Lots of people are writing about the benefits of Notes. This is the best I've found. Thank you for your inspiring blend of practical and philosophical wisdom. I'd like to share a paragraph from an excellent book, "How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times" by Roy Peter Clark that I think might go well with your fine post. "(W)riting in short forms does not require the sacrifice of literary values. The poet Peter Meinke talks about the power that comes from focus, wit, and polish. Focus is the unifying theme. Wit is the governing intelligence. Polish creates the sparkle that comes from careful word choice and revision."
I agree with much of what you have to say about using Notes on Substack as also on the silly metric of word count. Good writing, irrespective of its length, is a joy. I do differ, however, on short writing getting shortchanged. In my experience, I've seen long copy get the short shrift; who reads long writing any more? Very few. Even here on what is a writer's platform, I'm inundated with notes, notes, notes. Some of it is good, some of it is the stuff that drove me off Facebook years back.
(I can't resist silly wordplay; makes me grin which scares other people)
This is true too. But the ability to summarise a long form piece in a few sentences is skill. I do agree however that the shot form and short post kind of feed has slowly destroyed our ability to read and learn with depth.
Lots of people are writing about the benefits of Notes. This is the best I've found. Thank you for your inspiring blend of practical and philosophical wisdom. I'd like to share a paragraph from an excellent book, "How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times" by Roy Peter Clark that I think might go well with your fine post. "(W)riting in short forms does not require the sacrifice of literary values. The poet Peter Meinke talks about the power that comes from focus, wit, and polish. Focus is the unifying theme. Wit is the governing intelligence. Polish creates the sparkle that comes from careful word choice and revision."
Very apt. Thanks for sharing
This is a great point. Never thought of notes as trees in the forest. Thanks BA 🙏🏾
Thanks for your insight and knowledge!
Briliant post from you again Benjamin!
Thanks Alexandra. Trying to distill the lessons as I go
100%
Notes can be like aphoristic writing. I wrote a note about that, thanks to your piece here! Thanks.
I have to admit I had to look up exactly what aphoristic writing meant
Well, was it the new word of the day then for you?
You could say so
Well, thank you for inspiring me to write that note!
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis.
All very good points, Benjamin, and I love the interaction on Notes so it's not a hard slog for me.
I agree with much of what you have to say about using Notes on Substack as also on the silly metric of word count. Good writing, irrespective of its length, is a joy. I do differ, however, on short writing getting shortchanged. In my experience, I've seen long copy get the short shrift; who reads long writing any more? Very few. Even here on what is a writer's platform, I'm inundated with notes, notes, notes. Some of it is good, some of it is the stuff that drove me off Facebook years back.
(I can't resist silly wordplay; makes me grin which scares other people)
This is true too. But the ability to summarise a long form piece in a few sentences is skill. I do agree however that the shot form and short post kind of feed has slowly destroyed our ability to read and learn with depth.
Great points - Thank You
Yeah…it’s definitely much more beneficial to the creator than it is to the consumer