Short and Snappy Often Wins The Writing Race

There are a lot of classic books out there that most of us know, but which a lot of us have never read. Some of them we've likely absorbed through cultural osmosis. However, if you've ever sat down to read one of these classics and felt it was just, well, dense then you're not alone. And I'd suggest there are two lessons we could learn from this.

First, that tastes of the reading public change over time, and no one can tell what will and won't be successful. Second, stories that go on and on like a never-ending forkfull of pasta that you're trying to eat discourage a lot more readers than you might think.

I'm sure you can think of a book that had that issue.

After a chat with Little Alice earlier this week, the two of us have mutually agreed this is a trap a lot of writers fall into. And since this is the case, I figured I'd take the time to talk about it this week.

If You Can't Tie A Knot, Just Tie A Lot

I remember when I was a kid, this was a phrase that my dad said a lot. For those who don't speak sailor, it's a reference to the fact that if you don't know how to tie the knot for the proper job, a lot of people will just keep wrapping and tightening the line in the hopes that a big, ensnaring mess will hold just as well.

As someone who went through a lot of trials and tribulations learning how to tie my shoes, I can attest this strategy never works.

I had to untangle a lot of lines as a child before I learned this.

What's that got to do with writing? Well, a lot of writers seem to think that the more words you pack onto the page, the better the work must be. Part of this comes from reading classic works (as with many other things in genre fiction, Tolkien is a touch stone here, but he's far from the only author who packs pages with yards upon yards of verbiage), but some writers do it out of reflex. Sometimes it's out of fear of looking stupid, or out of a mistaken belief that "common" language shouldn't be used to tell stories, but the result is the same; one gigantic knot of words that might look artistic to its creator, but is a damn mess to anyone trying to actually follow the through line.

You're not helping yourself by doing this. All you're doing is making your book harder to read, and turning off people who might otherwise have wanted to go on this journey with you.

This Can Happen At Every Level of a Book

For those who think I'm giving this advice only in terms of rivers of purple prose, or for page-and-a-half descriptions of a stroll through the hills, you may be missing the forest for the trees. Because this advice goes for all parts of your book. From your sentence structure, to how long your paragraphs go on, to how hard your chapters are to eat in a sitting... ask yourself how digestible your story is, and what it's going to feel like trying to eat it.

It's a lot easier to drink that much fruit than to chew it while it's frozen, is what I'm saying.

Books are things we consume; they're a meal for your mind. And it doesn't matter how much artistry you put into the presentation if, when your reader goes to put a bite in their mouth, they have to struggle to chew it. Especially if, after a few bites, they put it down and push back from the table. It doesn't matter if the second course is sumptuous, or the cliffhanger ending you have for dessert is amazing... if it feels like they're eating a brick with their brains, more readers are going to walk away than not.

Compare that with, say, the style of pot boiler mysteries. While it can be argued that a lot of examples of that genre lack imagination, are formulaic, have stylistic issues, or they aren't as rich and filling as one might want, they tend to be pretty easy to chew. In fact, if the fantasy novel that wanders over half a dozen nations and three separate timelines with fifty-page chapters is the flame-broiled three-course meal, then the pot boiler is the bag of potato chips. The former takes commitment, and it can be hard to get through and enjoy, while the latter is something you can just pop open and consume quickly and easily.

In fact, you might read an entire potato chip book before you know it, and then you're going to want another. And maybe one more after that.

Longer Isn't Inherently Better

While a book should meet a general word count to be considered a novel, remember that books are not (by and large) something you swallow down all at once. You read them over time, usually in chunks, and readers like to have regular rest stops so they aren't putting a book down in the middle of a chapter or conversation. So tighten up your sentences, break up your paragraphs, and don't be afraid to have chapters that are a little more bite-sized.

These things will make your book easier to read, which will allow your reader to take in the story you're telling them with less work. And if you feel that making your story more digestible ruins something, it might be time to back up and ask yourself why you think that. Because your first priority needs to be your readers' experience, since a book that no one reads is a book that may as well not have been written.

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my short story collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!