All writers – beginners, amateurs, journalists, novelists, etc. – must work within three major limits. No one is exempt. However, these limits can help writers to be more creative. The first one is time. All phases of writing take place within a limited period, such as article deadlines, book draft deadlines and ends of trips (obviously, we want to finish our account of one trip before we go off on a new one). Readers also have their periods: newspapers are often read daily on commuter trains; novels are often read at night before going to sleep; reading is done to keep from being bored or distracted. Time is a variable that cannot be ignored. Therefore, we must always keep it in consideration when we write. We should decide beforehand within how long we want to write our text and have it be read.
Next week, we will talk about the second limit: space.
Claudio Visentin and Guido Bosticco
