It seems like it’s a pretty simply idea to not suck. To not be terrible. But, sometimes, it’s just to simple.
Yesterday, I plowed through a post about Customer Service on Twitter. It was going to be a masterpiece that propelled me to writing fame. Masterpieces aren’t easy to write.
I wrote for 2 and a half hours. What came out was 1,800 words of discombobluated thoughts and half-assed points. I went on and on, ignoring my first rule. I sucked.
What did me in was my lack of simplicity. My Keep-It-Simple-Stupid attitude seemingly got replaced with rambling. What did I learn from this?
A few things. Don’t use 9 words when 7 will do. Don’t overcomplicate things. Over edit. If you think you have dumbed it down and simplified it too much, it’s perfect. Brevity over bravado.
And most importantly, don’t suck.
Daniel E. Agee 