The first story I ever wrote
was 150,000 words.
It was crap.
Just because it was longer
than most stories
didn’t make it
any less craptastic.
If I wrote that story today,
other writers would be pushing me
to self publish that big turd.
I’ve heard the arguments.
“It is long.
Some reader will get something out of it.”
Right.
Because 150,000 crappy words
is better than 1 crappy word.
A loved one brought me
a package of laundry detergent.
It was a ‘bargain’
he said
because it was bigger
than the other packages.
It was more.
This detergent left residue
on our clothes
so now I have more
of a crappy detergent.
Yes,
we, product developers,
hate admitting
to developing a stinker product.
It pained me to shelf
that 150,000 word story.
But offering the prospect
more
of that crappy product
isn’t the solution.