Brevity

When I was in undergraduate (which, by the way, you only say when you've gone to graduate school. You pay $50,000 for a piece of paper you may never frame and the rights to say phrases like "when I was an undergrad" and "my undergraduate degree"), I took a creative writing class. I thought I wanted to be a writer - or my mom thought I should be one.

Anyway, we all had to write two short stories. A girl in my class wrote a story called "Brevity." It was 50 pages long. I didn't understand the irony until someone gave me the definition of brevity. (shortness of duration; especially : shortness or conciseness of expression - www.m-w.com) I remember the story vaguely - it was horrible. But I will never forget that word.

Brevity has been on my mind lately. It's something I struggle with. I don't think I'm long-winded in speech, but when it comes to writing, I need plenty of white space. Or blank pages. Or empty lines. When I worked as a copywriter, I was horrible with titles. "What should we title this globe with a cross hanging off it? I can fit five words." Huh? Please don't limit me.

Brevity and I meet each other every day when I try to post on Facebook. Let's "face" it - the shorter the better. No one wants to read the Litany of the Saints (all you Catholic school guilt trips understand that reference). So I sit at my computer and drum my fingers across the keyboard and think....and think...and try phrases that are just too long or two wordy or two complicated for a post. And then I type and backspace everything I've typed. In such a fast-paced world, I need 30 minutes for a clever post. By that time, the joke is over, the moment has passed, the followers have scrolled on.

This is my first blog post. I feel I should stop now, for the sake of brevity. After all, I want you to come back for more.