The Art of Subtraction: Brevity in Content Creation

Brevity, conciseness, and saying more with less are skills that require extra effort and time to learn.

This is beautifully expressed in the book "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke, where in a letter he apologizes for its length and quotes an amazing thought by Blaise Pascal: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."

This thought is incredible. Yesterday, I wrote a newsletter that I am proud of. It was quite long at first, but the more I wanted to improve it, the more I started taking away. Like Pablo Picasso said: "Art is subtraction."

And sometimes we have to subtract even the things we like and spent time on. As Stephen King says, we have to "kill our darlings." We grow attached to the work we create. We write something that we love, but it doesn't contribute to the final piece we want to publish, so we must kill it. It needs to be removed.

In the modern world of online content creation, there’s a constant battle between length and brevity. Quality vs quantity. In some cases, it’s easier to create a 1-hour unscripted podcast than to write a perfect 1-minute short video packed with valuable information.

As content creators, we face the battle between consistency and quality. Sometimes it’s hard to have both. When you're a beginner creating content online, it's all about quantity. You need to get used to putting your thoughts out there while no one is really watching. By making a habit of producing content and publishing it, you develop the necessary skill. Then Quantity can lead to quality.

But as you grow an audience, the importance of quality grows with it. I find myself in a middle ground, feeling the demands of consistency to keep my business growing, but also believing that if I spend more time on quality, this could grow things further. This is why I need to keep reflecting on this and experimenting with different types of content.

Content creation is a balancing act between quantity and quality, and a learning process to express more with less.