As someone who writes, I can tell you I get loads of advice. Its everywhere. I can’t pick up anything about writing without drowning in it. I can’t surf websites on the subject without being inundated with it.
It all seems to come down to this:
- Be brief and concise
- Use Bulleted lists
- Have zippy titles that summarize the piece
- focus on summary data, details are often lost on people
- focus word choices on cookies on the bottom shelf words, big words are gauche
And somewhere along the way my stubborn streak gets in the way. Somewhere along the way, I decide that the advice serves only to perpetuate our cultural disconnect.
We as a culture need to be made to delve into the details. We need to read lengthy narratives rich in description and 6 syllable words. We to look long and hard at narratives that tell the entire story, not just the cases that support our preconceived views. We need to accept that truth is not simple. It is not easy. And truth is never found in summary.
The advice must be thwarted at every turn. The people of the world deserve better. We need more than a thirty second sound bite. We need to be told everything. We need to tell everything. To do anything less is absolutely criminal. In part because it sells us as a species short, and in part because the world is so much more complicated than the advice accounts for.
The notion that simplicity serves us well, when complexity defines us and our universe is tragically flawed. The sooner we embrace complexity, the sooner focus on reshaping our writing to tell the whole tale, the better off we will all be. The soon the advice becomes a cautionary tale that should force us to run seeking more the better off we will all be.
It all seems to come down to this:
- Be brief and concise
- Use Bulleted lists
- Have zippy titles that summarize the piece
- focus on summary data, details are often lost on people
- focus word choices on cookies on the bottom shelf words, big words are gauche
And somewhere along the way my stubborn streak gets in the way. Somewhere along the way, I decide that the advice serves only to perpetuate our cultural disconnect.
We as a culture need to be made to delve into the details. We need to read lengthy narratives rich in description and 6 syllable words. We to look long and hard at narratives that tell the entire story, not just the cases that support our preconceived views. We need to accept that truth is not simple. It is not easy. And truth is never found in summary.
The advice must be thwarted at every turn. The people of the world deserve better. We need more than a thirty second sound bite. We need to be told everything. We need to tell everything. To do anything less is absolutely criminal. In part because it sells us as a species short, and in part because the world is so much more complicated than the advice accounts for.
The notion that simplicity serves us well, when complexity defines us and our universe is tragically flawed. The sooner we embrace complexity, the sooner focus on reshaping our writing to tell the whole tale, the better off we will all be. The soon the advice becomes a cautionary tale that should force us to run seeking more the better off we will all be.
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