A wise reader, and good friend, suggested my writing could stand some reduction, that I use big words and end up being unclear. She’s smart, and I’m sure she’s right. She gave me a challenge: If I ever feel the need to use a word of seven letters or more, she said, I shouldn’t. And if I can’t avoid it? Well, then I should, but only if I, as punishment, reduce the length of the piece of writing in question by fifty percent.
“That’s a bit draconian, isn’t it?” I said.
“See? Words like ‘draconian,'” she said. “Totally unnecessary.”
I don’t think I can avoid long words. Or reduce the length of my posts by half. But I can edit myself a bit. The nature of (my) blogging is that I tend not to do too much of that. I tend to write and press “publish.” Sometimes I wait a day or two before pressing publish. But I tend not to edit much.
Maybe I’ll start….
I love this…of course, I also love your long words. At first I thought she was going to suggest punishment, plain and simple.
Now that would be draconian….but oh so much fun. 😉
A very wise lady taught me that everyone can use an editor…
I love long words and long posts that are honest and raw, without the editing. It is how I prefer to write too (at least as a blogger). I think there’s something freeing about just putting it out there. After all, its mostly for myself anyway.
I think sometimes this is mostly for myself, and sometimes, it’s mostly for you. The truth is, I DO it for myself, but its value for me is a function of how much you like it.
Blogging is some kind of individualistic and creative activity. Don’t impose too much rules on yourself. Otherwise,you find yourself unable to write. Since this is your personal blog and not meant for any commercial activity, you don’t need to bend the rules to suit others.
Nope. And I wouldn’t. But it’s always a bit of a balancing act between just being a journal, being a book/public document, and being a community or dialogue.
I like it just the way it is, big words and long posts and all… maybe because I’m the same, I write as I speak? Or maybe because I like the challenge the big words give my ESL self 😉
Yeah. Still I could write better, and this is good guidance for me. Just not a good rule.