Yesterday, for the umpteenth time in the history of Free Refills, I watched as an idea that I thought would only take a paragraph or so to write grew, in its initial draft, into a multi-paragraph piece. There's a rhythm to the multi-paragraph piece that just feels right to me. Shorter pieces just don't have that same resonance.
The problem, though, is that while those multi-paragraph pieces are, in that sense, far easier for me to write than something shorter, they necessarily take a while to write--there's no shortcut to continuing to type until they're done. Also, the longer the initial draft, the longer each revision takes. I follow what feels right, but in so doing, getting each piece up eats up a substantial portion of my day.
This is actually kind of a fun realization, because it points to a hole in my technique, and working to improve my technique is something I enjoy. If I'm going to continue to do a daily publishing practice, it seems my choices are to develop my pithiness, or else share excerpts from or draft-iterations of longer pieces. What's certainly clear is that what can't happen is spending all my writing time and energy pumping out my Refills.
This piece right here? I meant it to be a paragraph long. So you see my dilemma.