I wrote two weeks ago about taking stock in this season of stockings and reflective light. I touched on aspects of this newsletter that have shifted over the past year and aspects that have stayed the same. One thing I didn’t mention is how I decide how long these posts should be, which gets to the larger questions of which constraints hurt us or help us when making things and how we tell when we’ve gotten it right.
These essays have generally landed around 500 words. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asking myself why. Is it because I read an article when I started that said blogs lose readers after 500 words? Or is that how long they really should be? Looking back now, the message of that article seems a little like telling a painter that their work should never be larger than letter-sized paper.
That said, I love a rule to follow. When I write legal briefs, the court usually sets a word or page limit. Editing the brief until it is under the page limit usually makes it better. In novels, the rules are less rigid, but there’s a sweet spot around 80,000 words. Above 100,000 or below 70,000 words, and the novel is going to be much harder to sell. Editing my novel down to 80,000 words the first time, and then doing it again after I added a new story line, forced me to cut it down to the essential scenes and lines.
The constraints are there for a reason: Most briefs and novels don’t need more words than the limits or guidelines for their message. That said, some novels and legal briefs can defy word constraints and be excellent. Some of my favorite wall art fills nearly all available space.
In writing, words impose a cost on the reader. But if you use too few, the message doesn’t land. The trick is letting the thing take up the space it needs and no more.
All this is fine and good, but how can we tell if we’ve gotten it right? How do we know if we’ve given our creative work the right amount of space? Early on, I wrote these essays with 500 words in mind. As the year went on, I stopped paying attention to the word count and wrote until I felt complete. Of course, I always edit too. Trying to keep sentences short and crisp. Trying to keep paragraphs short. Bolding a few resting spots for the reader’s eyes.
Not focusing on word count feels better to me, and I think that’s because identifying the amount of space something needs is less about analysis than intuition. Letting things take their own shape. Trying to find the shiny place.
And here we land. I’ve just looked at the word count for the first time: 488 words, and a feeling.
That’s such an interesting question- how long “should” these essays be... how long “should” anything be? Where do our self-imposed limits come from? And noticing when we are comfortable when others impose those limits rather than living without definition!