Short And Simple Is Not A Bad Thing
Entry posted by Necro
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From books as heavy as a desktop becoming more and more common, to "short" stories that take hours to read, I've been noticing a disturbing trend in writing to assume that bigger = better.
I'm not saying there isn't a time to be verbose or long-winded, because the fact is that there are times when you should be. But using it most of the time just gets grating, because when it's not special, it's boring and trying. One of the most challenging things I've ever tried doing while writing is limiting myself to as few words as possible while still describing the situation properly - the only real time I can justify getting long-winded and pedantic is for the dialog of a character who fits that.
But beyond that, be concise; nothing is wrong with short. 1984 isn't even 350 pages, and it's often considered one of if not the greatest novel of the 20th century. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy isn't even 200. And neither of those numbers are with particularly large page sized either, I'm pretty sure those are both pocket-sized editions.
Frankly, I think it'd be a mark of a better author to be able to weave an entrancing, involving story with 150 pages than with 600. I'm not referring to anyone in particular really, but if you feel this applies to you, then please, take it to heart, because I really do think that with how much knowing every possible word, its definition, and how to use it is stressed in modern english education, has caused a lot of authors, both published and indie, to want to use as much of their robust vocabularies as possible, and concise-yet-engaging writing is becoming a lost art. But beating the reader over the head with your vocabulary is just poor taste, use it here and there for flash, or write in a verbose character and use them as an outlet for it. Just don't use more words than you need to, please.
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