This post by Kevin Muldoon gave me the hope that there are others out there who don't mind longer posts. What's your take on it? Do you think there is a general rule we should follow for the benefit of our readers? Do you think that as long as the writing is good it can be as long as we want? What is your general length goal when you write blog posts? Do you (as I do) get nervous when you find you have a lot to say, wondering if anyone will read it all? Do you (as I have done a few times before) just skim a long post instead of reading it?
photo: D Sharon Pruitt
Good question! I have wondered the same things. Most of my posts are a geared towards being as thorough and brief as possible for fear that I will lose my reader attention.
ReplyDeleteI have read longer posts that grip me the entire time.
Blessings to you...
I prefer shorter posts. I don't have a lot of time to read the longer ones, and I do find myself skimming. But like you said, there are some long ones that I am so taken in by that I don't mind them. I think it all depends on what the post is about. I am guilty of long ones occasionally, but for the most part, I try to keep them shorter, unlike this comment. :)
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not mind if they are long or short. It depends on the subject matter. When I blog, I say what I need to in order to get my point across and don't worry about the length.
ReplyDeleteIt's that old mini-skirt saw my 7th grade English teacher taught me: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteShorter's definitely easier (to read, though many times harder to write), but not always better, methinks.
Susan- I do enjoy the length of your posts. They are brief but they always get me thinking. I never mind reading longer messages from you though.
ReplyDeleteMarsha- I agree with you; I just need to learn the art of saying only what I need to.
Bane- shorter is easier to read. I'm going to try to shoot for at least 3/week that are shorter.
It definitely depends on the topic. For most, I try to keep it short and sweet because there are a lot of blogs out there, and it's hard to read long articles one after the other.
ReplyDeleteBut some topics do need a little more room, and I'll indulge myself there.
I agree with Marsha and L.T., that it depends on the subject, and I'd add that length also depends on the blogger in question. Some topics just are longer in nature than others. I really don't care what the length is...if I'm interested, I'll read it all the way through, if I'm not as interested as I would be in another topic, then I skim or skip it. I think with the wide range of bloggers out there that there's something for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI do a little of both, depending upon my time. I read both long and short posts too. Some days I'll have more time to read than others. I hate to think that writers cap their posts because I've learned so much from my blogging buddies.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind a longer post and I have written both short and long. I am limited on my time so if I hit a lot of short posts I can read a lot more, which is always a plus. As long as it is interesting I will read any length of post.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a personal thing really. Each writer tends to be longer or shorter winded in their writing. I tend to have shorter ones because I look at really long ones sometimes and think..."I don't have time to read this right now... but I'll come back whan I have more time." I don't have much time in the mornings but spend more time reading in the evening.
ReplyDeleteI go by the "skirt rule". My junior year HS English teacher taught me. I suppose it's considered sexist by now, but still seems accurate:
ReplyDelete"Writing should be like a skirt. Long enough to cover the subject, and short enough to keep it interesting."