Hieronymus, I’ll hold off on any Rand philosophy discussion here, but my point is that even though she wrote a lot of long treatises, it’s the pithy points that got her a lot of value and were oft quoted. As for length in stories, I think it’s a whole different animal. Stories don’t have to be all about the point-at-the-end, they can be for the journey…i.e., a 300 page page-turner that could be summarized in a Cliffs Notes is not the same as the 300 page story. Sometimes it’s not just about brevity.

The biggest problem with length in stories (imnsho) is that if they (seem to) suck, readers need to stop reading them, rather than keep going.

But you’re absolutely right–there’s a place for Hemingway and Shakespeare in the points above, but I still like my Fitzgerald and even Rand. Cheers!

The same Ayn Rand who wrote “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead,” two of the most gaseously overinflated novels of the 20th century? The Ayn Rand whose specious contribution to modern philosophy (which was really just extended excuse-making for her own egotism and narcissism) pretty much died when she did?

Better to cite Shakespeare — “Brevity is the soul of wit” — or Hemingway, who wrote a complete short story in six (yes, six) words. Or Lincoln, who in an age when orators went on, quite literally for hours, delivered his Gettysburg Address with just 276 words
in 10 sentences.

Oh … Hemingway’s six-word story?

For Sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

This is so true when you have to be concise, precise and cogent. It gets the point across fast.
*e.g., I can’t do it at this late date and without payment for my time.