Critique my Blog

Just a quick note this morning.

First, thanks to SBN for posting here.

Second, brevity is the soul of wit. Every piece posted at your site is too long. And not just a little too long - far too long. Especially the set-pieces, like the fake mailbag. This is one of the risks of the bottomless electronic page.

Humor writing is like diamond cutting - the skill lies in knowing what to get rid of. As you move forward with your writing, you're going to have to learn how to edit your own material. As an exercise, then, I'd suggest this: go back to the fake mailbag piece (which is a weak premise, but that's a discussion for another time). Cut the number of emails in half. Then cut your answer to each in half. Keep only the strongest, brightest pieces. Then reorder them to follow this immutable law of comedy:

Alway open with your second-strongest bit. Close with your strongest.

It is fantastically important for writers - in any medium and at any length - to become their own best editors. This is a skill one can learn only by being a merciless, dispassionate reader of his or her own work.

Again, thanks for posting.