Pablo Picasso, around 1900, drew numerous pictures of a favorite topic in his native Spain: bullfighters. In many of these early works, he captured the essence of a man with cape in just eight or ten strokes. If ever there was inspiration in art for using just a few lines to convey something complex, there is Picasso.  Click here for a galley of Picasso’s works. Click here for a gallery of Picasso’s works.

I’ve coined what I call “Picasso’s Rule” to guide my own writing: Capture the essence of what I am saying in eight to ten lines. Each line must contribute and not add useless flourish.

In practice, Picasso’s Rule works on all levels, for book-length arguments, chapter outlines, and even passages carrying a single message. Few of us can expect to touch the brilliance of Picasso, but his example can inspire us in the right direction.

Meister Eckhart, the 13^th century philosopher and mystic, wrote, “The soul grows by subtraction, not by addition...” I like to think Eckhart gets at the same point as Picasso’s Rule. Life and art soar to their finest when stripped to the essentials.

[Revised January 2020. Originally published February 21, 2011]