Long on words? Short on words? A Twitter/Blogger mashup challenge.

Have you ever known someone who's too long on words? I'm thinking of a professional writer who's too long-winded. Once I sent this person a story. Imagine my surprise when said editor didn't reduce my word count--they added words. Filler words and phrases. Here's an example:

If my caption says something like, "George Washington (left) joins Benedict Arnold at the nation's first Fourth of July party," invariably, after this person is finished with it, it says something like, "George Washington (at left) is seated with Benedict Arnold (at right) in observance of the nation's first ever Fourth of July holiday get-together."

Precise or fussy?

Now, precision is critical with this person--in all their endeavors. So what if more words were added, trying to be precise? No BFD, right? In my view, it's easy to streamline professional writing and important to do. Usually, this kind of writing doesn't sizzle. Why add filler words? Like medicine, professional writing should go down easily. It behooves all of us who write professionally to be as clear and concise as we can.

By contrast, another professional writer I know tries not to be long on words. It goes against her writing training. She even credits Twitter for forcing her to say things concisely. For those who don't use Twitter, each Tweet needs to be 140 characters or less--that includes spaces between words and punctuation.

At first, Tweeting takes getting used to. But like anything, you learn by doing. Plus, there's plenty of models of clever writers whose Tweets have substance or wit or irony to inspire new Twitter users.

A Twitter/Blogger mashup challenge.

Today, to celebrate saying more with less, let's practice brevity. What was the best novel you read in 2010 and why? Write your answer in the comments but limit yourself to 140 characters or less. (You have to include the why.) I'll start.

Favorite novel was The Ginseng Hunter (Jeff Talarigo). Not only moving, it taught me how the North Korean regime uses and hurts its people. (139 characters)

Your turn: