Tight writing

Big stories, tiny words

The Times' word length averages 4.9 characters When I recommend to my clients that they limit their word length to 5 characters per word, they roll their eyes and chortle. But when I tell them I know they can do it, because The New York Times does it every day, they sit up and take note. (The Wall Street Journal also accomplishes this feat, day after day, rarely rubbing … [Read more...] about Big stories, tiny words

Create more short pages

Fewer long pages are less effective Think index cards, not toilet paper: Websites with many short pages — as opposed to those with fewer longer pages — work better. Usability experts John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen studied Web visitors' performance with two versions of a website: One site contained three pages with 4,500 words. The … [Read more...] about Create more short pages

Take a tip from Norm MacDonald

#RIPRobinWilliams tweets show how to serialize your story What can you learn from Norm MacDonald's Twitter tribute (would that be twibute?) to Robin Williams? What can't you learn?! MacDonald shows us how to serialize our stories, how to get the word out in 144 characters or less — and when to stop typing. Here are six tips to take from MacDonald's … [Read more...] about Take a tip from Norm MacDonald

How small is small?

Mini narratives can be as brief as a paragraph In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee shares this tiny tale: "In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months. In 2009, bound to a wheelchair, he watched his daughter graduate from college. The wheelchair had nothing to … [Read more...] about How small is small?

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