SO MUCH MORE
I just finished reading a novel whose author, in the Acknowledgements
page, thanked so many people that the page turned into pages, plural.
I’m one of those readers who always reads authors’ Thank Yous.
There, I encounter the good feel of gratefulness, and occasionally a deeper
glimpse into the writer’s process. I rarely know any of the names being
thanked, but it matters not. I like the ambiance; being in the presence of expansiveness
and joy, something I feel deeply for my beta readers and anyone who ever helped
me be a better person.
But here comes my pet peevishness: when the number of people
mentioned goes over, say, ten— it’s diminishing returns multiplied exponentially
with every addition.
Like everything else in writing, (and life), curtailing exuberance
actually has the effect of giving a statement power. I lamented this in an old
post about overuse of exclamation points, here.
I actually went on to count the number of people thanked by
name in the above mentioned author’s river of gratitude. As I did so, I
wondered if some dark part of me wasn’t envious that she not only had so many
people to thank, but even knew this many people. (The number is two-hundred and thirty-six,
but who’s counting.😮) I’m sure every one of them is diminished by the size of the
crowd.
I don’t have an exact number not to exceed. I just wanted to
remind myself (and anyone reading this) that less is more.
©Mark Anderson 2015
