I might be long-winded, but I don't go overboard

Writing a personals ad is tricky business. I mean, let's face it - you're trying to offer an image of yourself that will make people want to get to know you better. It's a resume for dating. I have a pretty good work resume; it's relatively easy to talk about my professional successes. But personal ones? Well... that's a little trickier.

For this experiment, rule #1 says I must be honest when writing my ad. So I will not lie. And I will do my best to be true to myself. But I still don't really know how to write an ad. What should I say? Should I include a photo? Is there such a thing as oversharing? And if I don't share enough, does that mean I've lied? Is there a standard format for a dating resume? Should my ad look just like everyone else's? Should I be short and sweet? Or long and caustic? I'm beginning to see that this is HARD WORK!

I've spent a little bit of time looking at other ads on Craigslist, just to see what's out there. I've also scoured the internet for other examples. Here's what I know (in addition to following my rules):

• I will spell everything correctly
• I will use proper grammar
• I will not sound whiny or complain about the fact that all the men are pigs or say that this is my first time posting an ad (because even though it is, I don't believe a single person who writes that in their ad)
• I will not include a photo (but if someone requests one, I'll pass it along)

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, I will not write a book outlining the perfect man. He doesn't exist. And I am not looking for him. I will most certainly not get caught up in the drama that this man did when he wrote his ad. And if this process ever does get me to the point of being that crazy, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make me stop. Immediately.