Short and strong beats long and good.

AUTHORS NOTE: The Thumbnail is part of the story. As it was a Class I took on the History of the Book. Stories are as old as Humanity, but Writing...especially Fiction/Novel Writing...really found its footing just a few centuries ago. And those early books didn't skimp on words.  So the theme fits. 

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Aloha All, 

Back in my Comedy days, I lived by the saying: “Short and strong beats long and good.”  In general, it was true. If it takes a really long time to get to the punchline, you better be a heck of a story teller. When you do finally get there, the Laugh better be worth the journey. Most times…nope. Stories can be long, but jokes…they tend to be shorter. 

Even if the joke seems to take a long time to tell, there are many chuckles along the way to the laugh. Sort of building some momentum along the way by making you smile, then chuckle, then laugh out loud. Occasionally the joke was so good, you have to slap a knee, roll back your head and roar with laughter, and sometimes, even tinkle a bit. Those kinds of jokes are the Comedy equivalent of Pulitzer Prize winning Prose. 

So what about Writers? Is short and strong the Golden Rule in Writing as it is in Comedy? For Screen Play Writers, certainly. One of my buddies who wrote Scripts said once: “The perfect ScreenPlay would have no dialog at all. It would let the Actors Act…and you could follow along as it unfolds. “  For him, dialog could easily drag the script down to long drawn out exposition. In his mind, Movies and Television are Visual Forms…and words get in the way if not tightly controlled. 

I know a Playwright too, and she basically says that every word uttered on stage, should either move the plot along, or expose a characters thinking, or flaws. So she would be on the side of “less is more.” 

Ah…but what about Story Writers? You know…us. Short Stories, Novella’s, Novels, and Flash Fiction. Does a story gain any power by being shorter? Are long sentences, flush with emotion, raw honesty, composed of heartfelt soliloquies that profess undying love, profound insights, or true angst- better? 

Perhaps short sentences. Powerful statements. Intense weight on every word the Reader devours. Are those the way to go. 

“I came. I saw. I conquered. “

Just as short in Latin. If you know your History, you realize how remarkably Roman those two word sentences were. And are. 

But what about the Reader? They want characters that they think they know, or understand. Characters they can learn to love…or hate. How would you descriptive a person so the Reader can start picturing them in their minds eye. Surely: “Tall, Dark. Handsome,” is a beginning. But is it enough? I don’t think so. 

“He was tall, in an Ichabod Crane sort of way, with a neck long enough for his Adam’s apple to bob on its own. Looking down a long steep cliff edged nose, where his glasses seemed to teeter on the edge of his face, gave him a dismissive look that betrayed his inner self.”

The Reader could probably work with that, versus: “Tall, Dark. Handsome.”

On the other hand, short sentences gathered like children pick dandelion’s - in a clutch without any real effort to bond in a bouquet of words, those can set a mood. 

“He was angry. Even the cuckoo bird refused to come out and announce the hour. His eyes filled with the storm of evil thoughts. Bam! His fist came down on the table. An innocent table. And now…a broken one. Just like the promise that made him angry. Fury built in him. Unleash it at your peril. “ 

No long sentences there. But the Reader knows something is about to happen. Is there a happy medium? Short sentences filled with meaning, intent, focus. Longer sentences to offer a glimpse into the inner mind, or even the soul, of a character. 

Here on StoryStar, we tend to write Short Stories. In fact, that’s all we do. JD made a separate site for Novella’s or Novels. The Reader has a responsibility when reading a short story. The Reader has to bring their imagination, emotions, and a modicum of curiosity to the story being read. 

And which do they prefer …short …or long?

Myself, well, I admit to using both short and long because Stories aren’t Jokes. The punchline in a story encompasses the entire journey, and not a flash of brilliance at the end of a clever twist.  

What say you?