Shirley – The flip side of learning something – you forget other stuff! No, seriously it’ll come back to you. But like I said on FWJ radio the other day, I go back to my Idiot’s Guide to Magazine Writing from time to time to focus on the basics. It’s like going back to the barre for the ballet dancer.

Phil – I remember thinking back when USA Today was getting a lot slack that it was the best paper to read while in between classes and during lunch and the NYTimes was better suited for at home, in a comfy chair for the long haul. And now look – short attention spans have won the day. Wait, is that a good thing or bad thing?

The first newspaper I worked at — 30 years ago — had the philosophy way back then.

I even get frustrated with books that have lengthy paragraphs, because it gives me no natural stopping point (I read on the train, during commercials, etc.).

About two years ago, I made the switch from print to online writing. It was a bit of an adjustment, and took some research on my part to figure out what changes I needed to make. Funny thing is, now that I want to write for both mediums, I feel like I need a refresher course on crafting longer paragraphs without keywords and fewer bullets.

Great post!

I agree that bullets and short paragraphs are the way to go. On the flip side, a series of bullets that aren’t fleshed out or super-short paragraphs are also hard to read (or take seriously).

Anyways – great article! Keep up the good work.