Gorgeous animals,
I come to you tonight with a confession. And as much as I wish this were an epiphany of my own, I cannot make that claim in complete honesty. No, it took the respect of a friend to show me a simple shortcoming that might, if left unchecked, be of detriment to this project.
My delicious friend Ashley is tasty enough to give most men I know feelings of a wayward variety – she is incandescent at her worst times and smells like roses even when the air is heavy.
More than her fragrance and beauty, however, she presents to the world an intelligence it doesn’t appear to deserve. She is honest in those instances when most people can’t see the possibility of being straightforward.
She told me this morning, as she sat beside me and read this blog, that something was missing.
“It’s missing you,” she said to me, shaking her head as if resigned to hurt my feelings. I don’t have too many emotions, but if anyone can hurt the ones I have, Ashley can.
“You’re too rigid,” she said, “It’s like you’re trying to be too simple and accessible, and that’s cool, but that’s not how you speak.”
“I want to hear your voice when I read this,” she added. “I want to hear the Devil I know and love.”
My confession to you is that I know she’s right. I have worried for long now that my style is inaccessible to people who read my work. I have, especially during these times of confusion, concerned myself with making my delivery simple for everyone to understand.
Too many words can cause people to miss the essence of the most meaningful messages. Not enough words will diminish the value message entirely.
For the respect Ashley showed me when she told me I was missing an essential mark in my writing, and because I promised her that I would work to rediscover my style, I now make the same promise to you.
I understand the relationship between style and substance is absolute – a true idea expressed poorly is a lie.
I will now write from the heart, as if writing to friends who want to hear my voice, to lovers who wish to hear the Devil when they read my work.
This is a wonderful confession.
I think you write from the heart but not without the support of an intellectual mind.
But If Ashley thinks otherwise, then you must consider.
Yes less can be more when its meaningfully expressed.
Waiting to read more of your thoughts, dear Devil. 🙂
Thank you!
I think the goal is to write every article as it needs to be written. Some deserve more and others need less.
Like people, I guess 😉