Characters < 2200
Written March 12, 2023
Day 19 of 40 in a 45-day period: I have found myself to be a bit verbose when I write. This is something I’ve struggled with for years, having a considerable amount of exceptionally important things to say but being constrained by how much room there is to say it.
On the first day of my new Lent, I figured I should check to see what the caption limit is for an Instagram post so I didn’t have to guess and check and try to figure it out on my own. Per a Google search, the limit is 2200 characters. It seems it’s actually a little less than that but I can’t figure out the exact amount.
As I’m getting ready to land the plane and wrap up my daily writing, I do a quick check to see where I’m at. Usually it appears I’ll make it within the limit as I prepare to close out my writing and then somehow when I check again, I’m at 2400+ characters. I can’t figure out what happens in that last section. It’s as if I think I’m okay, just like when I played racquetball and thought I’d coast to a win only to discover coasting results in too many words, and a story that mirrors a long and windy road. My editing process begins, cutting out a few things here and there before realizing this requires major cuts, and then at last, I think I’m right where I need to be.
With the confidence of a young child who thinks they can sing like Elsa, I copy the text from the Google Doc to my email and then over to Instagram. Inevitably I’m met with “Your caption is too long.” There is no guidance that states how long is too long, just that you better cut to the chase and figure it out.
I could continue these posts in the comments but that interrupts the flow. Instead I begin the second round of editing trying to figure out if I’m one character over or 500. I am also reminded I need to invest in readers because squinting at text on my phone is serving no one and later I catch a typo, or two or three.
I have to say, I respect the 2200ish character constraint. It forces me to get back on the highway and off the windy roads and invites me to grow in my writing. I’ve heard from many of you that one day I should write a book - won’t my future editor appreciate these lessons as well.