Some writers are like trekkers, moving boldly along like a straight arrow to their destination, as if nothing else matters. Or, they may wander about, hither and yon, taking in the sights. Sometimes they stop to reflect on parts of their journey, or to examine a bit of this/a bit of that alongside the larger trip or story.
The creative process
“Although I may start an essay with a notion of where I am headed,” says Bascom, “inevitably I veer away as I get new ideas or encounter dead ends. Sometimes I even seem to go backward, losing all direction. Nothing is wasted, because every bend in the process is helping you to arrive at your necessary structure. By trying a different angle or creating a composite of past approaches, you get closer and closer to what you intend. You begin to delineate the organic form that will match your content.”
Spiral speak
Or we may circle around the topic, taking the reader on a swirling ride. I call it ‘spiral speak’.
I have also seen what Bascom calls “loops of reflective commentary” used effectively in fiction and nonfiction. Think of his “loops” as literary digressions, which pull the reader temporarily away from the steady flow of plot, theme, or story line.
Informed tension
“Although I may start an essay with a notion of where I am headed,” says Bascom, “inevitably I veer away as I get new ideas or encounter dead ends. Sometimes I even seem to go backward, losing all direction. Nothing is wasted, because every bend in the process is helping you to arrive at your necessary structure. By trying a different angle or creating a composite of past approaches, you get closer and closer to what you intend. You begin to delineate the organic form that will match your content.”
On the other hand, “Savvy essayists,” he says, may “twist their chronology, beginning at the end or breaking to a moment in the past, even weaving together several timelines.” The informed tension approach “forces the reader into a climb... It raises anticipation. Will we reach the top? And what will we see from there?”
Reflective digressions
Carefully done, these brief, looping asides create an informative second layer of discourse. Some novelists use them (often in italics) to provide readers with useful or interesting background information. They are intended to help move the plot forward. Nonfiction writers (and trekkers), too, may occasionally step away from the trail to scrutinize something of interest like a flower, or to find a better viewpoint, or chat with the locals, take a photograph, or seek the cool shade of a tree on a hot day. Writing the digression into as a second layer of information gives added interest and depth to a story.
Another style uses a ‘slice of life’ approach. It focuses in on specific, well chosen parts of an experience. By carefully writing each slice or scene, the reader is presented with a series of images made whole by focusing in and removing any distracting elements.
Bascom calls this ‘framing’. I call it ‘Alice in Wonderland’. A writer may choose anything of interest along the way that is worth examining. But here, Alice is peering through the looking glass at Guildford Castle in the UK.
Magazine article writers often gather much more material than they can use. While writing we may have to chip some of it away in order to more concisely make our point and reach our destination. On another day we may stop along the path, pick up a discarded scrap, then start out trekking/writing in a new direction.
See Bascom’s article (and graphic images) online at creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/picturing-personal-essay-visual-guide#author-biography. ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ was sculpted by Jeanne Argent. The two photos, copyrighted © by Colin Smith, are credited and reused here under the Creative Commons License. Sometimes we publish guest essays in Spilled Ink. If you’d like to write one contact don.editor@gmail.com.
