Story length

Short form vs long form for decision-making

The more information you have, the better decisions you can make, right?

Wrong.

It turns out that doctors make better diagnoses when they have less information.… Read the full article

Here’s a famous story among persuasion researchers and Malcolm Gladwell fans:

When a researcher offered shoppers 24 types of jam, many customers stopped by for a sample, but only 3% made a purchase.… Read the full article

Writers measure copy in words, inches or pages. Readers use a different measure: time.

So instead of using writer-centric measures, think like your reader.… Read the full article

When Lynn Wylie, aka Best Sister Ever, sent me an Unfancy blog post arguing that all you need to look great every day is a capsule wardrobe of 37 items per season, I scoffed.… Read the full article

Size does matter.

The longer your story, the less of it your readers will read — and the less likely they are to understand and act on it.… Read the full article

Talk about brief: The New York Times packs 13 stories onto its briefs page, called The (One-Page) Magazine.

Notice the combination of:

How brief are your briefs?… Read the full article

As a reality TV superfan, I’ve learned a lot about writing from “Project Runway” episodes.

For one thing, time management counts.… Read the full article