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    Tom ScoccaTom Scocca
    2/26/16 6:00pm

    Correction: This post originally misspelled “Holtzclaw.”

    Discussion: Do corrections count toward word count?

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      Leah FinneganTom Scocca
      2/26/16 6:18pm

      Traditionally, no. In print publications, in which corrections are published days or sometimes weeks after the incorrect article in question runs, the correction will take up valuable column inches that could have gone to another story or stories. Therefore, a single correction punishes many.

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      Constant ColorsLeah Finnegan
      2/26/16 6:39pm

      What is this “print” you speak of?

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    CollectivePolemicTom Scocca
    2/26/16 6:05pm

    A good story is as long as it needs to be. Writers should have an internal alarm go off (if even vaguely) which should always be heeded as "wrap this thing up." When the thing bogs down and starts sagging, usually in the middle somewhere, break out the kitchen shears and start lopping off the fat. Even in investigative/features stuff, confusing complexity with length usually makes for a dull, laborious read. Daniel Holdsclaw did not require 12,000 words. 1,000 for "this guy was pretty ok at football hear his friends tell you as much." Another 1,000 or so from family/community, and double to triple that from the POV of survivor's and their advocates within the community. We're at 5,000. You have an allowance of 3,000 left to explore massive systemic flaws and grotesque inbuilt injustices that make a serial rapist and brutally racist cop possible in the first place.

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      ld20CollectivePolemic
      2/26/16 6:33pm

      I blame schools that force students to write a minimum of x pages or y words for an essay or project instead of structuring the marking schema to enforce a minimum content and then slapping a max. page count to discourage the overachievers from verbal diarrhea.

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      CollectivePolemicld20
      2/26/16 6:48pm

      Spot on. Not to mention the bullshit "Intro-body-supporting ideas-conclusion" formula.

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    NefertittiesTom Scocca
    2/26/16 5:57pm

    Next up:

    How Long Should An Internet Comment Be?

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      ThatFatScatCat fucking loves muddy puddlesNefertitties
      2/26/16 6:15pm

      Some might say internet comments are, by virtue of existence, already too long at any length.

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    Cam/ronTom Scocca
    2/26/16 5:55pm

    If you want your audience to print out your epic article and read it piece while sitting on a toilet, a bar stool, or in bed during a sleepless night then 4,000-7,000 words is fine. Anything more and the author is basically saying, “Shut up, I’m trying to win fucking awards!”

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      Annoy-a-tronTom Scocca
      2/26/16 6:29pm

      Most stories should be about half the length they would be if my wife told them.

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        festivusaziliTom Scocca
        2/26/16 5:51pm

        How long should a story about story length be? 373 words, I guess. 382 if you count the tags.

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          Sid and FinancyTom Scocca
          2/26/16 6:07pm

          tl;dr

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            Max Rivlin-NadlerTom Scocca
            2/26/16 6:03pm

            Your “On Smarm” blew right past 9k.

            But also qualified for the “really good art director” exception, so there’s that.

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              RappingNinjaTom Scocca
              2/26/16 5:59pm

              As long as it needs to be.

              It can be 600 words. It can be 20,000 words.

              As long as it takes to tell the story.

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                Pink SkullTom Scocca
                2/26/16 6:16pm

                Writing 90,000 words isn’t hard. It’s just 1,000 a day (about 3 Microsoft word pages double spaced) for 3 months. Deleting 20,000 words? That’s hard.

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