This is fantastic! Thank you. I laughed out loud reading "a special kind of nomenclative hell". Indeed.
I was especially intrigued by footnote #7 and #8 because I agree....let loose stream of consciousness writing to begin (and then again, often while working through revision analysis), because it is this, and I'd hazard only this approach (loose, dreamy, indulgent, playful, joyful...) can pull up/reveal the images and emotions and "thoughts we didn't know we thought" from deep subconscious. I'm only now beginning to understand how to work with this layer and move a piece through pattern analysis to make a work of at. Very very early stages...like, amoeba level arc of evolution. Sigh. Takes time. So, I'm always cautious of jumping to "if/then" algorithmic thinking in my writing...trying not to miss the wisdom poking it's head above the surface of subconscious to conscious...surfacing from deep dark waters to gulp the air of systematic analysis.
Again, thank you for this essay on repetition and diagramming thinking chunks ....hugely helpful!!!
Thank you Michael. As usual, excellent breakdown of this beautiful paragraph by JD. In today’s business writing, when so much focus is on efficiency, repetition can suffer a hasty and overly-heavy stick, which is ironic given how poorly people read now. How often do we hear, cut that, it’s repetitive. Could prob make the case repetition is needed now more than ever. I get not all of us know what we’re doing, and those who do can be clumsy than with the execution. So the advice to cut repetitive beats isn’t all bad. Nice to see the technique celebrated here.
This past month, I’ve been reading Shirley Jackson who uses repetition in clever ways, sometimes sounds, but not always, the way readers might expect with terror / horror stories. Fun to see her range and cut against expectations in how she uses repetitive words to build tension and help the reader not miss a fun ending. Also, regarding Jackson, I’ve been spending time breaking down her 11/10 opening of The Haunting of Hill House. I’m going to try this technique of re-aligning sentences differently to see what comes out of that. Deconstructing work of great writers helps because you know it’s not luck, they’re not just throwing spaghetti-Os at the wall hoping it ends up looking like art.
Thanks again for sharing this example and the additional ones linked in the post.
I love love love what you are doing! I’m late to the party…so forgive if you ve done this but where are you ôn funny essays? Say Mr Sedaris? Or is it , Irby- We are never meeting in real life? And where should I begin with your treasure? I will subscribe
Life Tip: Find someone who will love you like Michael Dean loves essay structure.
This is fantastic! Thank you. I laughed out loud reading "a special kind of nomenclative hell". Indeed.
I was especially intrigued by footnote #7 and #8 because I agree....let loose stream of consciousness writing to begin (and then again, often while working through revision analysis), because it is this, and I'd hazard only this approach (loose, dreamy, indulgent, playful, joyful...) can pull up/reveal the images and emotions and "thoughts we didn't know we thought" from deep subconscious. I'm only now beginning to understand how to work with this layer and move a piece through pattern analysis to make a work of at. Very very early stages...like, amoeba level arc of evolution. Sigh. Takes time. So, I'm always cautious of jumping to "if/then" algorithmic thinking in my writing...trying not to miss the wisdom poking it's head above the surface of subconscious to conscious...surfacing from deep dark waters to gulp the air of systematic analysis.
Again, thank you for this essay on repetition and diagramming thinking chunks ....hugely helpful!!!
Thank you Michael. As usual, excellent breakdown of this beautiful paragraph by JD. In today’s business writing, when so much focus is on efficiency, repetition can suffer a hasty and overly-heavy stick, which is ironic given how poorly people read now. How often do we hear, cut that, it’s repetitive. Could prob make the case repetition is needed now more than ever. I get not all of us know what we’re doing, and those who do can be clumsy than with the execution. So the advice to cut repetitive beats isn’t all bad. Nice to see the technique celebrated here.
This past month, I’ve been reading Shirley Jackson who uses repetition in clever ways, sometimes sounds, but not always, the way readers might expect with terror / horror stories. Fun to see her range and cut against expectations in how she uses repetitive words to build tension and help the reader not miss a fun ending. Also, regarding Jackson, I’ve been spending time breaking down her 11/10 opening of The Haunting of Hill House. I’m going to try this technique of re-aligning sentences differently to see what comes out of that. Deconstructing work of great writers helps because you know it’s not luck, they’re not just throwing spaghetti-Os at the wall hoping it ends up looking like art.
Thanks again for sharing this example and the additional ones linked in the post.
hell yea. back to deconstructions
I love love love what you are doing! I’m late to the party…so forgive if you ve done this but where are you ôn funny essays? Say Mr Sedaris? Or is it , Irby- We are never meeting in real life? And where should I begin with your treasure? I will subscribe