“Write nothing instead. It's shorter.”
Publication date: Jun 4, 2010 7:33:44 AM
Brilliant, and poignant, and a constant struggle.
Of course, this is a quote from Seth's Blog, but it's a sentiment that we (and by we, I mean people concerned with the effective communication of ideas: designer, writers, artists in general) express every day.
Marty Neumeier said something similar yesterday on twitter:
@MARTYneumeier: Most PowerPoint slides collapse under the weight of words. A good maximum: 10 per slide.
In 1918 William Strunk Jr. said something similar in The Elements of Style.
In 1996 Mrs. King, my AP English teacher, said pretty much the same thing.
It seems like a simple idea.
- Decide what you want to say.
- Say it.
- There's no step 3.
The corollary to this idea is that if you have nothing to say, then say nothing.
Stop writing to fill space.
Stop writing to "sound good."
Stop writing because you're supposed to.
