"The most important laws on our books provide simple guidance, not play-by-play scenarios of what is or is not permitted. We abolished slavery and granted former slaves the right to vote in 100 words. We guaranteed equal protection of the laws and recognized the citizenship of all persons born or naturalized in the United States in barely 80. We guaranteed women the right to vote in fewer than 40 words."
Linda Chavez, columnist, on government learning to write laws in shorter, clearer language.
This quote isn't from a column on fiction writing. (But the column is interesting. It's short. Read it if you like.) If you think you need at least three pages to properly convey the beauty of that sunset, think again. Obviously, it's not the number of words that count. It's using the right ones.
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