571 Words

The hardest thing about writing something for me is determining the appropriate number of words to use. How many words must be written to express something clearly? If you write too many words, you are either boring or wordy. And you are either shallow or trite if you use too few words. It is like that fine line between meaningful eye contact and the glazed stare of a crazy person. It is important to know when enough is enough. What is the difference between leaving your readers wanting to read more and not saying enough to deliver your message clearly?

This issue concerns me greatly every time I try to write something. Who knew trying to be humorous would prompt such serious thinking? I wonder what serious writers think when they are writing something that is important.

My apprehensions toward correct word count probably goes back to my early days in school when teachers would assign writing assignments with specific word quantities, such as 250- or 500-word essays. The first thing the teacher would always state was how many words you had to write to fulfill the assignment. For me, such assignments felt like defined prison sentences instead of opportunities to be creative. How much limited playtime or goofing-off time was this assignment about something some dim-witted teacher thinks is vital to my development going to cost me?

I recall spending at least as much time counting the words as thinking about what I could say next to reach the magic number. Today with personal computers being everywhere, it is simple to determine the magic number required to finish an assignment. When I was in grade school, I used to count the number of words over three lines, divide that quantity by three, and then multiply that number by the total number of lines written. It was always a quantity-over-quality issue. I really don't remember teachers saying don't worry about the number of words; concentrate more on how you present your material. There were probably a couple reasons for the teachers having such a disposition.

The main reason may have been that teachers were looking at these assignments the same way as the children. They didn't want to waste their precious time reading crap anymore than kids wanted to be bothered writing it.

By saying write 250-word essays on some historic character or on what you did during your summer vacation, teachers could gauge how long it would take them to grade the material. They were simply using damage-control techniques to keep it simple. This type of thinking may have something to do with why so many people hate to write. It may also contribute as to why so few write well.

When I was in grade school, not too many teachers offered much encouragement to get students in to writing. Maybe those educators knew the likelihood of a person getting paid to write is minimal at best and opted to discourage it. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to something besides my own thoughts and feelings?

I can recall the name of every individual whom I felt was important to me while growing up. It strikes me odd that after 16 years of attending educational institutions that I cannot name five teachers whom have influenced me strongly enough to remember their names. That is not very funny, is it?

By the way—this one came in at 571 words.