Looking for Word Counts and Page lengths? Check here the new Writing Resource Section.

As silly as this might sound, I have grown quite accustomed to framing my thoughts into two very different lengths – 140 characters and 1200 words. The first, of course, is for Twitter. The second, however, comes from the few years that I wrote for a local entertainment rag. The article which I was to hand in was usually the same article I wrote the month prior, but with the details swapped out. These articles were always 1200 to 1300 words.

It’s a hard train of thought to get out of, that 1200 word rut. Two pages of single-spaced, 10-point font. 1200 words is enough time to devise a witty introduction, delve into a bit of history, make three solid points, and then wrap up in an earnest fashion. Despite how formulaic this seems, it’s a formula for a reason – it works.

However, 1200 words on the internet is, well, an eternity. Correction, it’s an eternity when the hook doesn’t warrant it. It’s funny, I got started writing ahem “professional” non-fiction online before making the jump to print. Now that I’m coming back, I’m having issues dealing with a lack of a newshole. So, as I’m wrapping things up here on the construction side, expect to see a higher volume of material, just not in the oh-so-familiar 1200 word length.

Oh, and for the record, 140 characters is the perfect length for being an asshole.