When you’re staring at a blank page and despairing about starting, we’ve got good news: you only need to fill half.

Here’s an easy formula for writing just the right number of words.

Remember this rule-of-thumb: One page of text in a Word document (or equivalent program) = approximately 2 designed pages.

Why? That’s because:

•  Text is usually split into different sizes (headings, sub-headings), not just 9pt text.
•  A designed page is likely to include images, diagrams or illustrations.
•  There will probably be negative space around the text.

All of above elements make a page easier and more enticing to read. Ain’t nobody wants to read the ‘Great Wall of Text’.

Next time you’re writing to fit a space, try halving the word count first.