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How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times
America's most influential writing teacher offers an engaging and practical guide to effective short-form writing.
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed-from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill.
Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services. With examples from the long tradition of short-form writing in Western culture, How to Write Short guides writers to crafting brilliant prose, even in 140 characters.
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed-from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill.
Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services. With examples from the long tradition of short-form writing in Western culture, How to Write Short guides writers to crafting brilliant prose, even in 140 characters.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
440 people are currently reading
3671 people want to read
About the author
Roy Peter Clark
46 books333 followersBy many accounts, Roy Peter Clark is America's writing coach, a teacher devoted to creating a nation of writers. A Google search on his name reveals an astonishing web of influence, not just in the United States, but also around the world. His work has erased many boundaries. A Ph.D. in medieval literature, he is widely considered one of the most influential writing teachers in the rough-and-tumble world of newspaper journalism. With a deep background in traditional media, his work has illuminated, on the Internet, the discussion of writing. He has gained fame by teaching writing to children, and he has nurtured Pulitzer Prize-winning writers such as Thomas French and Diana Sugg. He is a teacher who writes, and a writer who teaches. That combination gives his most recent book, Writing Tools, a special credibility.
More credibility comes from Clark's long service at The Poynter Institute. Clark has worked full-time at Poynter since 1979 as director of the writing center, dean of the faculty, senior scholar and vice president.
Clark was born in 1948 on the Lower East Side of New York City and raised on Long Island, where he attended Catholic schools. He graduated from Providence College in Rhode Island with a degree in English and earned a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1977 Clark was hired by the St. Petersburg Times to become one of America's first writing coaches. He worked with the American Society of Newspaper Editors to improve newspaper writing nationwide. Because of his work with ASNE, Clark was elected as a distinguished service member, a rare honor for a journalist who has never edited a newspaper.
Clark is the author or editor of 14 books on journalism and writing. These include Free to Write: A Journalist Teaches Young Writers; Coaching Writers: Editors and Reporters Working Together Across Media Platforms; America's Best Newspaper Writing; The Values and Craft of American Journalism; The Changing South of Gene Patterson: Journalism and Civil Rights, 1960–1968; and, most recently, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.
More credibility comes from Clark's long service at The Poynter Institute. Clark has worked full-time at Poynter since 1979 as director of the writing center, dean of the faculty, senior scholar and vice president.
Clark was born in 1948 on the Lower East Side of New York City and raised on Long Island, where he attended Catholic schools. He graduated from Providence College in Rhode Island with a degree in English and earned a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1977 Clark was hired by the St. Petersburg Times to become one of America's first writing coaches. He worked with the American Society of Newspaper Editors to improve newspaper writing nationwide. Because of his work with ASNE, Clark was elected as a distinguished service member, a rare honor for a journalist who has never edited a newspaper.
Clark is the author or editor of 14 books on journalism and writing. These include Free to Write: A Journalist Teaches Young Writers; Coaching Writers: Editors and Reporters Working Together Across Media Platforms; America's Best Newspaper Writing; The Values and Craft of American Journalism; The Changing South of Gene Patterson: Journalism and Civil Rights, 1960–1968; and, most recently, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
October 19, 2013
Notice; write; edit
Crafted tiny word sculptures
Entice the reader
Crafted tiny word sculptures
Entice the reader
December 12, 2014
This book did less to help to show how to write short and more to direct what made short writing effective. It was like a grammar textbook for short writing. I can't imagine someone reading this and coming away better at concise, clever, clear, crafted writing. It was not a horrifically written book, just not very helpful.
October 15, 2013
Initial reaction: Great read. I was impressed with the way Clark broke down the advantages to writing short and taking inspiration from shorter forms of text in order to improve one's writing. Some of these cues I've already incorporated in my own writing without realizing it, but it also gave me pointers as to how to think better using those skills.
Full review:
I'll admit that I haven't read that many guides to economizing writing in the contemporary spectrum, but Roy Peter Clark does a fine job of giving great pointers on how to do so in "How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times." In the narrative, he explains just how our society is full of fast writing - from Twitter, to song lyrics and poetry, to status updates and quick notes. He explains that knowing how to utilize measures of quick writing can actually help improve your writing in general, and uses the narrative to explain the whys and hows of doing this.
I'll admit much of this I knew from my own writing style, because of a love for poetry and music, but he does a great job of walking through each of the different facets of writing short and how it is useful. He also shows how people can be inspired by short writing and provides tips at the end of each chapter on how to put it into practice. I would rank it among my favorite guides, much like my read of his "Help for Writers", to writing and would highly recommend it.
Overall score: 4/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Little, Brown and Company.
Full review:
I'll admit that I haven't read that many guides to economizing writing in the contemporary spectrum, but Roy Peter Clark does a fine job of giving great pointers on how to do so in "How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times." In the narrative, he explains just how our society is full of fast writing - from Twitter, to song lyrics and poetry, to status updates and quick notes. He explains that knowing how to utilize measures of quick writing can actually help improve your writing in general, and uses the narrative to explain the whys and hows of doing this.
I'll admit much of this I knew from my own writing style, because of a love for poetry and music, but he does a great job of walking through each of the different facets of writing short and how it is useful. He also shows how people can be inspired by short writing and provides tips at the end of each chapter on how to put it into practice. I would rank it among my favorite guides, much like my read of his "Help for Writers", to writing and would highly recommend it.
Overall score: 4/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Little, Brown and Company.
July 27, 2014
Every time I encountered the writings of Isaiah while growing up, it seemed like the teacher would do his or her utmost to "explain and interpret" what those dense verses meant. I would scribble down my notes as fast as I could, desperate to remember what the translation was because there was no way I would be able to look at what was written and come up with what they were telling me.
Not to be discouraged, I took a class in college entirely on Isaiah and his writings. The teacher took a different approach. Rather than give us an interpretation, he taught us to think like Isaiah, to think in imagery and to look at the history to understand why he would approach things the way he did. Remarkably, it worked. I came to think along those same lines, and soon I was confidently reading Isaiah for myself and having a marvelous time.
Clark's book How to Write Short is like those early classes I took. He breaks down short writing into rhetorical pieces and asks his readers to go back and look at things, practice them, record them, write down examples in daybooks. Then perhaps they can "master" the art of writing short.
What I was hoping for when I ordered this book through my library system was a book that would teach me how to get in the mindset of short writing. I wanted to be shown how to create that writing by understanding the juice from which it came. I wanted to eat the fruit and grow my own tree. Instead I was given a diagram of the plant and a list of things I might do to make a model of it.
Strangely, this book, while having short chapters, nonetheless tends to waste words. I often felt like I wanted the "nugget" of what he was presenting, but I kept wading through and looking for it. For a book that is supposed to be looking at how modern communication and writing are happening, it would help if this book were more aware with its design, since much of the short writing is created in a highly visual context.
In short: I didn't find this book very useful.
As a last note: I was bugged by the sexism inherent in the way he presents his examples. I'll list a few here to show you what I mean:
Okay, so he presents this type of essay as something immature and basically just an exercise. Fine, yes. I understand, but then he goes immediately on to bring in his wife, who he immediately places not on his level, but on par with his children. Because, you know, they all wrote the same essay on the same topic: On something that didn't have "a real problem." The dismissiveness just flows along, and then gets compounded when the very next thing he writes is to give us someone worthy of praise, someone who knew what he was doing. A man, of course:
Yeah, he ends his list with a tack on of Madonna facing off with Lady Gaga. This is the other pattern I notice again and again: that his male examples tend toward being neutral or praising, while his female examples tend toward ridicule, dismissiveness, and even violence.
In the "Grace Notes" on page 80, he write:
Seriously? No, really? He's going to use a disturbing law permitting extreme violence against women as an example for his readers to use as just, you know, an example of a type of form. You know, like go practice it now yourselves. Never mind that he's just quoted a passage about crushing a woman's mouth with a heated brick. This was the moment when I realized I wasn't just imagining things with the sexism in the book. Then, just to make sure I got the point, in the very next note his first example is:
Um. Really. Yes, he is characterizing a group of dancers who are known for their extreme dedication, not to mention how often they fall into disordered eating in their drive to succeed in their chosen field of dance---he's characterizing them as "dieters" who are weak and run after ice cream trucks. Come on! Really? Where does he even get this crap to use as an example? Does he not realize how his examples of sports and male writers are all presented with enthusiasm and dignity while his female examples tend to be ridiculous and insulting?
Roy Peter Clark, I would like to say, as a teacher of rhetoric and composition myself, I am displeased with your lack of understanding about sexism and gender bias and the ways they show up in writing. It is absurd, that someone who spends as much time looking at writing as you do, could be so ignorant of his own writing patterns.
Not to be discouraged, I took a class in college entirely on Isaiah and his writings. The teacher took a different approach. Rather than give us an interpretation, he taught us to think like Isaiah, to think in imagery and to look at the history to understand why he would approach things the way he did. Remarkably, it worked. I came to think along those same lines, and soon I was confidently reading Isaiah for myself and having a marvelous time.
Clark's book How to Write Short is like those early classes I took. He breaks down short writing into rhetorical pieces and asks his readers to go back and look at things, practice them, record them, write down examples in daybooks. Then perhaps they can "master" the art of writing short.
What I was hoping for when I ordered this book through my library system was a book that would teach me how to get in the mindset of short writing. I wanted to be shown how to create that writing by understanding the juice from which it came. I wanted to eat the fruit and grow my own tree. Instead I was given a diagram of the plant and a list of things I might do to make a model of it.
Strangely, this book, while having short chapters, nonetheless tends to waste words. I often felt like I wanted the "nugget" of what he was presenting, but I kept wading through and looking for it. For a book that is supposed to be looking at how modern communication and writing are happening, it would help if this book were more aware with its design, since much of the short writing is created in a highly visual context.
In short: I didn't find this book very useful.
As a last note: I was bugged by the sexism inherent in the way he presents his examples. I'll list a few here to show you what I mean:
To explore the origins and potential of the one-two punch, consider a standard genre of English composition class, writing an essay in which you compare and contrast two things, conditions, or issues. I recall that my wife and three daughters fulfilled this assignment during their early college years by discussing in four different essays the relative merits of breast versus bottle feeding. The breast always won!
While useful, such assignments put the cart before the horse--and then demand that the horse push the cart up the hill with its nose. You can't write a good sonnet until you know how it feels to brim with love. You can't write a good one-two essay until confronted with a real problem and two competing solutions.
Okay, so he presents this type of essay as something immature and basically just an exercise. Fine, yes. I understand, but then he goes immediately on to bring in his wife, who he immediately places not on his level, but on par with his children. Because, you know, they all wrote the same essay on the same topic: On something that didn't have "a real problem." The dismissiveness just flows along, and then gets compounded when the very next thing he writes is to give us someone worthy of praise, someone who knew what he was doing. A man, of course:
Before his untimely death, my college friend James Slvein had become one of America's most influential writing scholars and was just as good, if not better, in the classroom. We sat in the basement of his parents' house on Long Island one evening, drinking beers and talking about teaching. Jim picked up a yellow pad and drew a simple cross, filling the page with the crossbar near the top [goes on to talk about using it to do comparisons such as ...] the Tea Party versus the Occupy Wall Street movements. Or Young Adults with Health Insurance versus Ones Without. or Literary Memoir versus Journalist Memoir. Or Madonna versus Lady Gaga. (pages 65-66)
Yeah, he ends his list with a tack on of Madonna facing off with Lady Gaga. This is the other pattern I notice again and again: that his male examples tend toward being neutral or praising, while his female examples tend toward ridicule, dismissiveness, and even violence.
In the "Grace Notes" on page 80, he write:
1. In his book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain quote the first Mesopotamian written law, circa 2350 BC, in which the legislator makes use of the unbalanced move: "If a woman speaks out against her man, her mouth shall be crushed with a hot brick." Using examples from the last two chapters as models, experiment in your daybook with both the balanced and unbalanced moves.
Seriously? No, really? He's going to use a disturbing law permitting extreme violence against women as an example for his readers to use as just, you know, an example of a type of form. You know, like go practice it now yourselves. Never mind that he's just quoted a passage about crushing a woman's mouth with a heated brick. This was the moment when I realized I wasn't just imagining things with the sexism in the book. Then, just to make sure I got the point, in the very next note his first example is:
The ballerina was determined to stick to her diet, but then she heard the bells of the ice cream truck.
Um. Really. Yes, he is characterizing a group of dancers who are known for their extreme dedication, not to mention how often they fall into disordered eating in their drive to succeed in their chosen field of dance---he's characterizing them as "dieters" who are weak and run after ice cream trucks. Come on! Really? Where does he even get this crap to use as an example? Does he not realize how his examples of sports and male writers are all presented with enthusiasm and dignity while his female examples tend to be ridiculous and insulting?
Roy Peter Clark, I would like to say, as a teacher of rhetoric and composition myself, I am displeased with your lack of understanding about sexism and gender bias and the ways they show up in writing. It is absurd, that someone who spends as much time looking at writing as you do, could be so ignorant of his own writing patterns.
March 10, 2019
I started the book with the wrong expectations. It's not a guide on how to write shorts; It's more the analyses of short writing with lots of examples.
Most of the examples are from the American culture; I didn't know them and couldn't appreciate the significance of these texts (especially references to Super Bowl).
Most of the examples are from the American culture; I didn't know them and couldn't appreciate the significance of these texts (especially references to Super Bowl).
August 25, 2024
First part is interesting, second part not much. Best advice: write short text using concrete nouns followed by vigorous active transitive verbs. Then the text tells the reader who does what to whom and that is what the reader wants to know.
September 5, 2013
Review:
Grade: A+
This is an enlightening read. It’s quick, it’s easy to read and it really changes your outlook on 140 characters or less, and how that can affect writing in all forms. Writing short can actually enhance your ability to write long.
I loved it, from the perspective of someone who deals in Marketing and Blogging and social media all day, this book has been an invaluable tool. It has insight along with explanation, as well as support. Everything is condensed in this small little book. It doesn’t force learning on you, but let’s you come to the learning. In our modern society, the skill of writing short is so critical. You need to get a lot of big ideas into very small spaces.
The guides, the examples and the general wit of Roy Peter Clark makes this read more like a fiction book, then a writing guide. It’s informative, but interesting, and it still gives you the little push to turn the page and see what’s next. He efficiently sums up his points at the end of each chapter, giving you key points to remember.
Each chapter includes things to think about, things to try, and general observations about short writing. The clever ways it’s used, the clever people who have used it, and the unusual places you can find some of the best short writing. This isn’t meant to be a textbook, or even a style guide; this book is meant to help you learn the art of concise. We live in a world of short writing, this book just helps usher you into it with honors.
If you are a marketing person, blogger, tweeter, or basically any form of modern day writer, you need to check out this book. It’s so informative without being overwhelming. You don’t even realize the author is teaching you until it’s too late and you’ve learned!
I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Grade: A+
This is an enlightening read. It’s quick, it’s easy to read and it really changes your outlook on 140 characters or less, and how that can affect writing in all forms. Writing short can actually enhance your ability to write long.
I loved it, from the perspective of someone who deals in Marketing and Blogging and social media all day, this book has been an invaluable tool. It has insight along with explanation, as well as support. Everything is condensed in this small little book. It doesn’t force learning on you, but let’s you come to the learning. In our modern society, the skill of writing short is so critical. You need to get a lot of big ideas into very small spaces.
The guides, the examples and the general wit of Roy Peter Clark makes this read more like a fiction book, then a writing guide. It’s informative, but interesting, and it still gives you the little push to turn the page and see what’s next. He efficiently sums up his points at the end of each chapter, giving you key points to remember.
Each chapter includes things to think about, things to try, and general observations about short writing. The clever ways it’s used, the clever people who have used it, and the unusual places you can find some of the best short writing. This isn’t meant to be a textbook, or even a style guide; this book is meant to help you learn the art of concise. We live in a world of short writing, this book just helps usher you into it with honors.
If you are a marketing person, blogger, tweeter, or basically any form of modern day writer, you need to check out this book. It’s so informative without being overwhelming. You don’t even realize the author is teaching you until it’s too late and you’ve learned!
I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
August 19, 2013
I'm a big fan of Writing Tools, which I pick up again and again. This book has a narrower focus, but feels less crisp and helpful. Most chapters take a general point (some of which are Writing Tools repeats) and bury it under examples.
While examples are often a great way to drive home these types of lessons, the sheer number of them here feels tedious and annoying. It's almost as if the author isn't quite sure we'll grasp his simple suggestions without a few sets of bullet-pointed quotations. I'll also admit to a bit of a cringe when he sourced sample tweets from Twitter Wit, because pulling from a four year old book of printed social media updates is not the best way to earn my trust as an authority on the subject of how to do Twitter.
There are also sections where the tone gets uncomfortable (Clark's imaginary dating profile) or preachy (warning writers, complete with quotations from Orwell and Huxley, about the dangers of propaganda).
I did like Clark's love note to marginalia, his analysis of a Tom Petty song, and the chapter about Strunk & White. But overall, I'd suggest trying to pick this up from the library if you're interested. You can always buy a copy if you find that you miss it after the due date has passed.
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
2 1/2 stars
While examples are often a great way to drive home these types of lessons, the sheer number of them here feels tedious and annoying. It's almost as if the author isn't quite sure we'll grasp his simple suggestions without a few sets of bullet-pointed quotations. I'll also admit to a bit of a cringe when he sourced sample tweets from Twitter Wit, because pulling from a four year old book of printed social media updates is not the best way to earn my trust as an authority on the subject of how to do Twitter.
There are also sections where the tone gets uncomfortable (Clark's imaginary dating profile) or preachy (warning writers, complete with quotations from Orwell and Huxley, about the dangers of propaganda).
I did like Clark's love note to marginalia, his analysis of a Tom Petty song, and the chapter about Strunk & White. But overall, I'd suggest trying to pick this up from the library if you're interested. You can always buy a copy if you find that you miss it after the due date has passed.
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
2 1/2 stars
June 27, 2016
Pretty good. Has advice for every type of writing, though some were not for me.
March 28, 2024
Mostly about writing Tweets. Brevity is key. Not bad. Would recommend.
December 27, 2015
Roy Peter Clark puts his money where his mouth is by keeping How to Write Short brief – only 239 pages sans index and bibliography. The chapters, all titled with clipped imperatives, are only 5-7 pages, the last of which is dedicated to a Grace Notes section that offers prompts and practices based on the chapter’s contents for the reader who’s really serious about becoming the writer. Clark’s instructions for writing short aren’t that different from instructions for writing of any kind – collect examples of good short writing, follow writers who write well in short form, consider the structure of your writing as well as the content – but his examples (of which there are many) are pulled exclusively from the realm of brevity, and Tweets, poems, headlines, and quips abound.
As with any writing manual, readers will only get out of How to Write Short what they’re willing to put into it, but Clark’s work does an excellent job highlighting the immense amount of thought and effort that can go into crafting even the slightest of bon mots. In other words: Reading this only made me adore Dorothy Parker that much more.
As with any writing manual, readers will only get out of How to Write Short what they’re willing to put into it, but Clark’s work does an excellent job highlighting the immense amount of thought and effort that can go into crafting even the slightest of bon mots. In other words: Reading this only made me adore Dorothy Parker that much more.
March 19, 2019
Gorgeously written (duh...) but advice is somewhat repetitive of earlier ‘Writing Tools’.
Strongly recommended!
Strongly recommended!
November 27, 2013
I got this as a pre-read for NetGalley, and I figured, I'm a writer, this is going to be great.
Well, for a book about how to write "short," this book was never-ending. It's 50,000 words (so the author tells us at the end). Most times, I felt like the author was beating a dead horse with a very big stick.
Don't get me wrong, there was some great information in here. There are some good examples of short writing, and if you are looking to learn the art of short writing, this book can help you. But it's going to take a while.
I did appreciate the "grace notes" at the end of each chapter. If this book was available in a bullet list, I think it would be more helpful to me. Granted, I'm a writer, and a lot of what Clark points out I'm already familiar with. I'm a queen of editing, and I teach my teen writers how to keep within word limits.
Overall, a good book if you are new to the skill, but it's going to take a while to slug through the lessons.
Well, for a book about how to write "short," this book was never-ending. It's 50,000 words (so the author tells us at the end). Most times, I felt like the author was beating a dead horse with a very big stick.
Don't get me wrong, there was some great information in here. There are some good examples of short writing, and if you are looking to learn the art of short writing, this book can help you. But it's going to take a while.
I did appreciate the "grace notes" at the end of each chapter. If this book was available in a bullet list, I think it would be more helpful to me. Granted, I'm a writer, and a lot of what Clark points out I'm already familiar with. I'm a queen of editing, and I teach my teen writers how to keep within word limits.
Overall, a good book if you are new to the skill, but it's going to take a while to slug through the lessons.
January 29, 2014
This is an awesome book. Read Clark's close reading of Tom Petty's "Free Falling" here: http://books.google.com/books?id=L4K4...
Then read the whole book closely.
Then read the whole book closely.
February 20, 2024
The proof is in the pudd' with this book. It is slim, impactful, and a joy to read.
I usually skim over the gratuitous chapter-by-chapter anecdotes you find in this genre, but when Roy Peter Clark is writing, I'm all ears.
Some notes:
1 Collect short writing
2 Study short writing wherever - ads, tweets, signs, gravestones, plaques, tattoos
3 Focus it: Why does this matter? Whats the point? Why is the story being told? What dos the story say about life, the world, the times we live in?
4 Read at a glance: what sticks out if you were to glance over paragraphs or barely listen to a speech?
9 Tap the power of two: contrast two ideas: black/white yin/yang bass/treble wild/mild. This doesn’t have to be within a same sentence, it could be a whole subject paragraph.
10 Write with balance: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Even sentences: imperative verb, preposition, article, noun. This can work at a paragraph level too.
11 Give weight to one side: gives impact to the shorter side.
12 Change the pace: long sentences and short sentences. Climax, anticipation.
13 Hit a target word. End a sentence with the important gold coin word at the end. Ie long sentence that ends with “: atom”.
14 Use patterns of three. In a list “serenity to accept, courage to change, wisdom to know” - most of the time it goes from smaller concrete examples to an abstract that can be applied as a pithy truth / observation.
15 Use parallels: “show me a hero and i’ll write you a tragedy”, “the higher the buildings the lower the morals”. “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
16 Tweak the predictable. “moderation is a fatal thing - nothing succeeds like excess”- Oscar Wilde
17 Vary hard and soft words. Vary long words with short staccato words for intended impact. lit/illuminated, jail/incarcerate, piss/urinate.
18 Join the six word discipline.
18.5 Inventory to tell a story: adolescence, internet, internet, internet, internet, death.
19 Cut it short: Brevity comes from selection and not compression. Cut adverbs, adjectives, strings of prepositional phrases (“that for x comprises the x of y therefore leading to a x of z, but only if y”), jargon, long words
22: Surprise with brevity: deliver the work in 3/4 of the expected length. make sure however that you don’t reduce the meaning of a work by shortening it.
24 Crack wise: jokes almost always ends with the funny punchline as the last word.
25 Be wise. To sound wise with sayings it must be according to James Geary of “The World In A Phrase”: brief, personal, definitive, philosophical, and with a twist.
26 Entice. Pay attention to the title, simplicity, spelling and grammar, and pay attention to the ending.
31: Write definitions with a twist
32: Write a list of your own writing rules and stick to it. The author’s writing rules include: Generate white space which is pleasing to the eye, omit needless words, the infinite space on the internet encourages airy prose, the shorter the passage the greater the value of each word, every passage should contain one gold coin, a reward for the reader, murder your darlings, try your hand at short literary forms such as haiku and couplets, begin the story as close to the end as possible, cut big then small - prune the dead branches before you shake out the dead leaves, write a mission statement for your short writing and stick to that mission, treat all forms of writing ie headlines tweets as distinct literary genres.
34: SEO optimisation matters if you're going for clicks, especially for a title
35: Protect against the misuses of writing - short writing deals heavily in persuasive abstractions of real breathing issues with real consequences. Don’t abuse it.
I usually skim over the gratuitous chapter-by-chapter anecdotes you find in this genre, but when Roy Peter Clark is writing, I'm all ears.
Some notes:
1 Collect short writing
2 Study short writing wherever - ads, tweets, signs, gravestones, plaques, tattoos
3 Focus it: Why does this matter? Whats the point? Why is the story being told? What dos the story say about life, the world, the times we live in?
4 Read at a glance: what sticks out if you were to glance over paragraphs or barely listen to a speech?
9 Tap the power of two: contrast two ideas: black/white yin/yang bass/treble wild/mild. This doesn’t have to be within a same sentence, it could be a whole subject paragraph.
10 Write with balance: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Even sentences: imperative verb, preposition, article, noun. This can work at a paragraph level too.
11 Give weight to one side: gives impact to the shorter side.
12 Change the pace: long sentences and short sentences. Climax, anticipation.
13 Hit a target word. End a sentence with the important gold coin word at the end. Ie long sentence that ends with “: atom”.
14 Use patterns of three. In a list “serenity to accept, courage to change, wisdom to know” - most of the time it goes from smaller concrete examples to an abstract that can be applied as a pithy truth / observation.
15 Use parallels: “show me a hero and i’ll write you a tragedy”, “the higher the buildings the lower the morals”. “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
16 Tweak the predictable. “moderation is a fatal thing - nothing succeeds like excess”- Oscar Wilde
17 Vary hard and soft words. Vary long words with short staccato words for intended impact. lit/illuminated, jail/incarcerate, piss/urinate.
18 Join the six word discipline.
18.5 Inventory to tell a story: adolescence, internet, internet, internet, internet, death.
19 Cut it short: Brevity comes from selection and not compression. Cut adverbs, adjectives, strings of prepositional phrases (“that for x comprises the x of y therefore leading to a x of z, but only if y”), jargon, long words
22: Surprise with brevity: deliver the work in 3/4 of the expected length. make sure however that you don’t reduce the meaning of a work by shortening it.
24 Crack wise: jokes almost always ends with the funny punchline as the last word.
25 Be wise. To sound wise with sayings it must be according to James Geary of “The World In A Phrase”: brief, personal, definitive, philosophical, and with a twist.
26 Entice. Pay attention to the title, simplicity, spelling and grammar, and pay attention to the ending.
31: Write definitions with a twist
32: Write a list of your own writing rules and stick to it. The author’s writing rules include: Generate white space which is pleasing to the eye, omit needless words, the infinite space on the internet encourages airy prose, the shorter the passage the greater the value of each word, every passage should contain one gold coin, a reward for the reader, murder your darlings, try your hand at short literary forms such as haiku and couplets, begin the story as close to the end as possible, cut big then small - prune the dead branches before you shake out the dead leaves, write a mission statement for your short writing and stick to that mission, treat all forms of writing ie headlines tweets as distinct literary genres.
34: SEO optimisation matters if you're going for clicks, especially for a title
35: Protect against the misuses of writing - short writing deals heavily in persuasive abstractions of real breathing issues with real consequences. Don’t abuse it.
August 9, 2017
A job posting I responded to said they liked applicants who had read this book. While the job has long been filled by someone other than me, I read the book anyway.
Roy Peter Clark is widely respected as a writing coach and writer. Here he adapts his instruction for a world in which to write and capture a person's attention often means to write short. He covers everything from tweets to headlines to specific strategies to general concepts and ends each chapter with some helpful final thoughts. Those final "Grace Notes" range from exhortations to keep an eye out for a certain rhetorical move or an exercise to hone your writing skills.
It took me a while, but I made it through it and I'm glad I did. It's helpful
Roy Peter Clark is widely respected as a writing coach and writer. Here he adapts his instruction for a world in which to write and capture a person's attention often means to write short. He covers everything from tweets to headlines to specific strategies to general concepts and ends each chapter with some helpful final thoughts. Those final "Grace Notes" range from exhortations to keep an eye out for a certain rhetorical move or an exercise to hone your writing skills.
It took me a while, but I made it through it and I'm glad I did. It's helpful
February 8, 2021
As I've been working on my latest non-fiction book and trying to improve my writing, I've fallen in love with the books from Roy Peter Clark. I'm someone who can get a bit long-winded with my writing, so when I saw this book, I had to grab a copy. Just like his other books, Roy Peter Clark delivers. Not only will you learn how to write short through an assortment of tips, tools, and practices, but I found it extremely beneficial for switching up the pace of my writing. Since starting this book, I've noticed a lot of personal improvement in my own writing, and I highly recommend the book for all writers out there whether you're a journalist or author.
June 29, 2019
Pretty solid advice, though it ironically dragged on a bit for me (likely because a lot of Clark's points were previously drilled into me in writing workshops). Still a good pick for aspiring writers. 3.5 stars rounded up.
April 16, 2020
Loved it!
Review to come...
Review to come...
September 14, 2021
This book would have been best as an article. Some useful advice, but for a book that’s about writing short it was a little too long
October 13, 2021
I both read the book and listened to the audiobook and theres some valid advice delivered in a straight forward way. Didn't wow me but worth a read
February 6, 2023
Everything by Roy Peter Clark is fantastic when it comes to readability and the quality of reading advice. This time he has turned his attention to short writing, which is vital for today's fast-paced, Internet-based world. Each short chapter provides clear advice that is easy to follow, and contains 'Grace Notes' at the end, many of which are either summarized advice to remember, or little writing exercises for the reader. If you are not sure how to write short, you want a refresher, or you need to climb your way out of the pit that is writer's block, this book is for you.
December 6, 2019
Many redundant information; the irony.
March 11, 2019
This is rubbish. Complete rubbish!
August 9, 2013
I received this book as a part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
As Blaise Pascal said, “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." The ability to express one's thoughts in few words can be difficult for even the best writers. Some seem to think that a sentence is no good unless it is a full paragraph and contains at least one word that will stump the average reader. Thankfully we seem to be moving toward a consensus that what can be said in five words should not be said in fifty, and this is the book to help you do that.
Whether you are a writer of fiction, a poet, a journalist, a social media junkie or just an occasional texter,How To Write Short has something to say to you. While it is primarily geared towards the more online forms of communication there are valuable insights throughout the book on how to craft titles, sentences and paragraphs that speak directly and powerfully.
I found the most useful chapter to be number nineteen, entitled "Cut It Short". Its eight and a half pages are centered around editing, providing examples of what to cut from your work to make it more concise.
Clark has included what he calls "Grace Notes" at the end of each chapter which provide an opportunity to solidify the lessons of the previous chapter by implementing them in brief exercises. Initially giving the book an undesirable text book feel, these notes soon became my favorite part of each chapter. One that I had the most fun with was the urging to manipulate an old adage or cliche in order to bring new life and meaning into it. I now have a page in my notebook filled with sentences like "food is wasted on the young," and "A man's home is his a**hole".
In the last few chapters the book began to lag, especially the chapter called Summarize and Define which drew heavily from the dictionary. Some might enjoy that perspective but for me, it was dry.
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and depth of information in this slim volume, and therein lies its value. I expect to return to the Grace Notes for inspiration and fun and chapter nineteen will be open beside me as I edit my next story.
As Blaise Pascal said, “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." The ability to express one's thoughts in few words can be difficult for even the best writers. Some seem to think that a sentence is no good unless it is a full paragraph and contains at least one word that will stump the average reader. Thankfully we seem to be moving toward a consensus that what can be said in five words should not be said in fifty, and this is the book to help you do that.
Whether you are a writer of fiction, a poet, a journalist, a social media junkie or just an occasional texter,How To Write Short has something to say to you. While it is primarily geared towards the more online forms of communication there are valuable insights throughout the book on how to craft titles, sentences and paragraphs that speak directly and powerfully.
I found the most useful chapter to be number nineteen, entitled "Cut It Short". Its eight and a half pages are centered around editing, providing examples of what to cut from your work to make it more concise.
Clark has included what he calls "Grace Notes" at the end of each chapter which provide an opportunity to solidify the lessons of the previous chapter by implementing them in brief exercises. Initially giving the book an undesirable text book feel, these notes soon became my favorite part of each chapter. One that I had the most fun with was the urging to manipulate an old adage or cliche in order to bring new life and meaning into it. I now have a page in my notebook filled with sentences like "food is wasted on the young," and "A man's home is his a**hole".
In the last few chapters the book began to lag, especially the chapter called Summarize and Define which drew heavily from the dictionary. Some might enjoy that perspective but for me, it was dry.
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and depth of information in this slim volume, and therein lies its value. I expect to return to the Grace Notes for inspiration and fun and chapter nineteen will be open beside me as I edit my next story.
January 1, 2014
To communicate with power and a few words is a valuable skill. Journalist and writing instructor Roy Peter Clark has served the writing community with HOW TO WRITE SHORT (http://amzn.to/17t5rbi). I enjoyed this book and believe if you apply the teaching; it will improve your writing.
As Clark writes in the opening pages,"I've written HOW TO WRITE SHORT because I could not find another book quite like it and because in the digital age, short writing is king. We need more good short writing--the kind that makes us stop, read, and think--in an accelerating world. A time-starved culture bloated with information hungers for the lean, clean, simple, and direct. Such is our appetite for short writing that not only do our long stories seem long, but our short stories feel too long as well." (Page 4)
The short punchy chapters in this book are fun to read and loaded with insight. I learned a great deal in HOW TO WRITE SHORT. I recommend it.
As Clark writes in the opening pages,"I've written HOW TO WRITE SHORT because I could not find another book quite like it and because in the digital age, short writing is king. We need more good short writing--the kind that makes us stop, read, and think--in an accelerating world. A time-starved culture bloated with information hungers for the lean, clean, simple, and direct. Such is our appetite for short writing that not only do our long stories seem long, but our short stories feel too long as well." (Page 4)
The short punchy chapters in this book are fun to read and loaded with insight. I learned a great deal in HOW TO WRITE SHORT. I recommend it.
February 28, 2018
Questo saggio nemmeno poi brevissimo vuole spiegare come si fa a scrivere bene in modo conciso. Soprattutto la prima sezione in realtà è per in massima parte un manuale di scrittura in generale, fatto bene; ma dovrebbe essere chiaro a tutti che per scrivere bene e conciso occorre comunque in prima battuta saper scrivere bene. Lo stile del libro è piacevole e leggero; i capitoli - questo sì - sono brevi e terminano tutti con alcuni esercizi che recuperano il materiale spiegato in precedenza e permettono al lettore di metterlo all'opera. In un mondo dove il tempo per leggere è sempre più ridotto, l'essere in grado di esprimersi in modo breve ed efficace è un'abilità che bisogna saper coltivare: io parto avvantaggiato da una mia laconicità innata, ma ho comunque imparato a saperla gestire.
Read
August 6, 2015I took a writing class and realized how inflated my writing can be, even after years of working on it and steady improvement. This book was a breath of fresh air. Instead of thinking about brevity as an exclusively editorial exercise, every time, Roy Peter Clark presents all manner of short writing for study and discussion -- short writing we take for granted -- such as tweets, tattoos, and tombstones.
I was travelling and working a lot during the time I read this, and did not follow the writing prompts or do any of the end-of-chapter exercises, but I definitely will go back for a second read and personal workshop. Really well thought out, and well done.
I was travelling and working a lot during the time I read this, and did not follow the writing prompts or do any of the end-of-chapter exercises, but I definitely will go back for a second read and personal workshop. Really well thought out, and well done.
January 14, 2018
This book provides thoughtful guidance about how and why to write concisely. I enjoyed Clark's willingness to reference cereal boxes as much as Strunk & White - even more so his willingness to one up that classic advice. How to Write Short also provides lots of practical examples and exercises to try.
April 6, 2025
Roy Peter Clark sets about the task of teaching the readers of his book how to "write short." It seems that writing short is crucial for communicating with readers in the 21st century. Whether you are writing a tweet, email, or creating some sort of advertisement, the goal is to craft something that is quick hitting, informative, and uses language in a way that pulls the reader in.
Along the way, Clark shares a number of examples of short writing that he likes. There is an analysis of the Tom Petty song, Free Falling, and William Carlos Williams poem, The Red Wheelbarrow. He mixes in his own attempts at humor (most of which fall short in my opinion) and gives a few rules of the road.
The book is mildly useful. Perhaps the most interesting part of it is the quotes of others that Clark uses as a scaffolding on which to hang his opinions about what makes those quotes incisive. Read a lot of short format material and attempt to emulate. Finish with your strongest word last. Practice writing short. It is more like a book about good cooking that contains no recipes but explains to you how to read a cookbook and ways that other (better) cooks went about cooking a meal.
It is odd that a book written on the subject of how to write short would stretch to 272 pages. Clark likes his lists and any time he mentions writing short, he drops in odd places where these techniques could come in handy -- tattoos, personal ads, and tombstones are among the things that come up. It seems that while Clark could write short, he chooses not to do so most of the time -- at least he didn't here.
If I found his humor more appealing, it would have helped. Instead, I found myself skimming through fluff to get to his next point. Since the points seemed obvious and I already knew many of the examples, I found myself struggling, wondering how this could apply to my own writing. Could it save my next blog post? Could my reviews on Goodreads suddenly have a timeless appeal, that they didn't have before?
The answer seems in the negative. If you struggle to write short, the best thing, apparently, is to read people who write short well and try to emulate what they do. Reading "Word Craft for Fast Times" will kill a couple of hours of time but put you no further on your way to the goal of everyone's existence, writing short.
Along the way, Clark shares a number of examples of short writing that he likes. There is an analysis of the Tom Petty song, Free Falling, and William Carlos Williams poem, The Red Wheelbarrow. He mixes in his own attempts at humor (most of which fall short in my opinion) and gives a few rules of the road.
The book is mildly useful. Perhaps the most interesting part of it is the quotes of others that Clark uses as a scaffolding on which to hang his opinions about what makes those quotes incisive. Read a lot of short format material and attempt to emulate. Finish with your strongest word last. Practice writing short. It is more like a book about good cooking that contains no recipes but explains to you how to read a cookbook and ways that other (better) cooks went about cooking a meal.
It is odd that a book written on the subject of how to write short would stretch to 272 pages. Clark likes his lists and any time he mentions writing short, he drops in odd places where these techniques could come in handy -- tattoos, personal ads, and tombstones are among the things that come up. It seems that while Clark could write short, he chooses not to do so most of the time -- at least he didn't here.
If I found his humor more appealing, it would have helped. Instead, I found myself skimming through fluff to get to his next point. Since the points seemed obvious and I already knew many of the examples, I found myself struggling, wondering how this could apply to my own writing. Could it save my next blog post? Could my reviews on Goodreads suddenly have a timeless appeal, that they didn't have before?
The answer seems in the negative. If you struggle to write short, the best thing, apparently, is to read people who write short well and try to emulate what they do. Reading "Word Craft for Fast Times" will kill a couple of hours of time but put you no further on your way to the goal of everyone's existence, writing short.
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