I would have written a shorter book if i had the time

If i had more time, i would have written a shorter headline. Ive written many posts about how to write a short nonfiction book, and to do so fast. If your book is too long or too short you may have difficulty finding a place for it. If i had my time to go over again, i would make my sermons much shorter, for i am conscious they have been too wordy. I am sorry judge, i would have written a shorter brief if i had more time. You have always written before and you will write now. One of my favorite anecdotes concerns emerson and thoreau. That makes it great to read if youre short on time. I would have written a shorter letter, but i didnt have the time.

What is the shortest amount of time that an author. This genius quote is said to come from the hands of french philosopher and mathematician blaise pascal in 1657. If i had more time i would have written a shorter letter. The earliest recorded use of the quote if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter comes from french mathematician and philosopher blaise pascal s work lettres provinciales in 1657. You may want to get betareaders, or a professional editor, involved. Lots of books are longer than they should be, but the trait is particularly noticeable in the biggest of the big. Here is an excerpt from that early rendition of the letter. If i had more time i would have written you a shorter letter was credited to winston churchill when i last heard it, which was perhaps. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter regulation we were discussing rules and regulations recently, and how the rulebook screws up all meaning and intention of the things they are trying to enforce. Do your books tend to get longer or shorter after the first round of edits.

A famous mark twain quote which is in fact a misquote usc. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter novel. French mathematician blaise pascal in 1657 in lettres provinciales. Its not the regulators fault, but the fault of too many cooks spoiling the broth. I have some feelers out to two acquaintances who have a keen interest in ancient rome. Blaise pascal i have only made this letter longer because i have not had the time to make it shorter. A work may be lost to history through the destruction of an original manuscript and all later copies. My letters were not wont to come so close one in the neck of another, nor yet to be so large. Current quotes, historic quotes, movie quotes, song lyric quotes, game quotes, book quotes, tv quotes or just your own personal gem of. The short time i have had hath been the cause of both. Apr 26, 20 levin says many books are being written shorter these days and technology is partially to blame.

Blaise pascal, lettres provinciales, 16567, number 16, this one written december 4, 1656. The first thing i have to remember is, a book justifies its length, no matter what that length is. Apr 25, 2019 on kdp, the minimum for spine text on a paperback is 100 pages. How to get shorter or look shorter if you dont like your height. If id had more time, i would have written more briefly. This is 20thcentury american author ernest hemingways famous sixword story.

Matthew, one of my favorites quotes is from mark twain. Publishing is a business and in order to make that business work, the product your book must be saleable and the cost price sustainable within the retail price of a book there is the authors royalty, the publishers profit and the book sellers. This is chiefly because i am never satisfied until i have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing brief ly takes far more time than writing at length. Ironically all of the source quotes cited in the article are much longer than if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter. If you go very short, your book may not be thick enough for a perfect bound spine. Jul 23, 2012 i have been writing a long time and even had a class in college for creative writing. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter is an infamously misattributed quote that highlights the importance of brevity and editing in writing. Feb 20, 1983 for years i have existed on a steady diet of novels, and for years i have shared the common presumption that short stories are literary snacks, to be consumed before or between novels. I guess it took a century or two to whittle it down further. While i quote the latter somewhat tongue in cheek, the reality is that inattention to legal writing will bottleneck a lawyers efficacy. Brevityin this case short, concise writingis hard work. An english translation was created in 1658 and published in london. Its often connected to mark twain, but the origins of the saying date back to the 17 th century and to french philosopher blaise pascal.

All you need to write is the bluebacked notebooks, the two pencils and the pencil sharpener a pocket knife was too wasteful, the marble topped tables, the smell of early morning, sweeping out and mopping, and luck were all you needed. Regardless of its real origin, the truth contained in. The reading challenge group meet your next favorite book. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter talk i have made this longer than usual because i have not had time to make it shorter wrote blaise pascal in 1657. A lost work is a document, literary work, or piece of multimedia produced some time in the past, of which no surviving copies are known to exist. Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.

Who wrote the quote if i had more time, i would have written. Aug 27, 2019 i had already written several middle grade novels before i began writing the diary of an ice princess chapter book series scholastic, july 2019. Throughout school, i skimmed through the chapters of the compulsory reading books and halfarsed the essays that had to be written about them. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter. If you have to stretch, use a combination of techniques, in moderation. Apr 12, 2006 blaise pascal, 16231662 lettres provinciales.

I would have written a shorter letter if i had had the time. Mar 05, 2014 i have made this longer than usual because i have not had time to make it shorter. In 1857 henry david thoreau wrote a letter to a friend that offered commentary about story length. I have only made this letter longer because i have not had. It didnt fool your history teacher who wanted 10 pages about abe lincoln and you only had enough words to fill nine pages with normal size letters. In advertising and marketing, the shorter the writing the better. I first disliked him, because he meant business my first exam with this teacher was about 1100 words, and he explicitly told me he would have given me a better grade if it had been shorter. There are books that run to near a thousand pages that feel uncommonly fleetfooted the count of monte cristo comes to mind, and there are books of barely a hundred and fifty pages that make the act of going from one paragraph to the next feel like wading through superfund cleanup muck. A better translation of his statement is im sorry i wrote you such a long letter. I would have written a shorter letter, but i did not have the. But in time, i came to appreciate this attitude, because it forced me to really think about what i wanted to say and how to say it. Feb 03, 2014 istockphoto in his lettres provinciales, the french philosopher and mathematician blaise pascal famously wrote.

Everytime i picked up a book i found myself having to read the same page about 3 to 4 times as i just kept getting distracted. The earliest recorded use of the quote if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter comes from french mathematician and philosopher blaise pascals work lettres provinciales in 1657. This would have been shorter,if id had more time or words to that effect. Who wrote the quote if i had more time, i would have written you a. The latter was briefly jailed when he refused to pay taxes in protest. I would stand and look out over the roofs of paris and think, do not worry. This sentence emphasizes how hard it is to be concise in your writings. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter talk. Jul 27, 2019 an imaginary novel written by a fictional dog. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter lettering.

I was wondering if i could get help in starting a novel. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter know. Theres something to be said for books that are tightly written narratives and pack a punch in a shorter page length. Thanks for the suggestion, and ill do that for sure. I have made this letter longer than usual because i have not had time to make it shorter. National novel writing month dont get me wrong, i think its a great program and helps a lot of writers. Shorter books can be great for kindle, nook, and other ereaders.

I would have written a shorter letter, but i did not have the time. Oct 21, 20 if i had more time i would have written you a shorter letter was credited to winston churchill when i last heard it, which was perhaps unsurprising as it was at a london venue. Aug 28, 2020 although theres no feasible way to make yourself shorter, there are many ways you can give yourself the illusion of being shorter. I have only made this letter longer because i have not had the time to make it shorter. If you opt to write short nonfiction books, the point truly is to do this quickly. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter quote. We all have to ask ourselves, when was the last time we read any 250page or longer nonfiction. If id had more time id have written a shorter letter discussion. I didnt have time to write a short letter, so i wrote a. The good news, though, is that youre now actually ahead of schedule and will finish your book in less than the 40 days you budgeted. I started it when i was in college and the professor liked it.

It is about a man telling his adventures to young children. On a bet, at some point in his career, hemingway is said to have written the words. My faith in the attribution has wavered considerably since then. This term most commonly applies to works from the classical world, although it is increasingly used in relation to modern works. Who wrote excuse the long letter, i didnt have time to. If you habitually write copy thats shorter than you want or need, here are some tips on how to lengthen word count heres my dirty little secret about writing. If i had more time i would have written you a shorter letter was credited to winston churchill when i last heard it, which was perhaps unsurprising as it was at a london venue. Sep 26, 2016 but in others romances and westerns, readers will normally expect shorter books. Apr 02, 20 pascal and churchill put it rather well compressed timescales leading to submissions that are longer than necessary is a wellknown phenomenon, as the french mathematician and philosopher, blaise pascal, identified in the seventeenth century.

I have made this longer than usual because i have not had time to make it shorter. Here are 5 of my favorite short as in, under 350 pages books. Simenon, author of the wildly popular maigret crime novels, apparently took 9 days to write each book. Feb 19, 2012 in the case of 2666, bolanos death prior to the book s completion also added a bit of drama to its release. On the other hand, being accurate, clear and concise can be hard. Ive noticed a difference in how information in conveyed and what kinds myself. Apr 28, 2012 if i had my time to go over again, i would make my sermons much shorter, for i am conscious they have been too wordy. He would have made it shorter, if he had had more time. Having said that, it seems that the books that i do pick tend to be longer in length. I have started one, but not sure i have written it right. Do your books tend to get longer or shorter after the. Who wrote the quote if i had more time, i would have. Its been attributed to so many folks over the years, i think we get it now.

I would have written a shorter letter, but i did not have. I would not have made this so long except that i do not have the leisure to make it shorter. If id had more time id have written a shorter letter. The book is full of some very common sense information that we all me included forget sometimes. The earliest recorded use of the quote if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter comes from french mathematician and. Aug 14, 20 there is an anecdote, often attributed to mark twain, but goes back to the french writer pascal, who apologized to a correspondent for writing so long and says, if i had more time, i would have. Dont decide to write a short book and then take a year to complete and publish it. I would have written a shorter letter, but i did not.

If it had pleased them the legislators to order that this wealth, after having. You still have to produce the minimum quota of a single, typed page. Brian quipped that a 140 ish character description of a paper isnt all that. Feb 15, 2020 i would have written a shorter letter, but i did not have the time. Ultimately, youll have to decide if your novel really needs to be long you cant do justice to the story and characters otherwise or if youve written more words than necessary.

I will admit that my first thought was, oh, this should be easier. I have made this letter longer than usual, only beca. Shorter quotes quotes about shorter yourdictionary. Give me a word count of 750 words and ill produce 600.

Your wardrobe plays a big role in determining how tall you look. Mar 17, 2003 the small amount of time that i have is the cause of both. If i had more time id have written a shorter letter. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter intense. Du perron, as recorded by manage, menagiana, 1693, p. The best books are those, which those who read them believe they themselves could have written. There are many shorter novels that i have loved but there are times when i finish the book and wish it had been longer. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter.

Ive asked them whether they are aware of anything from pliny that resembles the quote in question. The earliest recorded use of the quote if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter comes from french mathematician and philosopher blaise. If i had more time i would have written less code actively lazy. Sep 10, 2015 since that time im coming around on shorter books. Blaise pascal, lettres provinciales, dec 4, 1656, number 16 near the end. I made this one letter longer only because i have not had the leisure to make it shorter. If i had more time, i would have written a shorter submission. Writing a fulllength book when you have a full time life. Mar 04, 2021 come the following day, you you could have your short book written in less time than you imagine. Just as the title suggests had i had the time i very well could have written this one. After all, at 6,00010,000 words, chapter books are a fraction of the size of middle grade novels, right.