, and/or infinite attention-span to wade thru' 1,000 words in order to get a handle on a 100-word assertion? Not me! In my mind: Word Count Don't Count. Not so in bloggoland, I guess.
Dozen't matter. I must re-locate the closing line in a letter from one 18th century writer (an American Founder) to a friend, wherein he finished with, "Sorry this letter is so lengthy, but I don't have time to shorten it." (So I can give credit where credit it due.)
That pretty much sez it all, Don't it?
GET TO THE POINT & STOP. PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. THE END.
!
# posted by call me crazy @ 6:25 AM 
