Simplicity is a wonderous thing. Something I feel I can’t quite master.
Some writers can use surprisingly few words to get so much done.
Hemingway wrote; “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn”.
SIX WORDS! !?!?!?!?!? So many questions float around this one tiny sentence.
In his recent novel, “The Death of Bunny Munro,” Nick Cave uses amazing cultural shorthand. Mums in velour tracksuits. Crazy man in a floral mumu with a potplant.
Raymond Carver’s work always operates this way. “Why Don’t You Dance” – a lounge setting on the lawn. Simple. But haunting.
Today I came across Mercedes Yardley’s Ultra shorts.
121 Characters is amazing – tells of a whole world in the same way that Hemmingway’s baby shoes do.
What is it about all this simplicity that works? Are some people just born with this knack for simplicity? Is there a rule to it all that makes it work? Is it possible to learn?
Sam van Zweden 
30/09/2009 at 2:37 pm
just like twitter.
140 characters, tell me your life story.
30/09/2009 at 6:39 pm
Wow, Sam, what a nice comparison! Thanks!
It can be learned. I’d suggest that you check out some of the Twit Fic sites (nanoism. thaumatrope, tweet the meat) and practice some writing some. It’s fun.
Also, once you start a blog, it takes a while to pick up readers. I’ve been doing mine a year and I still don’t have very many, but the ones I do have are incredibly loyal. It will help if you figure out how to link your site to your name. That way when you leave a comment, people can click on your name, come here, and read some of your lovely thoughts. 🙂