TL;DR or 250 words on writing a blog

TL;DR?

Too Long;Didn’t Read.

You’re kidding me.

Nope.

You mean …?

Less Tolstoy, more Hemmingway.

Write in Doggerel?  Shorter clipped sentences?  Skip the descriptions and fill it full of actions?

Yes, and TL;DR.

But it’s a blog, a hobby.  You’re expected to stretch out and write long things and enjoy yourself.  Why limit yourself to being all short when you want to describe things deeply and richly.

You’re doing it again.  TL;DR.

Come ON!

No really, nobody reads that long stuff.  Who takes the time.  People read the first paragraph, skim the second and decide if they want to stick it out for the long haul.

TL;DR?

You’re getting it.

But what if it’s technical?

It’s a limited audience, they’re reading for something complex and need the detail.

Cut the big words?

Yeah, the iPhone generation was raised on MTV back when they did music.  All blinky lights and short video clips. 

Surely you’re kidding?

Nope.  They have the concentration span of a mayfly.

So what you’re saying is if you can say it shorter it’s better?

Yes.  Sentences are better than paragraphs.  Words better than sentences.

That makes no sense.  You need to string words together to convey meaning.

TL;DR.  Too complex.

No, too short.  1984.

Yes, you get the idea.

No, that’s just Newspeak.  It inadequately conveys meaning on complex subject and gives short shrift to nuance in favor of an artificial standard of brevity.

Ooo, Big Words.

Big words good, small words bad.   More English, less “American”.