posted by Doyle
My friend and collegue Amy Gahran did a piece on her blog — which I recommend — regarding short, concise and accurate writing (something which I also recommend).
During her session at last weekend’s Thin Air Summit in Denver, I commented that I believe good writing is like a skirt — long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting. (To any female readers, sorry for the sexist overtones. If you have any ideas for an effective gender-neutral analogy, please comment.)
Needless to say, given the audience, it was sent out on Twitter — tweeted — quite a few times. In fact, it looks like it’s been sent to more than 20,000 people.
My only regret is that I can’t source this. I know it came from a professor I studied with at the University of Denver, but I can’t remember which one. If you’re reading this and want to lay claim, please email me.
In the meantime, I still think it’s pretty good advice. Add a writing tip of your own in the comments if you’re so inclined.
1 response so far ↓
1 agahran // Nov 11, 2008 at 10:24 am
I don’t think the miniskirt analogy is sexist — as long as some guys would dare to walk around in miniskirts! Or at least kilts.
Dare ya, Doyle…. hehehehehe……
- Amy
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