Size Matters, But It’s Definitely Not Everything

We all have preferences. Long. Short. Medium-sized. It can vary so much, as most things tend to do. Only we know for certain what our comfort level is before we enjoy each one as often as possible.

What? NO. Jesus, get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about the length of blogs and articles here online. C’mon now, I can’t believe that’s what you thought I was talking about. Deviant.

All teasing aside, the length of your blogs or articles can mean the difference between your writing piece getting ready by many, or very few. I’ve played around with this for months now, and I’ve figured a few things out. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of long, medium, and short writing pieces that we post.

After reading my friend Malini’s piece this morning, “Time I Spend On Your Article”, I felt the need to write about my experiences with article length and the struggles I have keeping my writing pieces at a digestible length. It’s something that I worry about to some degree, yet I don’t let it control my life.

Malini mentions in her article, which you should read above in the link, that it can be intimidating to find a solid-looking writing piece and then notice how long it is. Longer blogs and articles to me are anything over 10 minutes. I’m a fast reader, though. I see “10 minutes” in the description and I think more along the lines of five to six.

If I’m being completely honest though, I don’t actually check the length of the article. The title and the main pic are what usually causes me to stop scrolling and click. Then, if the first paragraphs are interesting, I’ll generally read the article or blog to the end. I really try to follow through to the end on most things I read, because I want the writer to get credit for a full read and more read-time.

This isn’t too difficult to do. Unless the article is abysmally written and way too long, I’ll keep going. If it turns out to be ten minutes or more and I’m not enjoying it by at least the halfway point, I might kick it out of bed. Sorry, but not sorry. You gotta have your standards.

I’ve looked into some of my own 225 blogs and articles I’ve posted at this stage, 9 months into my Writer’s Journey. I’ve noticed that really long articles just don’t perform as well as medium-length ones. Some of my funniest humor pieces are long, as it takes me a few minutes to truly weave the story in and out and get to the main points, as well as a clever or unexpected conclusion.

Take for example the longest piece that I can remember posting. I was in the throes of Covid-19, and it was one of the first nights when I truly felt like dogshit. I was feverish and sweaty, and the only thing that made me feel better was writing this awesomely funny, yet long fictional piece about meeting some of the most famous British classic rock icons. If you missed it, please read it here below:

I LOVE this piece. Each time I read it, I laugh my head off at most of it and truly feel emotional about the ending. I feel as though it’s one of my finest fiction stories. So why did it only receive 1 hour and 31 minutes of read-time, and only earn $3.25?

Because it’s LONG. I think people see the 13 minutes read-time at the beginning and say, “No thanks, not enough time right now.” And I get it. Sometimes we just don’t have 13 minutes to give one piece of writing. But again, if you’re a reader like I am, it may only be about seven or eight minutes of actual reading.

Another aspect of most people’s personalities in 2022 is our ever-shortening attention spans. After spending over a decade on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media sites, we’ve been programmed to keep scrolling. It’s odd to me how conditioned we are to keep scrolling to read a couple to a few sentences or less and to be content with that. I don’t particularly like it.

I haven’t read a full book in years, and this saddens me. I feel victimized by the social media standards we’ve all grown accustomed to over the past 10 to 12 years. Why is length such a bad thing to most people? Why can’t we be reading 10 to 15-minute blogs or articles at a time? If we don’t have enough time, it’s easy enough to save them for when we do.

Malini mentions that though she does have issues with reading overly long writing pieces, she does have a few writers she makes an exception for, present company included. Thank you, Malini. That means a lot to me. I appreciate you going outside of your comfort zone because you enjoy my writing. And therein lies another point I’ll make.

You have to be true to yourself and your writing style. You need to be a fan of your own writing before you can expect anyone else to. You are the one choosing the topics to write about, how often you publish your blogs and stories, and the length that each one needs to be. You’re in control of your writing before you put it out there to the world to judge and possibly enjoy.

What are we judging the success of our writing by? Is it the number of views, reads, comments, and claps, and the income earned from it? Or are you judging it by how often it’s shared with others? The feedback and compliments that you receive from it? New subscribers? There are so many variables that dictate what a great-performing writing piece is.

So many factors come into play for me to decide if one of my writing pieces is a success in my mind or not. I tend to believe in myself. I don’t second guess too many things. If I’m entertained by it, and I have fairly high standards about what makes me laugh or not, I think that most other people will feel the same way.

Once in a while, I will wonder if I’m pushing the envelope too far, in terms of an article being a bit in poor taste. I do enjoy cheeky humor that makes people laugh. When I start to overthink if something is appropriate or not, and I realize I’m thinking pretty hard about it, that usually means PUBLISH THAT SHIT!

Controversial titles and subject matter are generally popular. Some of my most popular blogs have been the ones I almost didn’t publish. One of the biggest lessons in my nine-month Writer’s Journey is to go with my instincts and not second guess myself. I bet on myself, almost always. It’s seemingly working as I’m growing my following here daily and monthly.

Don’t worry about length. Sometimes you will have long ones. You’ll get a lot of medium-length ones, too. Even the occasional short one can be enjoyable and fulfilling if there is some substance behind it. Don’t limit yourself to such strict, stringent rules. Do what feels right in the moment.

Your writing must come first. You must be satisfied before you can expect to satisfy anyone else. If your blog or article is every bit of ten minutes, but you feel it’s a wonderfully enjoyable piece, put it out there, and don’t second guess yourself. I bet a lot of readers will enjoy it.

I’ll read any length of blog or article if it’s good. Most readers will make exceptions for great writers. Let’s be true to ourselves, and damn the consequences of long, medium, or short writing pieces. &:^)