✍️ Desk of Amy Suto: The Art of Writing Short

From short stories to newsletters: how to write well in small spaces.

Happy Wednesday! Today, ✍️ From the Desk of Amy Suto paid subscribers will get an exclusive issue about…

✨ How to write short stories and newsletters that captivate

🧪 Why everything boils down to a set-up and punchline

📚 When writing short helps you write better at length

✍️ The Art of Writing Short

I’m working on a new short story this week, and I’m struck by how all short-form writing — from poetry to newsletters — is such a feat of distillation.

Short-form writing is like powdered feelings — just add water. There are so few words to paint a picture, so the reader’s experiences have to fill in the rest.

Mastering the art of writing short is a superpower. Writing well in small spaces helped me build a six-figure freelance writing career. (Poetry and copywriting have quite a lot in common!) It’s also helped me build this newsletter from $0-4,000 in ARR in a few months.

Writing short is not just profitable, it’s magical. It’s the fairy dust that conjures emotion in so little space that you can catch your readers by surprise in seconds — and turn them into fans of your work for life.

📚 Anatomy of a Joke: Set-Up and Punchline