# File It Like You Mean It ## If it’s worth writing down, it’s worth writing well Published [[2025-07-20]] on [Idea Waypoints](https://ideawaypoints.substack.com/p/day-2-file-like-you-mean-it) --- Pop quiz! Who wrote this? > "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." Mark Twain, right? [Actually, no.](https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/02/03/270680304/this-could-have-been-shorter) It's attributed to Blaise Pascal from “Lettres Provinciales” in 1657. This quote has been on my mind during [a 30-day writing challenge course](https://www.ship30for30.com), focused on building a habit of publishing online. I've already run into two tensions: 1. **Digital writing lends itself to shorter form.** Clarity benefits from brevity — but both take time and editing. 2. **The course downplays editing entirely.** Write it. Ship it. They even suggest not editing for the first year of online writing. *(The horror…)* This conflicts with one of my core tenets: [Less but better](https://notes.leahferguson.com/40+Atomic/Less+but+better). And that brings me back to personal knowledge management (PKM). Managing information is tough. But mismanaging it is tougher. If you take the time to clip something — a quote, a concept, an idea sparked from something else — it's worth doing so with intention and critical thought. Good data and organization helps to prevent bad assumptions. And sometimes, it can stop us from repeating mistakes entirely. --- **Today’s question:** Even if you’re not doing [#ship30for30](https://www.ship30for30.com/), what advice do you have for someone on post length? Are you finding it easy to keep things short, or do you prefer longer form content?