As I write this post it is Sunday afternoon and over the course of the weekend I've talked to a number of people.
One young person told me a story.
It was funny, interesting and I was happy to listen to him.
One very old person told me a story.
It was funny, interesting and I was happy to listen to him.
Not once during either story did I keep a record of how many words were used.
I didn't sit there counting. I didn't record the stories so I could count later. I don't know how many words were used and I don't care.
Why?
Because it was all about the story.
It is always All About the Story.
One story was short - the young person's story.
One story was a lot longer - the old person's story.
They used different words... but they spoke the same language.
Not English, not French, not German, not Swahili.
They spoke the universal language of STORY.
Throughout the world for all time people of all dialects have told stories.
They have done so before we were born and they will do so long after we have moved on.
Both men had one thing in common...
They were telling their story to someone who was interested in what they had to tell.
I was a well targeted listener and because of that I enjoyed both stories.
One used words that the other wouldn't have understood.
One talked about things that the other would never have known about.
I learned things from both of them through their stories and I kept listening because both of them entertained me.
They added value to my life.
They made me feel emotions that empty words could never do.
This Sunday night as I sit back and relax I will think about those stories.
My world is a better place because of them.
I wrote this blog because of them.
Maybe your world has become better because someone told me stories.
It's not the number of words that matter... It's the STORY.
It's always the Story and there are people all over the world who want to hear yours.
If you're concerned about how many words you think you must have in your story, then you won't be writing the right story.
You won't be focused on The MOST Important Aspect of the Business of Publishing.
You will be writing something that fits into a set of parameters to the detriment of the story.
Don't get hung up on the wrong pages.
Write the stuff that matters and keeps your readers wanting to turn the next page.
Are there people you avoid at parties?
I know some and the reason is because they bore me.
They're not telling me the stories I'm interested in hearing... or they're telling me a short story in such a longwinded way that I feel the urge to escape.
Like a reader - I'm not coming back in a hurry.
WORDS: You get to choose how many to use.
You don't need permission to make that decision.