Do You Know When to Stop Writing?

Do You Know When to Stop Writing?

Reader Comments (30)

  1. “If you have young kids…”

    I don’t and I’ve seen the movie at least 5 times, enjoying it every time.

    Seriously: I think this example is to show that you don’t always have to say a lot to make a point. Elaborating is not always necessary in the first phase. Maybe it’s wise to have a “summarizing” phase, look for feedback, and then elaborate, if necessary.

  2. Or, as they say, KISS. (keep it simple, stupid). I can’t think of the PC way to say it right now. Unless I get into some serious magpie mode, I try to get to the point ASAP, make pertinent comments, sum it up and then close.

  3. The point I walk away with here is that Stanton didn’t do his homework by failing to find out more about Lasseter’s decision making style. I doubt this was a “once in a life time… you had me at fish…” decision. As Brian said, as long as necessary is fine; how long, is determined by intimate knowledge of your target market.

  4. Colorful things, flirting around and around on a blue, watery background? They had my kids by the opening sequence… I couldn’t wait for Cars to come out so I could move from hearing underwater bubbling sounds every day to a engine revving … or so I though.

  5. A very good point. In many cases, information overload reduces the conversion rate. Not just in writing but person to person also. I’ve seen this happen myself.
    Great post.

  6. That’s so cute, I’ve watched Nemo more times than I can count with my son. And your post is a perfect example of getting straight to the point.

  7. Brian,
    As usual, your insights have caused me to pause, and re-evaluate my writing style.

    Thanks for all the advice

  8. Bill, your writing style may be fine. My only point is to edit as tightly as possible to make your point. Let’s not make the mistake of leaving out crucial information just for the sake of brevity, or thinking that long pieces are bad. I write long posts all the time, but usually it’s because the subject matter demands it.

  9. I’m reminded of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon (“Bugs ‘n Thugs”) when he came up against the mobsters…

    Rocky: “Shut up!”

    Bugs: “Shut up? Why certainly! You don’t think I’m the type that would keep on blabbin’? Some people never know when to stop. When I’m told to shut up, I shut up…”

    Rocky: “Shut UP shut-in’ up!”

  10. Good point! You have to know exactly when you have hooked your readers as well as when you have them reeled in. Too much blah*blah*blah can even backfire.

  11. I have to say that I commit this mistake a lot, saying a lot when I could actually make the other person understand in less words. Kinda like this. πŸ™‚

  12. Yeah. I’ve already got a ‘plan’ to work on the brevity (being the soul of wit and all) thing….starting next week.
    πŸ˜‰

    All the best!
    deb

  13. Great post! I think, like many others, I am guilty of filler just to make a post seem more in-depth than it actually is. Like using big words to make yourself sound smart. πŸ™‚

  14. Yes, yes, yes.

    Most of my clients delineate word-count for projects so I’m forced to stay within their parameters.

    I spend far more time cutting, revising and polishing than writing a first draft.

    I find it helps to identify concrete goals for the piece then outline–or mindmap, whatever–rather than just letting it flow…into a 2,000 word stream of consciousness.

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