4,000 words and no end in sight...

Brother Snuka,

Did you use an outline?

YHS, etc

 

May I have them? I'm out down here.

 

Mr macg,

I just cut 1,500 words from a query.

YHS, etc

 

I'll take those, too. I was supposed to get a delivery over the weekend from the Muse of Wordcount, but apparently her truck was hijacked crossing New Jersey.

 

Somewhere in Camden, high school teachers are rejoicing that their lessons in grammar and writing finally paid off.

 

1,000 words in my shop = 30 inches. Ganetteers aside, there is ALWAYS room for a quality 4,000-word piece. Gotta be quality. MULTIPLE sourcing, great threading, strong overall feel. I can read a 100-inch story that feels like 20, and a 20-inch story that reads like 100.

rb

 

The longest story I've run at my shop clocked in at well over 1,800 words. The longest story I've ever written logged almost 1,300 words.

Fly, my gut tells me that if you think you're overthinking it, you probably are. See what people you've asked to provide feedback have to say about your piece. They're more likely to be able to look at it with the objective, discerning eye than you would.

 

1,800? good god... i've written a couple 100-inchers in my life. but they probably coulda been really good 50-inchers

i routinely wrote 1,000-word gamers and notebooks on the baseball beat (we're not gannett) -- that's on a daily basis

 

We ran a Q&A with Barry Switzer a few weeks back that was originally 155 inches. We had to trim it to less than 50, I think. I didn't envy the guy who had to cut it either, because I read the full thing and pretty much every word in it was good stuff. Our sports editor and the writer made most of the cuts, I think. Switzer is one of the best storytellers ever to grace a football sideline, and he shared some cool stuff with our writer. This was one of the few times I saw something like this and wished we had the space to get it all in.

Of course, we just ran what didn't get in the paper online. Gotta love the Internet.

 

I just finished writing a 2,800 word piece last week.

I got a lot of good stuff and when I started writing, it flowed.

 

F_T,

Would you mind taking a look? That goes to all who respoonded on the thread...I'd appreciate all the eyes I can get on this one.

 

"I got another word for all of them."