BRIDGET WHELAN writer

for writers and readers….

“…you can almost always make something better by making it shorter…” Keith Gessen QUOTES FOR WRITERS

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I once heard George Saunders tell a story about being edited at the New Yorker, where his editor kept asking him to cut a highly precise number of lines—18 lines, 25 lines. And George would go do it each time thinking that the editor had a very specific vision for his story. But then he realized the editor just wanted it to be shorter. And the advice here was: There’s almost no piece of writing that can’t be improved by removing 18, then 25, then 21 lines; i.e. you can almost always make something better by making it shorter.
Keith Gessen

2 comments on ““…you can almost always make something better by making it shorter…” Keith Gessen QUOTES FOR WRITERS

  1. Rae Longest
    September 13, 2018

    Reblogged this on blogging807.

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This entry was posted on September 9, 2018 by in Quotes and tagged , , , , , .

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