An Argument for Wordiness

Long story short, at the end of the day there may be a place for prose; case in point

Keep your writing concise. You should make your point without wordiness or colloquialism. Be succinct.

I have read this advice for writers more than once. I have even tried it occasionally.

Particularly if I am writing an instructional or advice piece. This guideline for brevity makes a lot of sense. The reader just wants to find out how to do something, not read a bunch of fluff.

When it comes to technical and business writing, I could not agree more.

But like all universal advice, it doesn’t actually apply to everything.

Writing isn’t monochromatic

That is the beauty of writing, it isn’t limited to basic communication. It isn’t reserved for the few. The application and scope of utility is vast. That is why advice about ‘how to write’ is nothing more than advice. It isn’t set in stone or absolute.

To me, that is the beauty of a platform like Medium. I believe that it is no coincidence that the creators of Medium call the pieces of writing ‘stories’ rather than articles or essays.

The word story invokes so much more meaning than article. Articles imply factuality. Story implies nuance, deeper meaning, flow, rhythm, beauty, heartbreak and glory.

Stories have cadence. They begin by dragging you in, then they undulate and scroll along, pulling the reader on a journey. Many times, the content of the story isn’t the story. Often the story lies in the telling, the rhythm, the pace and delivery of the words.

More than that, stories invoke emotion. Stories create feelings more so than simply presenting ideas.

Good stories have heartbeats; they have a cadence. This is why it can be okay to place words in a narrative that don’t, technically, lend information to the reader. Sometimes a pause is necessary. It creates rhythm and facilitates flow.

Readers need a beat occasionally to digest what they have just consumed, and that is where tools like repetition — in other words, saying the same thing differently — come into play in a good story.

Stories also have a flavor; some call it a voice. Colloquialisms and expressions lend to that voice and create an atmosphere that facilitates the telling. I am sure y’all know what I am talking about, but if not, then bless your heart.

Emotion is the crux of a story

Since beginning to write on Medium I have started and nursed a love affair with the 1,000-word story. With a reading time right around five minutes, it is to engage, inform and entertain without completely boring the reader.

If find that even if I am not completely pulled in by the main thrust of the article, there is usually still something in there that grabs my attention. Sometimes it is a quote, or piece of content or information that resonates. But, other times, it is the gestalt of the story— the rhythm and flow — that keeps me engaged.

Just a few days ago I read something on the platform. I can’t, for the life of me, remember what the article was about. However, mid-way through there was a run-on sentence that was so magnificent and beautiful that I stopped in my tracks.

It had everything; drama, intrigue, emotion, dangling participles. It was, in a word, fabulous.

The story suddenly became only about that one sentence, not whatever else the author was trying to offer. I doubt they intended that to be the case. Likely it was well-intentioned advice, like so many other Medium stories. It may have even been good advice, but the piece just wasn’t resonating with me; until that sentence.

I clapped and clapped.

Tragically, I did not highlight the sentence and I cannot fathom why I did not. Perhaps I was disablingly overcome with reader’s high. Maybe I was interrupted by life, who knows. I do know that I was incredibly disappointed when I searched for it in my history and couldn’t find it again.

I don’t remember what that story was about, but I acutely remember how it made me feel!

I apologize to that author, I fully intended to credit them here. Sadly, I am unable to do so.

Branch out and explore

However, to my point, Medium is a fantastic place to explore our writer voices. I have done so across several categories ranging from personal life, struggles in the workplace, my fears, a wry look at the holidays and even some financial advice acquired the hard way.

I have read about the dangers and challenges of taking a shotgun approach to choosing topics, and how my readership may falter as a result. But I am okay with that.

For me at least, much of the journey here is learning and growing. I am exceedingly happy to have a forum in which to do so.

Follow advice — selectively

I am also quite thankful for the depth and variety writing advice offered on the Medium platform ranging from seasoned life-long pros to my relative newbie peers.

I am a sucker for a ‘here’s how to write’ story, and I have read a mountain of them so far. I just don’t take all the advice at face value. We are all at different places on our writing path, so advice pertinent to one particular writer or style, won’t always be expressly applicable to another writer or style.

I digest all the advice I can, then filter it to see what I can apply to my writing and to find ideas to help me expand my capabilities. Then I practice them.

Currently I am working on diversifying my voice. I have quite a bit of experience with succinct and pointed writing from my graduate studies in business. I know I can successfully write an article that explains how Netflix used a blue ocean strategy to create and capture new demand that made Blockbuster irrelevant and put them out of business. Been there; t-shirt etc.

But I certainly need more practice in telling stories. And I know that with stories, it isn’t always what you say, but how you say it.

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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.