How short is too short?

Comment by Steve Miller on August 14, 2001

The rule of thumb I've been taught to apply to "word widows" is that the last line should -- optimally -- be at least half the line length of the copy block. Worst case, two words will suffice. If it's really short, track the paragraph a bit tighter and lose the line altogether. (It does save a few pages over the span of a book, too.)