As a full-time longshoreman I am necessarily more a scribbler than a writer. But I am also so by inclination. The writing I can enjoy is the sketching of an idea in a few dozen words - two hundred at most. Elaboration and expansion are for me hard going. An article of several thousand words becomes inevitably a mosaic of ideas - a series of ideas stuck together.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author prefers short sketches over long elaborations. Long articles become mosaics of stuck-together ideas.
- In plain terms
- Short writing is better than long elaboration.
- What can you take from it?
- Stick to short sketches of ideas.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you prefer short or long?
- How many words do you use?
Another view
Some topics require long form to explain.
More from Eric Hoffer
A good sentence is a key. It unlocks the mind of the reader.
Permalink to quote #154 Some people have no original ideas because they do not think well enough of themselves to consider their ideas worth noticing and developing.
Permalink to quote #156 Originality is not something continuous but something intermittent - a flash of the briefest duration. One must have the time and be watchful (be attuned) to c…
Permalink to quote #153
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