writing on both sides of the brain

W R I T I N G O N B O T H SIDES OF THE BRAIN

Breakthrough Techn iques for People W h o Wri te

HENRIETTE A N N E KLAUSER

HarperSanFrancisco A Division of HarperCollins/,«Ww/?ers

The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint from the following works: The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence, by Carl Sagan. Copyright © 1977 by Carl Sagan. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards. Copyright © 1979 by Betty Edwards. Reprinted by permission of Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc. The Garfield cartoon on page 30 is reprinted with the permission of the United Feature Syndicate, Inc. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, by Julian Jaynes. Copyright © 1976 by Julian Jaynes. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Co. Plain English for Lawyers, by Richard Wydick. Copyright © 1979 by Richard Wydick. Reprinted by permission of Carolina Academic Press. The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists, by Edward B. Fry, Jacqueline K. Polk, and Dona Fountoukidis. Copyright ©

1984 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc. The Shoe cartoons on pages 42 and 43 are reprinted with the permission of Jefferson Communications. Spinning Inward, by Maureen Murdock. Copyright © 1982 by Maureen Murdock. Reprinted by permission of Peace Press. The Fog Index instructions were adapted with permission from "How to Take the Fog Out of Writing," by Robert Gunning and Douglas Mueller, Copyright © 1985 by Gunning-Mueller Clear Writing Institute, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Apple II Reference Manual. Copyright © 1979. Reprinted with the permission of Apple Computer, Inc.

WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF T H E BRAIN: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write. Copyright © 1987 by Henriette Anne Klauser. For more information, contact Writing Resources, P.O. Box 555, Edmonds, WA 98020. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Klauser, Henriette Anne. Writing on both sides of the brain.

1. Authorship. 2. Authorship—Psychological aspects. I. Title PN147.K63 1986 808'.02'019 86-45383 ISBN 0-06-254490-X (pbk.)

97 98 99 RRD 20

To Jim, my own true love, who combines logic and sensitivity, reason and intuition, gentleness with strong masculinity: you are one of the most naturally whole-brained people I know.

And to Dorothy, whose friendship is a deep well of strength.

Contents

Preface ix

1. From Panic to Power : Mas te ry over the Wri t ten Word 1

2 . T h e Ha i r o f the D o g T h a t B i t You 1 5

3 . R i g h t B r a i n / L e f t B r a i n : What ' s I t A l l A b o u t ? 25

4 . R u m i n a t i o n : D a y d r e a m i n g and N i g h t d r e a m i n g 36

5 . B r a n c h i n g : T h e W h o l e - B r a i n e d Way t o O r g a n i z e Your

Mater ia l 47

6 . Procras t ina t ion: Not Just A r o u n d but B e h i n d I t 56

7 . Asser t iveness T r a i n i n g : D e a l i n g wi th the C a l i b a n Cr i t ic 69

8. R e - V i s i o n : C a l i b a n Re tu rns , a t Your Invi ta t ion 88

9 . G o i n g to the Movies : Crea t ive Visua l i za t ion and Wri t ing 1 1 8

A p p e n d i x 1 : W h o l e - B r a i n e d Spe l l i ng 1 3 2

A p p e n d i x 2 : Wr i t ing on B o t h Sides of the B r a i n wi th a Word

Processor 1 3 7

Notes 140

Preface

A r e you a bus inesspe r son w h o is t i red of was t ing va luab le t ime laboring over wr i t t en work, a s tudent wi th five t e rm pape r s d u e in one week , all left unti l the last minute , a f ree lance wr i te r with a secre t des i r e to win a Pu l i t ze r Pr ize? T h i s b o o k is for you . I t will show you how to m a k e p rocras t ina t ion work for you ins tead of against you , how to cap i ta l i ze on t imes of incuba t ion w h e n you r inspira t ion is at a peak .

D i d you ever wa tch a c o l l e a g u e in you r office dash o f f a m e m o or c o m p o s e a major r epo r t with a p p a r e n t ease , and wish to yourself , " I f on ly I h a d such c o m m a n d over words ! I f only I cou ld wr i te m o r e conf iden t ly !" T h i s b o o k i s for y o u . I t will c h a n g e the na tu re of y o u r r e la t ionsh ip wi th wr i t i ng forever.

Have y o u env i ed the novelist w h o has j u s t pub l i shed her th i rd novel , has sold the movie r igh t s to the h ighes t bidder, and is eager ly w o r k i n g on novel n u m b e r four? T h i s b o o k is for y o u . I t will increase you r w r i t i n g p roduc t iv i ty d ramat ica l ly and teach you how to tell the s tory ins ide o f y o u in y o u r o w n u n i q u e voice.

T h e basis for this b o o k i s the be l i e f that wr i t i ng and ed i t i ng a re two sepa ra t e b ra in funct ions and that the p rob lems we have with expres s ing ourse lves fluently in wr i t i ng ar ise f rom d o i n g both tasks s imul taneously. T h e p u r p o s e of this b o o k is to give you a new a p p r o a c h to wr i t i ng , one that will first f ree up y o u r creat ive side and he lp you to p r o d u c e y o u r best wr i t i ng ever and then will hone you r ed i t i ng skills, w h e n they a re put in their p r o p e r p lace , to a keen e d g e . T h i s a p p r o a c h wil l p rov ide you wi th wr i t i ng tools and t echn iques that will se rve you well for the rest o f y o u r life.

Writing on Both Sides of the Brain g r e w ou t of the workshops I have g iven over the pas t several years , w h e r e p e o p l e w h o felt a n x i o u s or u n h a p p y abou t their wr i t i ng app l i ed these t echn iques and d i scovered d r ama t i c d i f fe rences in the way they wri te . T h i s b o o k offers the workshop in b o o k fo rm; i t presents the same t echn iques I offer there a n d can p r o v i d e the same long- las t ing resul ts for you .

Writing on Both Sides of the Brain will teach you how to fish, and will feed you for a l i fe t ime.

X / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S I D E S O F T H E B R A I N

W H A T T H I S B O O K W I L L D O F O R Y O U

I f y o u have a c a r p i n g voice ins ide of you that cr i t ic izes y o u r work a n d ed i t s e v e r y t h i n g as you wr i te it, Writing on Both Sides of the Brain

wil l t each you to ta lk back , to tu rn y o u r Inne r Cr i t i c into you r ally. You wil l know w h e n to ed i t and w h e n not to ed i t a n d how to go abou t i t mos t effectively.

I f y o u n e e d to wr i te a s an in tegra l par t o f y o u r j o b , wr i te for pub l i ca t ion , o r i f y o u s imply f ind y o u r s e l f s tymied by thank-you notes a n d o r d i n a r y c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , Writing on Both Sides of the Brain will h e l p y o u ge t r id of the s ink ing sensat ion before a b lank p a g e . I t will show y o u how to inc rease the s p e e d o f compos i t ion , i n t roduce you to an innovat ive a p p r o a c h to ou t l in ing , a n d he lp you u n l e a r n the wr i t i ng habi ts that inhibi t y o u .

My intent in w r i t i n g this b o o k is to c h a n g e you r life. I am not afra id to be so blunt , s ince I have seen the pr inc ip les of wr i t i ng de ta i led h e r e w o r k w o n d e r s in peop le ' s l ives. Bus ines speop le , lawyers , f r ee lance wri t e r s , d o c t o r s , t eachers , s tudents , admin i s t ra to r s , lobbyists, e lec ted offic i a l s a n d g o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s — p e o p l e f r o m a d i v e r s i t y o f p r o f e s s i o n s — h a v e taken my w r i t i n g workshop and app l i ed these techn i q u e s to thei r profess ional a n d pe r sona l wr i t i ng wi th as ton i sh ing resu l t s . T h e s e concep t s have radical ly c h a n g e d the way they a p p r o a c h w h a t e v e r w r i t i n g they a r e do ing . "Wr i t i ng has c e a s e d to be a p rob l em for me , " o n e of my fo rmer s tudents said mat ter-of-fact ly w h e n I met h e r a g a i n f ive years a f te r she had taken my class. " I s imply wr i te w h a t e v e r I need to wr i te a n d move on to o the r th ings ."

So that is my intent: to c h a n g e , radical ly and permanent ly , the way y o u feel abou t wr i t i ng and , consequent ly , to improve the p o w e r and p e r s u a s i o n o f y o u r f i n i s h e d p roduc t .

B u t the rea l p o w e r o f this b o o k lies ins ide o f you . W h a t i s y o u r intent in r e a d i n g this b o o k ? In d o i n g the exerc i ses? W h a t wou ld you l ike to see h a p p e n , profess ional ly and persona l ly? W h a t a r e y o u r goa l s? Be specif ic . Wri te them d o w n .

T a k e full respons ib i l i ty for wha t o c c u r s w h e n you read this book , do the exe rc i ses , a n d i nco rpo ra t e the ideas into y o u r dai ly wri t ing. M a k e i t y o u r intent that this will be the most power fu l , inf luent ial , exc i t ing , m i n d - b e n d i n g b o o k that you have eve r read . ( I h a p p e n to th ink that this i s a use fu l a t t i tude t oward any b o o k you a r e r e ad ing , any c o u r s e y o u a r e e m b a r k i n g on.) D e c i d e that the c h a n g e in you will not be j u s t a s l igh t one but a 1 8 0 - d e g r e e t u r n a r o u n d . M a k e that y o u r intent ion, o w n it as a goa l , and then go for it, all the way.

I d i d not in tend this b o o k to be a l ib ra ry r e fe rence work or a cof fee table s h o w p i e c e . You have my pe rmiss ion to wr i te in its pages , tack up o v e r y o u r c o m p u t e r o r w o r k s p a c e the c h a r t s tha t a p p e a l t o y o u ,

P R E F A C E / XI

d o g - e a r its e d g e s , b e n d d o w n its c o r n e r s , u s e r u b b e r b a n d s a n d c l i p s t o m a r k o f f s e c t i o n s t o r e t u r n t o . F o l l o w F r a n c i s B a c o n ' s in junc t ion :

Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others, to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

T h i s b o o k was d e s i g n e d to be d e v o u r e d . I t rust you have a voracious appe t i t e .

H O W T H I S B O O K C A M E T O B E

A b o o k that conce rns i tself with the p rocess of wr i t i ng owes a deb t to its r eade r s to say how it go t wr i t t en . I a m , after all , d o i n g wha t I am t a lk ing abou t d o i n g , and in that way the p rocess is d i f ferent f rom lec tu r ing . I am a t t empt ing to do for myse l f w h a t I set ou t to he lp you do for yoursel f . I n e e d to draw on all of my o w n devices in o r d e r to ge t these words on paper . Wi thou t p rac t ic ing my o w n in junct ions , I w o u l d have soon lost hear t , and this b o o k wou ld not be .

D i d you ever h e a r someone say, " I ' d l ike to wr i te a b o o k , bu t I don ' t have the time"} In today 's h u r r i e d age , p e o p l e usual ly don ' t wr i te b o o k s b e c a u s e they have the t ime to do it. I wro t e this b o o k whi le s topp ing at a r e d l igh t , wa i t ing in line at the pos t office, si t t ing by the e d g e of the p o o l d u r i n g the ch i ldren ' s swim lessons. I wro t e i t d u r i n g intermiss ions a t the o p e r a , in the back of d a r k e n e d movie theaters , d u r i n g b a n q u e t speeches and l u n c h e o n lec tures , in be tween family denta l a p p o i n t m e n t s a n d p i ano lessons and soccer pract ice . I have a r eve rence for p a p e r a n d dai ly bless its C h i n e s e inventor. I buy p a p e r by the r e a m s a n d still never have e n o u g h of it. I wro te this book on n a p k i n s , on the co rne r s o f p l acemat s , on the backs o f enve lopes , on Post-it p ads of all sizes and co lors , in the several no tebooks , b ig and small , that I c a r r y wi th me . I wro t e wi th any th ing handy (a l though I do have my favori te tools , a m o n g them two Mont B lancs and a 1922 Es te rb rook , ob l ique nib) . Later , I fed the wr i t t en words into a computer , and somet imes I had the l u x u r y of c o m p o s i n g at the keyboa rd . I b e g a n e a c h c h a p t e r wi th b r a n c h i n g , a sys tem of gene ra t ing ideas and o r g a n i z ing mate r ia l e x p l a i n e d in chap t e r 5. I d id all my b ranches in mul t i co lo r and somet imes u sed p ic tures as well as words to c a p t u r e my t h o u g h t s .

I c a n wr i te vo lumes in the mids t of confus ion , and I can easily wr i te on the r u n . B u t I do n e e d so l i tude in o rde r to ed i t . I t is h a r d for me to take the confus ion ou t of my wr i t ing w h e n I am s u r r o u n d e d by confus ion . My e n v i r o n m e n t needs to reflect my mind's work. W h e n I was in g r a d u a t e school , I wou ld go to the campus l i b r a ry—espec i a l l y my favori te r o o m upsta i rs , w h e r e I was of ten sol i tary and cou ld look

Xl i / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S I D E S O F T H E B R A I N

ou t the G o t h i c windows and watch the tops of the t rees sway in a s t o r m — a n d spend as m a n y as e igh t or ten hours in the same spot , pu l l i ng i t all together . B u t I cou ld do the p r e l imina ry work whi le I was ou t on a da te . T h e same m o d u s o p e r a n d i app l i ed h e r e : I re t rea ted for my edi t ing .

T H E T A O O F W R I T I N G

W h i l e wr i t i ng this b o o k , I had a power fu l sense of wha t the psycho log i s t C . G. J u n g ca l led synchronic i ty : i t was as t h o u g h the un iverse was c o o p e r a t i n g to m a k e this b o o k h a p p e n . B o o k s that lay u n o p e n e d on my shelves for years sudden ly b e c k o n e d to me ; I met the r i gh t people at the r ight time, thought of lost analogies; opportunit ies opened u p ; g r a c e was e v e r y w h e r e .

W h a t e v e r h a p p e n s , even cr ises , b e c o m e gris t for the writer 's mi l l : a w o n d e r f u l way to go t h r o u g h life. You m i g h t call i t the tao of wri t ing.

T H A N K S

It is t radi t ional at this poin t in a b o o k for the au tho r to thank those w h o gave c o u r a g e a n d s u p p o r t in m o v i n g the work fo rward . I t is a fine a n d g e n e r o u s t radi t ion, a lmos t l ike the f inal cu r t a in call a t the o p e r a , w h e n the d i r ec to r and conduc to r s tep out on to the s tage wi th the p r inc ipa l s ingers , w h e n you have a sense of wonde r a t all the p e o p l e w h o worked b e h i n d the scenes to m a k e this p iece of en te r t a inment for y o u . I f the t rue p ic tu re were r ea l i zed , the e lect r ic ians , the s t agehands , the m a k e u p art ists , and the p r o p p e o p l e would also a p p e a r and take a bow.

I am j o y f u l l y aware of all the p e o p l e wa i t ing in my wings w h o m a d e this b o o k h a p p e n . I w o u l d n e e d at least the Met ropo l i t an s tage to a c c o m m o d a t e all those w h o be l i eved in me and my work and h e l p e d to m a k e that b e l i e f a reality. First , I wou ld fill the s tage wi th a "cast o f t h o u s a n d s " : al l o f my s tudents f rom ages five (Lisa, Jason, Paul , A m y , and M a r g a r e t ) t o e ighty-f ive (Haze l , Eva, and Haro ld ) . T h e y t a u g h t me whi le I was t each ing them. Please give them a b ig h a n d .

T h e n I wou ld ask par t i cu la r ly these p e o p l e to c o m e fo rward and take a bow:

Peter Scharf , the M a c h e r — a n d the M a t c h m a c h e r ; wi thout h i m the d r e a m w o u l d still be j u s t a d r e a m .

D o r o t h y Har r i son , my g u a r d i a n ange l , a rare h u m a n be ing w h o puts o thers a h e a d of herself, a lways . I felt the suppor t and the p o w e r o f he r ca r ing .

T o m Grady , pat ient , incisive edi tor , for his wise and wonder fu l way of k n o w i n g how to ge t to the hear t of it. I wish I had had h i m for a c o m p teacher.

P R E F A C E / Xli i

J i m , my h u s b a n d , for his cont inual c a r i n g and love, and for s h o w i n g me by his e x a m p l e that wu wei is the best way; and o u r c h i l d r e n : J a m e s , for his s t r eng th of character , for se t t ing his c lock to ge t me up a t 5:00 A . M . , and for his de l igh t fu l d r a w i n g s ; Peter, for w o r r y i n g wi th me, for his encouragement and sense of humor, and for mak ing "Never a day wi thou t a l i ne" his pe r sona l c r e d o ; Emily, especia l ly for h e r h a p p y s ign , b e d e c k e d wi th hear ts and ra inbows , " Y o u have done more than i s lef t !" ; and Ka the r ine , for he r hugs and her smiles and he r l augh te r .

C l a r i c e K e e g a n , for g o i n g to E u r o p e and t ak ing my l igh t p e n and l e av ing me wi th her Q X - 1 0 and an empty house to wr i te in, and for s h a r i n g her e l o q u e n t in te rv iews .

G r e g a n d Tracy Her r i ck , w h o m a k e the bes t ca fe m o c h a i n town a n d have c r ea t ed in their shop , in the f ine Johnson ian t radi t ion, a haven f rom life's s t o rm; Jeff West , at C rea t i ve C o m p u t e r s (need I say more? ) ; Sr. Patr ice Ei lers , O.P . , for he r g race , in bo th senses of the w o r d , for the p e a c e she o f fe red me a t Rosa ry He igh t s , and especia l ly for the fresh flowers she gave the s t r u g g l i n g author.

T h e l ib ra r ians a t E d m o n d s Library , especia l ly Mill ie T h o m p s o n and L y n n e a E r i ckson , for their pass ion and pa t ience , k n a c k and k n o w l e d g e to fer re t ou t the t ru th .

G e o r g e K r e s o v i c h , at torney-at-law, for see ing the l igh t a t the e n d of the t unne l and k n o w i n g i t was not an o n c o m i n g t ra in; for sha r ing his s t i ng ing , incisive in te rv iews .

R i c h a r d Hobbs , for b e i n g a gif t h i m s e l f and for g iv ing us al l , vicariously, the gif t o f c o u r a g e — c o u r a g e always to wr i te o u r best .

M a r y Hobbs , my official Christian Science Monitor c l ipper , for not only c l i p p i n g but m a i l i n g wha t she c l ips .

E l spe th A l e x a n d e r , w h o sus ta ined me wi th her wit and med ieva l b r o w n i e s , a n d w h o , a l t h o u g h he r se l f a g r e a t g r a m m a r i a n , never took an ax to my id iolect .

V i c t o r y Sea r l e , for he r vulnerabi l i ty , and for a life that lives her n a m e .

I r e n e A r t h e r h o l t , the f i rs t to look at me and say, "Teach me to feel conf iden t abou t wr i t ing , " w h o c h a l l e n g e d me to ask the ques t ions that led to the fo rmula t ion of this work; with he r suppor t and g o o d -n a t u r e d l aughte r , she f anned the f lame of my pi lot l igh t and kept the f i r e b u r n i n g .

M i m i B l o o m , w h o m a n y a co ld m o r n i n g phoned me long-d i s tance a t 5:30 a n d said in the mos t lovely and e n c o u r a g i n g voice , " G o o d m o r n i n g , Henr ie t t e , it's t ime to wri te ." A n d Dr. Susan Smi th , w h o was a lso a c h a r m i n g pa r t o f Mimi ' s W a k e - u p Plan .

Dr. Joseph E . G r e n n e n , medieva l i s t and mot iva tor pa r exce l l ence ("and g lad ly wo ld he le rne and g lad ly teche") , even t h o u g h he was the one w h o wro te on a co l l ege p a p e r of m i n e — a n analysis of Sir Gawain

X i v / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S I D E S O F T H E B R A I N

T h a n k y o u .

and the Green Knight—"a bit caval ier in spots , but on the who le a g o o d analysis ." T h e g r a d e was an A, but to this day I am h a u n t e d by my tendency to be "cavalier ." Sorry, Joe, I j u s t can ' t he lp it.

B i l l H a r r i s o n , for all the art icles c l i pped and the ph i losophica l discuss ions g e n e r a t e d , for b e i n g a c o m p u t e r gen ius wi th a hear t .

N a n c y Erns t , my m o d e l and Muse . K u r t V o n n e g u t says w e — a l l o f u s — w r i t e for an a u d i e n c e o f one and h o p e the rest o f the wor ld will l ike it. Nancy, I wro t e this b o o k for you .

Finally, I wou ld t u r n to y o u , the aud i ence , and ask you to s tand and be a p p l a u d e d by us . You a re the ones w h o be l ieved in yourse lves e n o u g h to r ead this b o o k and c a r e d e n o u g h to m a k e i t h a p p e n for y o u . If there is any p o w e r at all in this book , i t is yours to c la im.

C H A P T E R 1

From Panic to Power: Mastery over the Written Word

A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension.

— O L I V E R WENDELL HOLMES

It's t ime to wr i te . T h e r epor t is d u e (or ove rdue ) ; the pub l i sher is

wa i t ing for the nex t chap te r ; the boss needs that s t ra tegy repor t ; the

case is p e n d i n g , awai t ing y o u r bri l l iant brief. W h y is i t that you wou ld

ra ther do some th ing else, that you have a s u d d e n u r g e to m a k e a

phone cal l o r shuffle the p a p e r s on y o u r desk? How d id y o u sudden ly

rea l ize that you n e e d to do more r e sea rch or that the t y p i n g p a p e r i s

not qui te r igh t? W h y is i t that eve ry word you wr i te reads w r o n g , and

why d id you wai t this long anyway?

Writing on Both Sides of the Brain has the answers to ques t ions like

these. I f y o u a re t i red of pu t t ing of f the wr i t i ng that needs to be done ,

i f you bel ieve you have an idea locked up ins ide of you that you lack

the conf idence to share in wr i t ing , i f y o u a re h o l d i n g y o u r se l f back

f rom ge t t ing a p romot ion b e c a u s e you a re not d o i n g the wr i t i ng that

you r chosen profess ion calls for, then we lcome! I f you a re o p e n to it,

you will f ind he re the key to f luency and the pa th to conf idence .

I g ive wr i t i ng workshops to e d u c a t e d , ta lented , ar t icula te p e o p l e ,

m a n y of them profess ionals w h o a re respons ib le for a g rea t dea l o f

wr i t ing . A n d they hate to wr i te . T h e s e a re the k inds of c o m m e n t s I

hea r in my classes:

I reread and scratch out everything as I go along. It takes forever, and I hate the way it sounds when it's done.

I was taught that the opening sentence is the most important. It has to catch your reader's attention, set the mood and style, anticipate the ending—all that in one sentence. Sometimes I spend forty-five minutes to an hour just getting that first sentence down, and even then I often don't like it. It's discouraging.

Why does it take so long for me to write? When I speak, I handle myself pretty well. I wish I could write as easily as I talk!

2 / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S I D E S O F T H E B R A I N

I need to have all my ideas lined up before I write. I want to be absolutely sure of everything I want to say before I start to say it. I don't want any surprises.

When I use a dictaphone, it makes me very tense. I don't want my secretary to hear anything that sounds dumb. I choose my words carefully. I guess it comes out stilted because of that.

It frustrates me to take so long to write. It always takes longer than it should, and that makes me angry with myself. After all these years, I should be able to dash it off faster and get the results I want.

My boss makes me so mad. Whenever I have a report due, he says, "Just write it. Big,deal . Begin at the beginning, go on until you come to the end, then stop. Just write it. Stop wasting time, and do it." I just don't work that way. It's not that easy. There must be something wrong with me.

I agonize over every word. I would like to have writing be less painful.

I like to write, and I think I write pretty well. I wish only that it didn't take me so much time.

I love everything about my job, except the writing. I hate to write! You.are a miracle worker if you can take away my dread of writing.

W h e r e v e r you a r e in wr i t ing , whe the r y o u like wr i t i ng or hate wri t ing , you c a n go h igher . T h e work habi t that under l i es v i r tual ly all w r i t i n g p r o b l e m s is the t endency to wr i te and ed i t s imul taneously . T h i s b o o k i s abou t l e a r n i n g to separa te the two funct ions : f i r s t to wr i t e , t a p p i n g into the r i gh t side o f y o u r b ra in for style, r h y t h m , a n d v o i c e — f o r the sense that one h u m a n be ing i s t a lk ing to ano the r hum a n b e i n g ; then to ed i t , ca l l ing u p o n the talents o f the left side of y o u r b ra in , w h i c h apprec ia tes logic , g r a m m a r and cons t ruc t ion .

W r i t i n g anx ie ty is not new (you wil l see later in this chap t e r that I have pe r sona l ly d o c u m e n t e d i t back to the f i rs t c en tu ry B .C . ) , bu t i t is finally b e i n g r e c o g n i z e d as a p r o b l e m that has a c u r e . Writing on Both Sides of the Brain g o e s b e y o n d mere ly h e l p i n g to s u r m o u n t the i m m e d ia te p r o b l e m , however ; i t shows you how to c h a n g e so that you will wr i t e a s y o u have neve r wr i t t en before a n d p r o d u c e y o u r best a n d mos t f luen t work .

F R O M S T R E S S T O S A T I S F A C T I O N

T h i s b o o k will e m p o w e r y o u to wr i te well and i t wil l show you how to s h a p e y o u r words so that they will have the impac t you want on y o u r a u d i e n c e . W h e n y o u have p o w e r i n p r o d u c i n g words , that p o w e r t ransfers over to the effect y o u r words have on y o u r reader .

B e f o r e e m b a r k i n g on any jou rney , i t i s useful to not ice and r eco rd y o u r s ta r t ing point . T h i s o p e n i n g exerc i se will establ ish y o u r p lace o f d e p a r t u r e and h e l p y o u set y o u r travel goa l s . W h e r e a re you now? H o w m a n y miles do y o u h o p e to cover?

^ t * - * f R O M P A N I C T O P O W E R I 3

N e x t , pu t d o w n w h a t y o u would like to c h a n g e about y o u r wr i t ing , w h a t b u g s you most abou t it, wha t you a re pu t t ing up wi th now that y o u w o u l d ra ther not pu t up wi th .

E X E R C I S E 1 : T A K I N G S T O C K

In the space below, wr i te d o w n th ree words o r phrases that c o m e i m m e d i a t e l y to y o u r m i n d w h e n y o u th ink about wr i t ing .


I t wil l be in te res t ing to go back over this list w h e n y o u have f in

this b o o k .

Final ly wr i te d o w n wha t y o u w o u l d like to get ou t o f r e a d i n g

b o o k a n d d o i n g the exerc i ses . Be specific. Wri te d o w n pe r sona l

p rofess iona l goa l s .

« M P A N I C T O P O W E R / 5

I N T R O D U C I N G C A L I B A N A N D A R I E L

Par t of y o u r bra in i s ou t to ge t y o u . At least i t s eems that way. w h e n you say, "I can do it!" a little voice coun te r s , " A r e you s u r e ? " W h e n you say, " G o for it!" you hea r an under tone , " D o n ' t be hasty now. M a y b e y o u need to th ink this over." O f t e n the voice is not j u s t caut ious bu t d o w n r i g h t caust ic . W h e n you th ink , " I am g o i n g to w h i p that r e p o r t ou t r i gh t now, and i t is g o i n g to be the best I ever wro te , " i t k n o c k s y o u o f f y o u r feet: " W h o a re you k i d d i n g ? "

T h i s litt le voice speaks for the side of y o u r bra in that makes you bite y o u r penc i l , c r u m p l e you r p a p e r into a ball in f rust ra t ion, cross ou t words as you wr i te them, and bea t on your se l f for wa i t ing this l o n g to ge t s ta r ted . I call this voice y o u r C a l i b a n side, n a m e d after the d a r k mons te r in Shakespea re ' s The Tempest w h o is pa r t of each of u s .

T h e n there i s the un fe t t e red side o f you , w h e r e inspira t ion and r h y t h m res ide . C r e d i t this side of you for co lor and c a d e n c e and style, for f luency and c o n f i d e n c e — a n d for those little g e m s of ideas that c r e e p in o f t en u n a n n o u n c e d a t the quie t moments . T h i s side would be A r i e l , Ca l iban ' s foil, the symbol o f f r e edom and f l igh t .

A th i rd enti ty res ides on Shakespea re ' s i s land: P r o s p e r o , the m a g i c ian , w h o k n o w s how to ge t the best f rom both A r i e l and C a l i b a n . He is ou ts ide of each , yet a combina t ion of bo th , and at his best he r e c o g n i z e s that .

C a l i b a n i s not ev i l o r bad ; he j u s t needs to be cont ro l led . Pe rhaps he cu r se s b e c a u s e he does not know any better. A r i e l , t oo , can get ou t o f h a n d wi thou t Prospero ' s f i rm g u i d a n c e . S h a k e s p e a r e seems to be say ing that all o f us a re y in and y a n g , ma le and female , ea r th and sky, C a l i b a n a n d A r i e l , a n d we n e e d those o p p o s i n g sides work ing toge the r w i th in us in o rde r to be w h o l e . T h a t i s the k ind of d u a l control and m u t u a l c o o p e r a t i o n that this b o o k points to. W h e n you l ea rn how to m a k e A r i e l r e s p o n d t o y o u r b idd ing , y o u r wr i t ten words will f l y ; w h e n y o u l ea rn to t ame C a l i b a n to he lp you on y o u r te rms , y o u r f ina l p r o d u c t wil l p e r s u a d e wi th power .

T H E C H A L L E N G E A N D T H E PROMISE

In chap te r s 3 and 7 I wil l p resent some possible answers to the cu r ious ques t ion o f why this C a l i b a n pa r t o f you has so m u c h p o w e r a n d w h y it is usual ly nega t ive , or at least caut ious . For now, I want to issue a c h a l l e n g e and c o u p l e it wi th a p romise .

T h e cha l l enge i s to l ea rn how to un lock the A r i e l par t o f you a t will and to t ra in y o u r s e l f to k e e p C a l i b a n qu ie t unti l ca l led u p o n to c o m ment—fi r s t to wr i te , f luent ly a n d wel l , and then to invite the cri t ical facul ty back , as y o u r gues t , to sit d o w n wi th you in a non judgmen ta l , he lp fu l way, l ook over wha t you have wr i t ten , and make sugges t ions for improvemen t , wi thou t n a m e ca l l ing , wi thout bea t i ng d o w n .

6 / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S l U t S l t i t B K A H N

T h i s , then , i s my p romise : You can be fr iends with the side of y o u r b ra in that i s ou t to ge t y o u and you c a n be in c h a r g e of the inspirat ional pa r t o f you , too . You can learn to separa te the wr i t i ng f low f rom the e d i t i n g or c r i t i qu ing pa r t o f the wr i t i ng process to p r o d u c e the bes t f in ished p r o d u c t y o u have ever wr i t t en . You can make y o u r se l f a f luent , conf ident , a n d effect ive wr i te r for the rest of you r l ife. C a l i b a n a n d A r i e l each have their p lace , as l ong as you a re the one in cont ro l .

L e t i t be said f rom the start: this b o o k wou ld not have seen the l igh t of day h a d I not in wr i t i ng i t e m p l o y e d the very t echn iques that I am inv i t ing you to use . Fol lowing my o w n presc r ip t ion , I was able to re lease the c rea t ive f loodgates and let ideas f low—from the bra in to the paper . T h e e d i t i n g was a separa te process . C a l i b a n c a m e back a t my invi ta t ion and t r ea ted me wi th r e spec t as I set ou t to rev iew and rev ise , t i gh ten a n d co r rec t . A n d there was an exc i tement and an e n e r g y abou t bo th par ts , the same exc i tement and e n e r g y that I will t ra in y o u to gene ra te abou t you r wr i t ing . Your re la t ionship with wri t i n g will neve r be the s a m e a g a i n .

_ j , R O M P A N I C T O P O W E R / 7

W R I T I N G A N X I E T Y G O E S B A C K C E N T U R I E S

I f wr i t i ng , even occasional ly, causes you g r i e f and misery, you a re in ve ry respec tab le company . Publ ius Verg i l ius M a r o , o therwise k n o w n as V i r g i l , s tar ted his ep ic p o e m , the Aeneid, in 29 B .C . and con t inued w r i t i n g i t unti l 19 B .C . T h a t is an average of a l ine a day for e leven yea r s , a n d even then i t was not f in ished. You can i m a g i n e that he was not w r i t i n g one pe r fec t l ine e a c h day and then p a c k i n g up his s tylus; no , c h a n c e s a r e g o o d that he was a g o n i z i n g over every l ine and throwi n g ou t f i f ty-seven for eve ry one that he kept . S o m e days he probably c r a n k e d ou t p a g e s , whi le o ther days no th ing came together . S o u n d fami l i a r?

In case y o u d o u b t his anxiety, cons ide r this: even af ter he wro te the Aeneid, he still was not satisfied. He left ins t ruct ions at his dea th that the m a n u s c r i p t be b u r n e d .

So wr i t i ng a n x i e t y — a re luc tance to put words on p a p e r and a lack o f con f idence in those words once they have b e e n w r i t t e n — h a s b e e n wi th us for some t ime, and i t s tr ikes fear into the hear t of even g i f ted au tho r s .

I k n o w an A s s o c i a t e d Press j o u r n a l i s t w h o swi tched f rom wr i t ing AP re leases t o c o m p o s i n g his o w n b o o k and found h i m s e l f so b locked that , ins tead o f wr i t ing , he t u r n e d to r e sea rch . He s tud ied in dep th the p h e n o m e n o n o f wri ter ' s b lock , even u n e a r t h i n g an obscu re p iece a b o u t an e x p e r i m e n t i n E u r o p e w h e r e s tudents ' h ands were g iven e lec t r ic shocks to m a k e them k e e p wri t ing. For th ree years he res e a r c h e d this mala i se a n d d i scove red a weal th of in format ion abou t the s tud ies done and the l e a rned conclus ions r eached . His b ib l iography was over thir ty-five p a g e s long.

B u t he wro t e no book .

W h y is i t that wr i t i ng of ten causes knots to form in the s tomach? W h y do we sit d o w n wi th the p a d or a t the word p rocessor with g o o d in tent ions a n d then f ind ourse lves immedia te ly ha t ing wha teve r words c o m e u p ? W h y d id we wai t unti l the last m inu te anyway? Pu t t ing w r i t i n g in a his tor ical f r amework and l o o k i n g a t o u r o w n pe r sona l h i s to ry p rov ide a par t ia l answer. Just k n o w i n g the contex t gives some relief.

W R I T I N G I S N E W — O N L Y N I N E S E C O N D S O L D

People pu t e n o r m o u s p re s su re on themselves to p e r f o r m ; we want resul t s , right now. T h e r e is no t ime a l lo ted for g r o w t h af ter we reach a ce r t a in s tage of deve lopmen t . O f t e n p e o p l e c o m e to my classes t h i n k i n g that they ought to be able to wr i te faster and more definitively, that they should be able to exp re s s themselves effectively in w r i t i n g — af te r al l , they have h a d X n u m b e r of years in h i g h school compos i t ion


classes , or X n u m b e r of years of co l l ege , or X n u m b e r of years of g r a d u a t e school or law school . By now, they th ink, wr i t ing cer ta in ly should c o m e easily. W h e n they th ink of themselves in te rms of wr i t ing , w r i t i n g looms ve ry l a rge a n d they themselves feel very smal l . A n y t h i n g that I c a n do to flip that equa t ion a r o u n d helps p e o p l e to r e lax and , ul t imately, to p e r f o r m better.

I f y o u have some of these tapes p lay ing in y o u r head , i t may give you some re l i e f to know that wr i t i ng is new. We are j u s t b e g i n n i n g to l ea rn how to ha rness its t r emendous and awesome power. For many p e o p l e I work wi th , this idea a lone is l iberat ing. W h e n you see w h e r e w r i t i n g f i t s into the overal l p ic tu re of evolu t ion , i t takes the p res su re o f f you to p e r f o r m per fec t ly and instantaneously.

C a r l Sagan ' s The Dragons of Eden t races the fasc ina t ing evolu t ion of the h u m a n bra in . Par t icu lar ly c o m p e l l i n g is his " C o s m i c Ca lendar , " in the f i rs t chapter , in w h i c h S a g a n compresses the f i f teen-bi l l ion-year life of the un ive r se into a s ingle yea r of twelve segment s . I t w o u l d be eas ie r to cons ide r this a n a l o g y i f o u r un iverse had only b e e n in ex is t ence for twelve bil l ion yea r s , or i f Pope G r e g o r y had g iven us a f i f teen-m o n t h ca lendar , bu t S a g a n is not he ld back by such l imitat ions. He d iv ides his cosmic yea r into f i f teen twenty-four-day segmen t s ; e a c h s e g m e n t c o r r e s p o n d s to a bi l l ion years of ea r th history. T h u s , the B i g B a n g is J a n u a r y 1; the o r ig in of the solar sys tem, S e p t e m b e r 9 ; the a p p e a r a n c e o f the f i r s t h u m a n s , D e c e m b e r 3 1 . T h e last day o f his c o s m i c yea r i s m o r e de ta i l ed , says S a g a n , because o u r h is tory books a re m o r e de ta i l ed ; w h e n he ar r ives in his ca l enda r a t the e v e n i n g of N e w Year 's Eve, he is able to give a second-by-second r e c o u n t i n g of the last seconds of the cosmic year . 1

F R O M P A N I C TO P O W E R / 9

D E C E M B E R 3 1

Origin of Proconsul and Ramapithecus, probable ancestors of apes and men ~ 1 30 P . M .

First humans -10 30 P . M .

Widespread use of stone tools 11 00 P . M .

Domestication of fire by Peking man 11 46 P . M .

Beginning of most recent glacial period 11 56 P . M .

Seafarers settle Australia 11 58 P . M .

Extensive cave painting in Europe 11 59 P . M .

Invention of agriculture 11 :59 20 P . M .

Neolithic civilization; first cities 11 :59 35 P . M .

First dynasties in Sumer, Ebla and Egypt; development of astronomy 11 :59 50 P . M .

Invention of the alphabet; Akkadian Empire 11 :59 51 P . M .

Hammurabic legal codes in Babylon; Middle Kingdom in Egypt 11 :59 52 P . M .

Bronze metallurgy; Mycenaean culture; Trojan War; Olmec culture: invention of the compass 11 :59 53 P . M .

Iron metallurgy; First Assyrian Empire; Kingdom of Israel; founding of Carthage by Phoenicia 11 :59: 54 P . M .

Asokan India; Ch'in Dynasty China; Periclean Athens; birth of Buddha 11 :59: 55 P . M .

Euclidean geometry; Archimedian physics; Ptolemaic astronomy; Roman Empire; birth of Christ 11 59: 56 P . M .

Zero and decimals invented in Indian arithmetic; Rome falls; Moslem conquests 11 59: 57 P . M .

Mayan civilization; Sung Dynasty China; Byzantine empire; Mongol invasion; Crusades 11 59: 58 P . M .

Renaissance in Europe; voyages of discovery from Europe and from Ming Dynasty China; emergence of the experimental method in science 11 59: 59 P . M .

Widespread development of science and technology; emergence of a global culture; acquisition of the means for self-destruction of the Now: human species; first steps in spacecraft plane The first second of tary exploration and the search for extrater New Year's Day restrial intelligence P . M .

Put in t e rms of the b ig p ic tu re , i t b e c o m e s c lear : a lphabe t ica l wr i t i ng d id no t e m e r g e unt i l the last minu te of the last hou r of the last day of the c o s m i c y e a r — i n fact, n ine seconds a g o . So th ink o f you r bra in a n d ne rvous system as still ad jus t ing to this new p h e n o m e n o n , to the r e q u i r e m e n t s p l aced on them by this new skill . A f t e r al l , it's only n ine s econds o ld .

1 0 / W R I T I N G O N B O T H S I D E S O F T H E B R A I N

On Sagan ' s scale e a c h second of the cosmic year i s equ iva len t to 4 7 5 yea r s , so h u m a n s had fire for 396,000 years before the a lphabe t . At that ra te , we shou ld feel more comfor tab le with o u r b a c k y a r d b a r b e c u e a n d o u r f i rep laces than we n e e d feel about wri t ing.

T h i n k i n g in these te rms c a n be ve ry f ree ing. I t g ives you r o o m to grow. G l o r i a , a workshop par t ic ipant , spoke for m a n y w h e n she said, "I found this w e e k I felt more comfor tab le abou t w r i t i n g — a s a new too l . W h e n e v e r I found m y s e l f ge t t ing t ight , I j u s t said, 'Remember , this is a new tool. ' A n d i t s e e m e d to r e l ax me."

So be like Glo r i a . R e l a x . Give y o u r s e l f c red i t for even t ry ing.

W R I T I N G I S T A U G H T — T H E B A D N E W S

T h e reason that we try, wi th d isas t rous resul ts , to ed i t and wr i te s imul t aneous ly is b e c a u s e of the way we were t augh t . I am d o i n g i t now, wi th all my t ra in ing and b a c k g r o u n d ; even t h o u g h I k n o w better, i t is a diff icul t habi t to b reak . W h e n y o u f i rs t b e g a n to wr i te , you had s o m e o n e s t and ing over you ("for you r o w n g o o d " ) , co r r ec t ing you r fo rm a n d g r a m m a r a n d spel l ing . A f t e r all , i f y o u r teacher d id not tell you f rom the f i r s t day of school how to m a k e that sentence comple te , she w o u l d not be d o i n g he r j o b , and you j u s t m i g h t ge t all the way to c o l l e g e wi thou t k n o w i n g an incomple te sen tence i f you fell over one . K e e p in m i n d that a t the t ime you were l e a r n i n g to wr i te ( compose ) , you w e r e a l so j u s t l e a r n i n g to wr i te (form letters o f the a lphabe t ) . S p e l l i n g , g r a m m a r , fo rm, plus l e a r n i n g how to shape the let ters themse lves—tha t is a pret ty tall o rde r for a s ix-year-old w h o is a lso t r y in g to co l l ec t the words t u m b l i n g out of his imag ina t ion , c ap tu r e the ideas in he r head , and put t hem on p a p e r before they r u n away,.

So i t b e g a n . As you will see in chap te r 7 , you no doub t in te rna l ized a g r e a t dea l of this ex t e rna l p ressure . Today, when you sit d o w n to wr i t e , c h a n c e s a re that y o u r t eacher is still wi th you , s t and ing over y o u r left shoulder , co r r ec t ing , c r i t iqu ing , c i rc l ing u p p e r c a s e let ters w i th he r r e d penc i l , and in o the r subt le and not so subt le ways d is c o u r a g i n g you f rom wr i t ing , genera l ly s t e m m i n g the flow of words .

T H E L A N G U A G E LAB O F T H E HOME

If we taught our children to speak in the way that we teach them to write everyone would stutter.

Mark Twain

W h a t h a p p e n e d w h e n you were a little kid and were f i r s t f o rming words? In s t u d y i n g that ques t ion , l inguis ts , w h o for years t r ied to u n d e r s t a n d l a n g u a g e by s t udy ing the speech pa t te rns o f ch i ld ren j u s t l e a r n i n g to talk, d i s cove red that they had left out an impor tan t p r e l imi n a r y p l a t e a u — w h a t James A s h e r calls " the silent t ime." Asher , a

-"PROM P A N I C T O P O W E R / 1 1

professor at S a n Jose State Univers i ty and the au thor of Total Physical Response: Learning a Language Through Actions, e x a m i n e d this first s t age closely and looked a t the mind m a p p i n g that h a p p e n s inside be fo re the baby ar t icula tes words . He not iced how even a y o u n g chi ld w h o d o e s not yet talk r e sponds to c o m p l e x c o m m a n d s in her nat ive t o n g u e . O u r d a u g h t e r Kather ine ' s s tory offers a n e x a m p l e . W h e n {Catherine was abou t e leven months o ld , she cou ld follow c o m p o u n d d i r ec t ions . To test he r sophis t icat ion of c o m p r e h e n s i o n , we del ibera te ly i n c r e a s e d the complex i ty o f the c o m m a n d s .

" K a t h e r i n e , p ick up that toy," we sa id , po in t ing . T h e n , w i t h o u t po in t ing , " K a t h e r i n e , b r i n g me y o u r shoe."

" K a t h e r i n e , sweet ie , go d o w n the hal l to Peter's r o o m , and b r i n g me the r e d t ruck." ( I f you th ink that that is a s imple c o m m a n d , i m a g i n e s o m e o n e saying that to you in Arab ic . )

T h e n , w h e n she c a m e back wi th the b lue t ruck, we said, " Y e s , that 's a t ruck , all r igh t . You a re so smar t . T h i s is a blue t ruck . C a n y o u f ind the red o n e ? "

A l w a y s pat ient , gent le , and s u p p o r t i v e — w h o would lose t e m p e r with a baby w h o d id not u n d e r s t a n d p e r f e c t l y ? — w e re joiced in her p rox i mate t r i u m p h , c o r r e c t i n g gently any mis take or par t ia l mis take.

Mean t ime , K a t h e r i n e was not s p e a k i n g in sentences . She was m a p p i n g syn tax a n d v o c a b u l a r y in he r m i n d wi thout p r o d u c i n g a n y t h i n g m o r e than sounds and isola ted words , and that was okay. No pa ren t of a year -o ld ch i ld is r u n n i n g to the ped ia t r i c ian wai l ing , "Doc to r , my baby can ' t talk."

FOR A BABY, WORDS ARE POWERFUL

Final ly the day a r r ived w h e n Ka the r ine said her f i rs t word . I t was not " b o o k , " as we had h o p e d . ( " B o o k " was her o lde r sister's f i r s t word , a n d we t rus t i t a u g u r s well for he r scholast ic future.) H o l d i n g up her baby c u p , she u t t e red her first " r ea l " word . L o u d and clear, the word was " m u l k i e . " For a n a n o s e c o n d , all family activity f roze . We were r ive ted to o u r cha i r s . A l l eyes t u r n e d toward her in a m a z e m e n t and de l igh t . Suddenly , he r mother , father, sister, b ro thers e r u p t e d in a f r enzy o f exc i t ement .

" K a t h e r i n e said, 'mulk , ' I mean , 'mi lk ' ! D i d you hea r that? G ive her s o m e mi lk ! ! "

We g a t h e r e d r o u n d her, re joic ing, ca l led G r a n d m a long-d is tance , a n d t r ied to get he r to say i t aga in .

A r e y o u b e g i n n i n g to p ic tu re a s imi lar scene in y o u r o w n his tory a n d w h a t i t m i g h t have b e e n like? Not ice that we d id not co r rec t Ka the r ine ' s p ronunc ia t ion before we r e w a r d e d her wi th the beve rage she was a sk ing for and wi th lots of hugs and smiles and c lapp ing . C h a n c e s a r e y o u r parents and y o u r sisters and brothers d id the same for y o u . You d id not m i n d m a k i n g a few mistakes a long the way ("Her


go ou t " ) , and y o u were not wor r i ed about ge t t ing i t perfectly, b e c a u s e the p e o p l e a r o u n d you s e e m e d to be so p leased that you were even t ry ing . T h e y were wi l l ing to mee t you hal fway or more to f igure ou t the m e a n i n g wi th you . Words h a d power : you said "mi lk ie , " you got mi lk ; you said "b lank ie , " someone b r o u g h t you a b lanket . I f you had w a i t e d unt i l you go t the syntax and p ronunc ia t ion pe r fec t before you even a t t empted to speak ou t loud , you would be mute today.

I h o p e you cher ish that t ime, b e c a u s e that was it. T h a t was probably the ve ry last t ime in y o u r l e a r n i n g cycle that you were a l lowed the l u x u r y of ass imi la t ing before p r o d u c i n g , the last t ime that you were a l lowed to p rov ide p r o x i m a t e resul ts and get r e w a r d e d for i t wi th g r e a t g l e e and en thus iasm. T h e silent t ime o f t h i n k i n g i t t h r o u g h be fo re p r o d u c i n g i s l imi ted to b a b y h o o d and f i r s t speech .

T h e n you s tar ted school . In f i r s t g r ade , maybe you wan ted to wr i te a litt le s tory abou t a m o u s e on a motorcycle . Bu t you d id not know how to spel l motorcycle, so you m a d e the mouse r ide a bike. At least you d id not have to w o r r y about ge t t ing you r p a p e r back wi th a red m a r k on the misspe l l ed word . B u t somehow i t was not qui te the same story that y o u had in y o u r hear t .

We m a k e choices in o u r adul t life based on the same sort o f reasoning. I t is safer not to t ry any th ing . I know co l lege g radua t e s who had w a n t e d to major in history, for e x a m p l e , and were fasc inated by histor ical events , but h a d re jec ted i t as a f ie ld of s tudy because " there w e r e t oo m a n y p a p e r s to wri te ." Or how about the adu l t w h o wants to p u r s u e a law c a r e e r bu t dec ides aga ins t i t because of all the wr i t i ng invo lved? Decis ions l ike these, wh ich l imit o u r choices , go back to the f i r s t g r a d e w h e n y o u r t eacher was s tand ing over you r p a p e r wi th the r e d p e n .

So i f y o u wan t to know how you l ea rned to exp re s s y o u r s e l f in wr i t t en c o m m u n i c a t i o n , th ink back not to y o u r native s p e a k i n g e d u ca t ion bu t to the f i r s t t e rm of h i g h school G e r m a n o r F rench o r S p a n i s h o r wha t eve r o the r fore ign l a n g u a g e you took.

" R e p e a t af ter me ," says the fluent teacher on day one. You a t tempt to r epea t , the teacher cor rec t s , you r epea t aga in , y o u r conf idence w a n e s , y o u r face r eddens , the class l aughs .

T h a t i s how we teach wri t ing . A n d why, for many of us, as fluent as we m i g h t feel in t a lk ing , wr i t i ng is l ike a fo re ign l a n g u a g e .

MORE BAD NEWS

Since wr i t i ng i s t augh t , there are rules and regu la t ions we pick up a l o n g the way that a r e mean t to g u i d e us but of ten w i n d up thwar t ing us ins tead . For e x a m p l e , I had an Engl ish professor in co l l ege w h o was fond of q u o t i n g Alice in Wonderland w h e n s tudents asked h i m how to go abou t wr i t i ng this or that paper .

" B e g i n a t the b e g i n n i n g , go on unti l you come to the end , and then s top," he said.

FTfflM P A N I C TO P O W E R / 13

So that b e c a m e my mot to , my pe r sona l c r e e d , and I suffered and a g o n i z e d u n d e r the be l i e f that s tep by logica l step was the only r i gh t way to a p p r o a c h wr i t ing . I t took me many years to rea l ize that the p roces s of wr i t i ng does not always go that way; to try to p re tend that i t d o e s is to impose an artificiality on you r words that n e e d not be there . Some t imes you n e e d to b e g i n in the midd l e and go back to the b e g i n n i n g a n d then wr i te the e n d and then s top . O f t e n you do not even k n o w how the th ing best b e g i n s unti l y o u have f i gu red out the e n d .

T h e advent o f pe r sona l compu te r s and word -p roces s ing p r o g r a m s has h e l p e d immense ly to give wr i te rs f r e e d o m in this r e g a r d . Even the s imples t word p rocesso r p r o g r a m can "cut and paste ," a l lowing you to r e a r r a n g e sentences and who le p a r a g r a p h s . We no longer feel c o m p e l l e d to th ink in t e rms of a f inished p roduc t . Even i f you do not o w n a p e r s o n a l computer , t hough , the lesson is c lear : al low y o u r s e l f to wr i t e in the o rde r that th ings o c c u r to you and then cu t and paste , l i teral ly or electronical ly, later. (Rap idwr i t i ng , e x p l a i n e d in the next chapter , shows y o u how to do that easily; a p p e n d i x 2 deals wi th who le -b r a i n e d w r i t i n g wi th a word processor .)

W R I T I N G I S T A U G H T — T H E G O O D N E W S

S ince wr i t i ng does not come naturally, s ince it is, as I say, a l e a r n e d

e x p e r i e n c e , the g o o d news is that we are always learn ing . It is not a

fai t accompl i in the fifth g r ade , after wh ich we spend the rest of o u r

lives p e r f e c t i n g wha t we a l r eady know and l e a r n i n g the j a r g o n o f o u r

t r ade . If, ins tead , we see l e a r n i n g how to wr i te as a never -end ing story,

all k inds of possibi l i t ies o p e n u p . We have never a r r ived ; there i s

a lways so m u c h more to l ea rn . R e a d i n g this b o o k and d o i n g the

exerc i ses i s l e a r n i n g m o r e about y o u r s e l f and about wri t ing.

Be l ike the m a n w h o was lost in M a n h a t t a n . He cou ld not f ind

C a r n e g i e Hal l . Finally, he spo t ted an e lder ly H u n g a r i a n c a r r y i n g a

h u g e ce l lo case . Sure ly he wou ld know whe re C a r n e g i e Hal l was . He

a p p r o a c h e d h i m timidly.

" E x c u s e me , sir, c o u l d you tell me how to ge t to C a r n e g i e Ha l l ? "

T h e ce l lo p layer pu t d o w n his l a rge case and , p u n c h i n g the air wi th

his h a n d s for emphas i s , a n n o u n c e d , "Prac t iz ! Pract iz! Prac t iz !"

N O T BAD FOR A N E I G H T - Y E A R - O L D

A n n e lives in Missou la , Montana . H e r whole life has been one new l e a r n i n g e x p e r i e n c e after another . She g ree t s each new adven tu re , w h e t h e r it is b e c o m i n g a p l u m b e r or s tudy ing the viol in , with a posi t ive a t t i tude , an " I -can-do- i t " spiri t . O n c e I asked her what he r secre t is. S h e to ld me that w h e n e v e r she f inds he r se l f d o i n g some th ing new, she th inks of he r s e l f as a little kid w h o is l e a r n i n g that task for the f irst


t ime, ra ther than pu t t i ng adu l t p res su re on he r se l f to p e r f o r m . Ins tead of l ambas t ing herself, for e x a m p l e , wi th "What ' s the mat te r with me? H e r e I am at my age , and I don ' t even know how to c h a n g e the oil in my car," she p ic tu res he r se l f s t and ing by her d a d as a little kid l e a r n i n g i t for the first t ime. A n d w h e n she comes even c lose to d o i n g i t r igh t , she exc la ims , " N o t bad for an e igh t -year -o ld !"

W h e n you cons ide r that wr i t i ng i s only nine cosmic seconds o ld , then i t i s not un fa i r to see yourself , in some aspects of y o u r wr i t i ng at least , as a little k id . G ive y o u r s e l f c red i t for all the g o o d wr i t ing that you a l r eady d o . In the l ight of these par t i cu la r s , i t i s not so su rp r i s i ng that we have anx ie ty abou t o u r wr i t ing . T h e wonder i s that we do i t a t a l l . So pa t y o u r s e l f on the back for all that you have wr i t t en , and r e c o g n i z e that wr i t i ng is a g r o w i n g th ing , a l e a r n i n g e x p e r i e n c e . It is g o i n g to k e e p ge t t ing be t te r and better. T h e more y o u wr i te , the bet ter you ge t a t it. Prac t iz! Prac t iz ! Pract iz! and you wil l ge t to C a r n e g i e Hal l . Mean t ime , it's not bad for an e igh t -year -o ld .

C H A P T E R 2

The Hair of the D o g

That Bit You

How do I know what I think, until I see what I say?

— W . H. AUDEN

" W r i t i n g is s imple , Muffy," says Jeff MacNel ly ' s Perfesser in the comic s t r ip Shoe. "First , you have to make sure you have plenty of pape r . . . s h a r p penc i l s . . . t ypewr i t e r r ibbon . T h e n put y o u r belly up to y o u r desk . . . roll a sheet of p a p e r into the typewr i t e r . . . and stare at i t unt i l b e a d s o f b l o o d a p p e a r on y o u r forehead ."

W r i t i n g n e e d not g ive you a b loody brow. T h e p la in sheet o f paper , the void sc reen , is w h a t is c a u s i n g the anxiety, so f i l l i t wi th words . T h e bes t an t idote t o wri ter ' s b lock i s — t o wri te . T h e ha i r o f the d o g that is b i t ing you p rov ides the instant cu re . Remember , the key to w r i t i n g fluently is to separa te wr i t i ng f rom edi t ing . Rapidwriting—

l e t t ing the words spill out wi thout s t o p p i n g to c r i t ique or co r r ec t or r e a r r a n g e — i s one d e p e n d a b l e way to k e e p the two funct ions apar t .

W h e n y o u ed i t and wr i te at the same t ime, the resul t is o f ten a d i sas te r : a d isas ter for you as a wr i t e r and eventual ly for y o u r reader . P u r p l e pa tches c o m e f rom the unres t r i c ted p e n . Go back and ed i t later. L a t e r i s w h e n you invite the log ica l sequent ia l s t reng th side of y o u to c o m e fo rward and apply all the t echn iques o f g o o d g r a m m a r a n d cons t ruc t ion that have b e e n dr i l l ed into you s ince the b e g i n n i n g o f y o u r school days .

R a p i d w r i t i n g is somet imes ca l led nonstop writing or freewriting. As all of its n a m e s sugges t , i t is a m e t h o d of wr i t i ng in a flowing way wi thout s t o p p i n g to r e r e a d , to eva lua te . I t is a way of ho ld ing C a l i b a n at bay wh i l e g i v i n g A r i e l comple t e f r e e d o m to tap into some o f y o u r mos t c rea t ive ideas .

I f y o u have ever b e e n in a b r a i n s t o r m i n g session wi th a g r o u p of p e o p l e , y o u k n o w the p o w e r and the crea t ive e n e r g y that c o m e f rom t h r o w i n g ideas on the table wi thout fear that someone will at tack or l a u g h at t hem. O f t e n the seed of a g rea t and workab le idea is inheren t in an a b s u r d one .


T h e essential ing red ien t to b r a i n s t o r m i n g — w e c a u g h t on to this years a g o — i s that i t mus t be non judgmen ta l . A n y o n e in the g r o u p is a l lowed to toss in even improbab le and un rea sonab l e ideas wi thou t fear o f be ing put d o w n o r r id i cu led . T h e f ree-f lowing and o p e n - e n d e d na tu re of the e x c h a n g e creates a c l imate in wh ich g o o d ideas are gene ra t ed ; in fact, some ideas are born that I g u a r a n t e e would never have c o m e to l ight had the g r o u p not insisted on wai t ing unti l later to f igure out their u l t imate wor th .

So r ap idwr i t i ng is l ike a pr ivate c o n f e r e n c e — b r a i n s t o r m i n g for one . G e t all the ideas ou t on the table, and tell the cr i t ical j u d g m e n t a l m e m b e r o f the b o a r d (your C a l i b a n side) to su spend c o m m e n t , to keep his mouth shut and his j u d g m e n t s to himself , for now at least.

G ive y o u r s e l f pe rmiss ion to wr i te some " j u n q u e " as well as wha teve r else comes out . You will be su rp r i sed a t the qual i ty of the g o o d par ts .

M U L C H F O R T H E M I N D

G i v i n g y o u r s e l f pe rmiss ion to wri te g a r b a g e is l ike h a v i n g a c o m p o s t pile in the b a c k y a r d . It m i g h t smell a little and even look yucky, but i t p rovides a fertile env i ronmen t for some g r e a t s tuff to grow.

A fellow in one of my classes had wr i t ten only a few lines of p o e t r y before t ak ing my workshop . Six months later, he h a d wr i t t en e n o u g h p o e t r y to publ ish a b o o k of p o e m s . He sent me a copy of his co l lec t ion ; I was touched and a m u s e d w h e n I r ead the ded ica t ion : " T h i s b o o k is ded ica t ed to Henr ie t t e A n n e Klauser , w h o f i r s t gave me pe rmiss ion to wr i te g a r b a g e , none of which I t rust is inc luded here ."

We put e x t r a o r d i n a r y p res su re on ourse lves and even on o u r g r e a t and famous to wri te perfect ly all o f the t ime. T h e t ruly grea ts of music and l i tera ture have d i s r e g a r d e d o u r col lect ive in junct ion , somet imes a t the cost of m u c h pa in .

O n c e I went to a p iano conce r t w h e r e a bri l l iant Russ ian pianis t was p lay ing an e v e n i n g of Franz Liszt . He p layed the Tarantella, the Don

Juan Fantasy, and Liebestraum. T h e music was celest ia l ; it took the top o f f my head . W h e n the house l ights went u p , I t u r n e d my at tent ion to the p r o g r a m notes . I was still somewha t d a z e d f rom the p o w e r and the majesty of the music I had j u s t hea rd . W h a t I read there b r o u g h t me sharp ly back to the m u n d a n e wor ld .

"Lisz t , " the p r o g r a m said, "was a typical p r o d u c t of the Romant ic A g e . . . . He p roduced more than seven hundred works, including many that are e i ther uneven in quality, superf ic ial ly cons t ruc ted , or d o w n r igh t dul l . "

Ha! Do you see the press for per fec t ion we put even on o u r g rea t compose r s? We do not a l low even Lisz t to have m u l c h for his mind . C a n you i m a g i n e wha t i t would have b e e n like had Lisz t sat d o w n and said, "I am not go ing to wr i te any th ing at al l . I am not go ing to wr i te

T H E H A I R O F T f f T D O G T H A T B I T Y O U / 1 7

one note unt i l I th ink of some th ing g r a n d . Until I can c o m p o s e Lie-bestraum wi thou t s topp ing , do the Tarantella f rom top to bo t tom, unti l 1 c an let my p e n fly across the p a g e and never cross ou t or wr i te s o m e t h i n g less than celest ia l , I will not wr i t e at al l . No way will I eve r pu t m y s e l f in the pos i t ion of h a v i n g some p r o g r a m notes on my music dismiss the bulk of my outpour ings as be ing dull , shallow, and uneven."

C h a n c e s a r e he never would have wri t ten the soa r ing music that thr i l ls the hea r t today, 1 5 0 years later.

So w h e n y o u are wr i t i ng g a r b a g e , th ink o f Liszt . You may give y o u r s e l f pe rmis s ion (or take mine i f you need it) to wr i te at least 600 d o c u m e n t s that a re e i ther u n e v e n in quality, superf ic ial ly cons t ruc ted , o r d o w n r i g h t du l l . O n c e you ge t that out o f the way, you are f ree to do the k i n d o f wr i t i ng that will m a k e y o u r hear t s ing and move y o u r r e a d e r s .

E X E R C I S E 2: R A P I D W R I T I N G

T a k e a c l ean sheet of paper , and ra ther than wai t ing for r ed sweat, p l u n g e r i gh t in and start to wr i te . I f you do not know w h a t to say, wr i t e that. Wri te wha t eve r comes to y o u r mind , whe the r i t i s on the sub jec t o r o f f it. I f you h e a r C a l i b a n saying that wha t you a re wr i t i ng s t inks , then wr i te that d o w n , bu t do not s top wri t ing. I f C a l i b a n th inks y o u have c h o s e n the w r o n g word , inc lude that assessment a lso . C i r c l e the word , and k e e p on wr i t ing . I nco rpo ra t e all the nega t iv i sm and cr i t ical j u d g m e n t r igh t a l ong with the content . T h a t i s how I wro t e this p a r a g r a p h . T h e n I went back and c rossed out all the static.

I f y o u r p r e m a t u r e ed i t voice i s par t i cu la r ly loud and in ter fer ing , y o u can take this f r e e d o m one s tep fur ther by u s ing wha t I cal l the " Inv i s ib le I n k A p p r o a c h . " Put a sheet of c a r b o n be tween two p ieces of paper , and wr i te on the top p a p e r with a dead bal l -point p e n . T h e r e wil l be n o t h i n g to cor rec t , no way to r e r ead wha t you wro t e unt i l y o u f in ish the p a g e and lift the ca rbon .

W h e t h e r you wr i te wi th this mag ic wr i t i ng m e t h o d o r use conven t ional i nk on paper , k e e p track as you wr i te of wha t y o u r m i n d i s te l l ing you abou t y o u r wr i t ing . If, whi le you a re wr i t ing , you a re able to ident ify some k ind of a c c o m p a n y i n g emot ion , say so. N a m e it. I f y o u feel a n x i o u s or b o r e d or a n g r y or e n e r g i z e d , wr i t e that d o w n as you go a long. L o c a t e y o u r fee l ing i n some par t o f you r body. Do y o u feel a t igh tness in y o u r hands , a const r ic t ion in you r throat? Is there a fl ip-flop in y o u r s tomach , a set to y o u r jaw, an itch in you r nose? Do y o u r eyes b e g i n to smar t and wate r? Wri te i t d o w n .

Inc lude all y o u r w a n d e r i n g ideas as well as those that are on target . Peter Elbow, in Writing Without Teachers, calls this a p p r o a c h freewriting a n d r e m a r k s that w h e n you use this me thod to l aunch you r work, you use up m o r e p a p e r bu t chew up fewer penci ls .


T h e score i s m o r e than even . T h e words o n the p a p e r you use u p wil l b e c o m e m o r e and more useful to you as more and m o r e o f the pa s sages y o u wr i te in this n o n j u d g m e n t a l fashion will be exac t ly wha t y o u w a n t e d to say at the pace you w a n t e d to say it. I t i s t rue that w h e n you go back to ed i t ( that is, w h e n the C a l i b a n Cr i t i c c o m e s back a t y o u r invi ta t ion) you wil l find more in these sp i l l ed-ou t words than you t h o u g h t was there as you w e r e t u m b l i n g ou t the phrases . Some t imes i t shocks me , w h e n I am s t r ik ing ou t the in te r spe rsed c o m m e n t s , to see how cr i t ical my ea r ly e d i t i n g voice c a n b e — a n d how of ten mis taken .

W h e n that voice c r e e p s u p , we have b e e n t ra ined usual ly to s t o p — to bite the penc i l , to p o n d e r a t l eng th , to g ive up a l together . W h a t I am a s k i n g y o u to do ins tead i s to r a i l road r igh t t h r o u g h , to k e e p on w r i t i n g for a minimum of ten minutes. You will see in j u s t a m o m e n t why that m i n i m u m is necessary . M a r k w h e r e you want to s top , a n d k e e p on wr i t ing . W h e n you look a t that spot later and see the wor th of w h a t fo l lowed , you wi l l b e g i n to ge t the p i c tu re . You will b e g i n to get the idea of how d a m a g i n g a n d se l f -defea t ing i t i s to give in to the j u d g men t o f e d i t i n g be fo re its t ime.

O u r m o t t o is this : We do no editing before its time. (Make a p l a q u e of

it.)

EXCELSIOR!

W h e r e was y o u r m a r k e r ? W h e n you wro te nons top for ten minu tes , d i d y o u f ind a t e i g h t po in t f ive minu tes you wan ted to s top? W e r e y o u s u r p r i s e d to f ind a g o o d idea j u s t on the o ther side of that u r g e to qui t?

M o u n t a i n c l imbers tell me that w h e n they a re m a k i n g an ascent , w h e t h e r they a re nov ice or e x p e r i e n c e d c l imbers , they start ou t fresh a n d e a g e r a n d then , r i gh t before the s u m m i t , they hit a wal l , an a lmos t p e r c e p t i b l e p lace o f w a n t i n g t o qui t . T h e novice wil l t u rn back , con g r a t u l a t i n g h i m s e l f on ge t t ing even that far, un less he r e m e m b e r s the a d v i c e o f the m o r e e x p e r i e n c e d c l imber a t base c a m p the n igh t be fo re . Wa tch ou t for the wal l ! she told h i m . Push on w h e n y o u wan t to s top . T h e bes t i s j u s t a r o u n d the corner . T h e s u m m i t i s yet t o c o m e . Do not g ive u p . Do not t u rn back . Exce ls io r ! Ever u p w a r d !

T h o s e o f you w h o have had chi ld ren o r have ever assisted a s labor c o a c h at the b i r th of a ch i ld will r e c o g n i z e this as the t ime of t ransi t ion. Trans i t ion is the t ime in the bi r th p rocess w h e n the mo the r dec ides that this i s m o r e t han she b a r g a i n e d for and dec ides to let s o m e o n e else have this baby. T h e n the fa ther smiles b road ly b e c a u s e he knows that this is the s ign he has wa i t ed for, the c lear s ign that the baby has a lmos t a r r i ved .

S o w e l c o m e the wal l . G o o d s tuff lies j u s t b e y o n d . K e e p o n w r i t i n g pas t the e x h a u s t i o n or the empt iness , past the u r g e to qui t , and reach the s u m m i t . T h i n k o f me, d o w n here a t base c a m p , shou t ing " E x c e l s i o r ! " — g o a d i n g y o u o n w a r d w h e n you feel as t h o u g h i t i s e n o u g h , as

T H E H A I R O F 3 * E D O G T H A T B I T Y O U / 1 9

t h o u g h you have no th ing more to say. Excels ior ! Ever u p w a r d ! On to the s u m m i t !

A real- l i fe moun ta in c l imber in one of my seminars told me that he plays a menta l t r ick on h i m s e l f w h e n he hits the wal l . He says to himself , " I know that you a re t i red , I know you want to s top, j u s t keep c l i m b i n g for ten more minutes . At the end of ten more minutes , i f you still wan t to qui t , then I will s top." P u s h i n g h imse l f that ten more minu te s a lways g ives h i m the " second w i n d " he needs to ca r ry t h r o u g h to the top .

A d j u s t that t r ick to y o u r wr i t i ng wal l , whe the r you r re luc tance is based on the flow of ideas ("That ' s it; I 've r u n out of ideas") or ac tua l t ime ("Well , it's a lmos t m i d n i g h t ; I 've worked on this long e n o u g h " ) . Set y o u r s e l f a goa l , "I wil l wr i te unti l the bo t tom of this page , " or "I wil l con t inue wr i t i ng for f ive more minutes ." A g r e e to qui t i f no th ing h a p p e n s . Go the ex t r a mile , and you may f ind your se l f cove r ing a l e a g u e before you know it.

PAGE 53 A N D F O L L O W I N G

I call this p i c tu re of a moun ta in c l imber " T h e B e t h Means Memor ia l V i s u a l " in honor of a br i l l iant y o u n g w o m a n w h o took my c o u r s e severa l years a g o . B e t h had a l ready wr i t t en two books on D I G I C A L C , a c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m that he lps you do ca lcula t ion . Now, in the midd l e o f h e r th i rd book , she was s tymied . She cou ld not ge t beyond p a g e 5 3 . S h e ca l led for he lp ; we met at a French ca fe . I d r e w a d i a g r a m of


a m o u n t a i n c l imber on a c ro i s san t - smudged n a p k i n to show B e t h wha t she was up aga ins t . I t was as s imple as that. K e e p on wr i t ing , even t h o u g h y o u wan t to s top . You can always go back and edi t those pages later, bu t do not let the re luc tance to move fo rward stop you now. G o o d s tuf f i s j u s t a r o u n d the corner .

So B e t h went back to work and r e s u m e d wri t ing . For ten or fifteen p a g e s , she told me later, he r work was p l o d d i n g and lifeless. S h e felt as t h o u g h he r feet were in molasses t ak ing one slow, st icky s tep af ter another . She hea rd me saying "Exce l s io r ! " and knew that the important th ing was to get b e y o n d the wal l . Suddenly, a gus t of w i n d f i l led he r sails. Lo and b e h o l d ! the p e n s tar ted to g l ide a long the p a g e . She was like the A n c i e n t M a r i n e r h e a d i n g home . T h e nex t 250 p a g e s — t o the e n d o f the b o o k — p r a c t i c a l l y wro te themselves .

T h e n she went back to that sect ion of molasses p rose . To her astoni shment , she found that i t was not as terr ible to read as she suspec ted w h e n wr i t i ng it. She d o c t o r e d i t up here and there , c h a n g e d a few w o r d s , t ook ou t some e x t r a n e o u s w h i n i n g — a n d now her b o o k was r eady for the publisher .

B e t h ca l led me and said, "Tel l you r s tudents abou t the wal l . A n d tell t h e m that the d i f fe rence be tween a wr i t e r and an au thor is p a g e 5 3 . "

A writer comes to p a g e 53 and th inks he or she was never mean t to wr i t e a b o o k anyway ; there a re a few g o o d art icles here . An author pushes on past the wal l .

Exce l s io r ! T h e best i s yet t o come . T h i n k o f B e t h , and k e e p on wri t ing .

AN EXAMPLE OF RAPIDWRITING

H e r e i s an e x a m p l e o f how wr i t i ng past the wall p r o d u c e d an u n e x p e c t e d bonus . M a r i l y n is a co l l ege professor. She came to the w o r k s h o p b e c a u s e she was hav ing t rouble wr i t ing a profess ional paper . H e r r a p i d w r i t i n g r evea led some th ings about he r se l f she d id not real ize be fo re she s tar ted wr i t ing . T h i s i s wha t she wro te :

This is how I see myself as a writer—in a tower somewhere, but I don't mean an ivory tower, but more an attic loft built into a house, filled with children and I like to think of the house as filled with laughter and fun of a big family and me as the mother and the writer—primarily a writer of children's books. That's a dream I have had ever since I can remember, but I also have this vision of myself as a freelance writer with a camera around my neck taking stunning pictures that are published all over the world—in my London Fog, I am called on assignment everywhere around the globe—sometimes I think that would be even more exciting than being a stuffy English don in the ivied halls of academe—English professors, professors in general are basically passive people, like mothers, they exist so others might be nurtured, so that others might learn from them and go on to greatness, while the

T H E H A I R O F T H E D O G T H A T B I T Y O U / 2 1

professors stay in one place, and generations of students adore (or fear and hate) them. I am beginning to see myself as much more active than that—I want to be part of what's happening—the A's teach, and the B's work for the C's—so now I see myself in my wildest imaginings as a kind of Oriana—what is her name—Fallaci, interviewing the great and the famous, feared and respected—and I picture her of course with a camera, and epaulets of some sort, if not on her London Fog, then certainly on her blouse—like that great blouse I bought in Europe for the rail trip and every time I wear it, I feel adventurous and courageous—it's a secret we share, me and that blouse—I put it on and behind it, I am fearless (and "cool")—back to Fallaci—-she is dressed in a blouse like that with long frosted hair pulled back with a long scarf—and for her, it's okay to be forty, in fact, de rigueur.

S o m e t i m e s the t rue p o w e r of a r ap idwr i t e is not appa ren t unti l later. A therap is t in one of my workshops wro te this on the first n igh t and c a m e up to me c o n f u s e d . " W h a t does i t m e a n ? " she asked. " W h e r e i s i t g o i n g ? "

I seem to be very resistant to using the many positive influences and input I've had. All thru school I was told by teachers how bright and creative I was. My stepmother is, I'm told, totally intimidated by what she perceives as my great wit and intelligence. My father, a man I greatly admire, firmly believes I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. I was a teacher of positive thinking. But still I manage to be uncertain and to intimidate myself with fears of failure and of looking foolish.

I seem to live my life as if there were a panel of judges watching and taking notes. I put on makeup when I intend to stay home alone. At the grocery store I consider the impression given by the items in my cart. I even scope out my garbage to see what an observer would think looking at that evidence. I don't suppose it's too surprising that the idea of writing an article, a screenplay, or even a (who would believe it possible?) novel, sends me straight to watching / Love Lucy reruns.

I to ld he r to wai t unt i l the nex t day's session to see if i t d idn ' t pul l t oge the r for her. You will see for y o u r s e l f in chap te r 7, w h e r e I quo te f rom her in te rv iew wi th her Cr i t i c , that she a l ready had the seeds of s o m e t h i n g he re that only m a d e sense in re t rospec t .

T H E P R O G R E S S L O G

T h e y say that i t took Ed i son over a thousand tries before he perfec ted the fi lament in a l ight bu lb so that the l ight bu lb wou ld stay on . O n e t ime, he was asked i f that was d i s c o u r a g i n g — t o try a thousand t imes and fail . " N e v e r t h o u g h t of i t as fa i lure ," he answered . "It was only a thousand ways not to make an e lect r ic l igh t bu lb ."

I want you to establish a no tebook ca l led the P rogres s L o g to tu rn a l i gh t on in y o u r mind a n d d i scover you r pe rsona l wr i t i ng pa t te rn .

T h e n a m e P rog re s s L o g (or PL) has b e e n careful ly chosen wi th


S o m e h o w an e n e r g y c o m e s j u s t f rom k e e p i n g such a r eco rd , even i f y o u do not go back and pul l the in format ion all t oge the r and m a k e c o n n e c t i o n s . I c a n v o u c h for the e f f e c t i v e n e s s p e r s o n a l l y . I u s e d a P r o g r e s s L o g for m a n y years be fo re dec id ing I h a d moved b e y o n d that s tage . T h e n one day I h e a r d myse l f e x h o r t i n g the par t ic ipants i n o n e o f m y w o r k s h o p s t o u s e the P L a n d t o w r i t e i n i t e v e r y d a y a n d t h o u g h t , " H o w c a n I t e l l t h e m t o d o i t w h e n I ' m n o t d o i n g i t?"

So I went back to my P L , and my wr i t ing ou tpu t inc reased d r a m a t ically. I c a n n o t e x p l a i n it, bu t j u s t k e e p i n g track of wha t was h a p p e n ing wi th me and my wr i t i ng gene ra t ed an energy . Mayor K o c h o f N e w York was k n o w n to go up to his const i tuents on the s treet and say " H o w ' m y d o i n ' ? " I gues s there was a fee l ing of we l l -be ing in k n o w i n g that he was even asking. T h e PL is like that. You feel g o o d j u s t to k n o w that someone is ask ing , and that in i tself will g ive you the p o w e r to wr i te . A l s o , y o u will not ice pa t te rns e m e r g e . You will see qui te c lear ly wha t keeps y o u f rom wr i t ing y o u r best and impedes y o u r f luency , a n d w h a t p r imes the p u m p and gets the words f lowing . You wil l not ice the t imes you wr i te well and the aud iences you wr i te you r bes t for. O n c e you a r e aware o f you r s t rengths and weaknesses , you a re f ree to c rea te y o u r o w n moments o f f luency .

Edison ' s s tory in m i n d . A l o g records a j ou rney , and p rog res s impl ies a m o v i n g fo rward . W h a t e v e r you note, wha teve r you learn is par t of a p r o g r e s s , pa r t of y o u r j ou rney . Every en t ry is a s tep fo rward . So the P r o g r e s s L o g is a co l lec t ion , a j o u r n a l , a d i a r y that r ecords wha t is h a p p e n i n g and wha t has h a p p e n e d wi th you and this th ing ca l l ed wr i t ing . I t chron ic les y o u r pas t h is tory as a writer , r eco rds y o u r presen t s t r u g g l e s a n d t r i umphs , and ant icipates the fu tu re o f you r wr i t i ng life.

T h i s i s un l ike the j o u r n a l some o f you may k e e p already, w h e r e y o u wr i t e y o u r dai ly events o r play a r o u n d wi th new forms , r e co rd ideas o r conversa t ions , o r watch the pa t te rn o f y o u r d r e a m s o r the pa t te rn o f y o u r die t . Journa l s o f that k ind are ve ry usefu l , but w h a t I am t a l k i n g abou t he re is a specific no tebook w h e r e y o u cha r t you r c o u r s e a n d y o u r p r o g r e s s as a writer. A n d you m a k e an en t ry eve ry day.

"Nulla dies sine linea," says P l i n y — " N e v e r a day wi thout a l ine ." 1 I have the mot to , in La t in , as a de l ibera te ly f lorid p laque above my desk a n d wr i t in l a rge let ters across the front of my P L . Every day I wri te s o m e t h i n g , and that some th ing of ten deve lops into the u n e x p e c t e d .

T H E H A I R O F T H E D O G T H A T B I T Y O U / 2 3

E X E R C I S E 3 : Y O U R O W N P R O G R E S S L O G

A c r o s s the front of a b rand-new no tebook , wr i te in l a rge letters the words Progress Log. T h i s no tebook c a n be any size you wish , bu t i t shou ld be u sed exclus ively for this p u r p o s e . Da te you r entr ies ; i t i s o f ten r evea l ing to inc lude the t ime as wel l . I f you normal ly c a r r y a smal l no t ebook , i t is easy to j o t d o w n the ideas as they o c c u r to you ; e i ther m a k e that little no t ebook y o u r PL or copy wha teve r you j o t t e d d o w n d u r i n g the day into the b ig no tebook a t n igh t .

W h a t you a re d o i n g here i s s imply r e c o r d i n g in format ion . L e t a pa t t e rn e m e r g e gradual ly . Do not t ry to i m p o s e one o r to ana lyze y o u r en t ry psychological ly . A useful pose is that of the ded ica ted but de t ached an th ropo log i s t no t ing and r e c o r d i n g the tr ibal cus toms , catal o g u i n g art i facts as you u n e a r t h them. No need to f igure ou t wha t all this da ta m e a n s unti l you finish the d i g ; j u s t wri te i t d o w n and later y o u can see w h a t comes together .

W h a t to wr i t e in this exerc i se? Da te the entry, note the t ime, and then u se r ap idwr i t i ng to r eco rd wha t is h a p p e n i n g to you so far. W h e r e do you see y o u r s e l f in you r wr i t ing , and w h e r e would you like to be?

N o w wr i te d o w n w h a t i s h a p p e n i n g as you read this book , as you do the exerc i ses . W h a t was the r ap idwr i t i ng exerc ise like for you? Did i t m a k e you feel anx ious? Were you su rp r i s ed by the qual i ty o f wha t you w r o t e w h e n y o u went back and r e r ead it?

O t h e r th ings to inc lude in y o u r P rogres s L o g m i g h t be stories that wil l c o m e to you abou t how you l ea rned to w r i t e — t h e g o o d stories a n d the m o r e pa in fu l ones about how y o u r wr i t i ng was rece ived , how i t was r e w a r d e d , or w h a t h a p p e n e d w h e n i t d id not p lease the pe r son in authori ty. H e r e a re some e x a m p l e s :

When I was in the fourth grade, I won the Little Hot Spot medal for the best essay on safeguarding the home against fire. I got the day off school and went to City Hall where the mayor pinned the medal on my chest while the Marine Band played.

Prof. W. did not like what I wrote. He tore up my paper in front of the whole class. I can still feel that rip go through me and hear the class titter.

Things are slowing down now. Maybe I need to take a break, or have I just hit the wall? Tell you what, self. Ten more minutes, and if at the end of ten minutes, you still want to stop, then you can, okay?

T h i s i s w h a t the wr i te r wi th the "pane l of j u d g e s " wro t e as her first P L en t ry :

With the rapidwriting, I found I was unexpectedly pleased with some of the thoughts and wording. A bit of it might even be useful in current or future writing. However I did feel a bit strained towards the end—my hand aching


from the intensity—aware of others moving on to their third page—wondering if the time was up yet. In looking at it now though, I am rather pleased and I like the idea of doing this for ten minutes without stopping. I also noticed I am self-conscious about my uncertainty concerning correct punctuation and grammar. I feel it's important, but my formal background is very shaky; everyone was so busy acknowledging me as a creative whiz kid that I got away with murder. I think that's unfortunate. Perhaps it would be worth my while to actually study, a grammar book or two.

W h e n we c o m e to the c h a p t e r on procras t ina t ion , you will see how d r a m a t i c a tool the PL c a n be in he lp ing you b reak t h r o u g h writer 's b lock . It's a lso a usefu l tool for gene ra t ing ideas. Its un fe t t e red na tu re s eems to invi te concep t s that p rove va luable in fu tu re wr i t i ng , whi le its f luency e n c o u r a g e s the sor t ing t h r o u g h of ideas va luable to any p ro jec t . Severa l t imes I have gone back to r e r ead a PL f rom years ago a n d f o u n d there a c lue to my presen t wri t ing.

I t is be t t e r not to have any p reconce ived notions, however, of w h e r e the PL is l e a d i n g or w h e r e i t m i g h t take you . Go with the flow; I p r o m i s e y o u r effort wil l be amply r e w a r d e d .

T h r o u g h o u t the b o o k , I will ask y o u to make addi t ional entr ies in y o u r P L . L o o k for this symbo l : • Progress Log.

T h e s e two s imple t e c h n i q u e s — r a p i d w r i t i n g and the P rogres s L o g — c o m b i n e to radical ly c h a n g e the way you wri te . T a k e i t f rom a p r o w h o has b e e n us ing bo th for over a d e c a d e : the more you use them, the be t t e r they get!

C H A P T E R 3

Right Brain/Left Brain: What 's It All About?

The mind is a mansion, but most of the time we are content to live in the lobby.

— D R . WILLIAM MICHAELS

C o n s i d e r this fact: r igh t and left shoes were t h o u g h t up only a little over a h u n d r e d years a g o .

A n d as i t now stands, 95 percent of wha t we know about how we th ink , that is, v i r tua l ly all of c u r r e n t in fo rmat ion about the chemica l , phys io log ica l , and psycholog ica l funct ions o f the bra in , has e m e r g e d in the last 10 to 15 years .

T h i n k o f it. H u m a n be ings have ex i s ted , by most accounts , for two-a n d - a - h a l f mi l l ion years , and we are still in the infant s tages of d iscove r y in the r e m a r k a b l e f ie ld of bra in r e sea rch . Daily, new facts are u n c o v e r e d , o ld ideas e x p a n d e d , new d i rec t ions ind ica ted . W h a t a g rea t t ime to be al ive! I f we k n e w so little abou t o u r feet only a c en tu ry a g o , w h o k n o w s wha t the nex t h u n d r e d years will tell us about o u r brains?

P U T O N Y O U R T H I N K I N G C A P

In this c h a p t e r we will e x a m i n e t h i n k i n g — e s p e c i a l l y as i t appl ies to w r i t i n g — i n the l igh t o f this decade ' s e x t r a o r d i n a r y discover ies abou t the two sides of the bra in . I invite the r eade r to p o n d e r with me the w o n d e r of wha t i s h a p p e n i n g w h e n th ink ing i s t ak ing place in o u r m i n d s . T h i n k i n g : that magni f i cen t , un ique ly h u m a n gif t that you and I sha re wi th M i c h e l a n g e l o , L e o n a r d o da V inc i , B u c k m i n s t e r Fuller, E ins te in . H o w can we l ea rn to do even more of it?

T h i s c h a p t e r may he lp p rov ide some answers to that ques t ion . First , I will list the funct ions usual ly ass igned to the r igh t and left hemispheres of the b ra in , and then 1 will a r g u e for us ing you r who le b r a i n — c e l e b r a t i n g you r pa r t i cu la r procl iv i ty and s t rength whi le e x e rc i s ing the par t s of y o u r brain you are not u s ing to capacity. Nex t , I will show wha t h a p p e n s in wr i t i ng w h e n we quie t d o w n the ar t icula te


S T Y L E S O F T H I N K I N G

You have seen char t s l ike this before . B e c a u s e of the ear ly r e sea rch that s e e m e d to s u g g e s t m o r e polar i ty than we now know to be the case , i t has b e c o m e conven ien t to refer to imag ina t ion , color, music , r h y t h m , d a y d r e a m i n g , and such as " r igh t -b ra in" activit ies, and to log ic , p l a n n i n g , l a n g u a g e , ma themat ic s , wr i t ing , and such as " lef t -bra in ." Actual ly , locating these p rocesses is not as impor t an t as identify ing d i f ferent styles of thinking. I have m a d e this char t del ibera te ly p layfu l and offer i t only to he lp you get you r bea r ings in the d iscuss ion that fol lows.

LEFT BRAIN R I G H T BRAIN

sequent ia l ,

s tep-by-s tep

verba l

analy t ica l

ra t ional

t ime-cen t e r ed

a g g r e s s i v e

objec t ive

in te res ted in deta i ls

l inguis t ic

de tec ts fea tures

simultaneous,

multiple

visual

synthetical

intuitive

timeless

yielding

subjective

wants overview

musical

notices patterns

T H E B R E A K T H R O U G H

T h e subjec t o f r i g h t b ra in and left b ra in has taken the coun t ry by s t o r m — h u n d r e d s i f not thousands o f art icles, local and nat ional , and severa l d o z e n books attest to its hold on o u r imag ina t ions . 1 T h e impl icat ions of the r e sea rch have g iven scientific we igh t to a way of t h i n k i n g that in o u r Wes te rn society had been i gno red o r d o w n p l a y e d or even r i d i c u l e d — w h a t i s today ca l led the " r i gh t -b r a ined" way of th ink ing . T h e col lec t ive impac t o f the s tudies has m a d e a p r o f o u n d and p o w e r f u l con t r ibu t ion to o u r l ives, o p e n i n g up doors that had

left a n d let the r igh t sh ine . At the end of the chap te r I p resen t for y o u r cons idera t ion a parab le that sums up the uni ty of se l f and of society that we mus t asp i re to in o rde r to thr ive in o u r m o d e r n wor ld . W h o knows how H a r r y a n d Har r ie t migh t , by e x a m p l e , point the way for o thers?

^"**" R I G H T B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 2 7

b e e n shut for too long. O u r schools , o u r homes , even our bus inesses wil l neve r be the same a g a i n .

T h e s tudy o f r igh t and left b ra in puts twent ie th-century th inkers in touch wi th o u r o w n diversity. I t honors the di f ferent ways that p e o p l e work th ings out , and i t p rov ides a s p r i n g b o a r d for u s ing unconven t ional a p p r o a c h e s to s tudy ing and p rob l em solving.

Par t of o u r b ra in was cu t off, not h o n o r e d , by Wes te rn civi l izat ion, a n d i t was in d a n g e r of atrophy. R e c o g n i z i n g dif ferent t h ink ing styles has put the who le p e r s o n back in the dr iver 's seat.

C A L I B A N AND ARIEL ARE LEFT BRAIN AND RIGHT

S o , to s p e a k in t e rms of r igh t and left b ra in (or hemispheres ) i s a n o t h e r way of e x p r e s s i n g the p h e n o m e n a that I have b e e n ca l l ing A r i e l and C a l i b a n , o f p a y i n g at tent ion to the fact that one par t o f y o u r b ra in works best for ideas and one par t he lps wi th ed i t ing and structu re . T h i s d iv is ion of labor is not strict, but i t is a useful way of t a lk ing abou t and therefore c o m i n g to g r i p s wi th the menta l p rocess that goes on w h e n we move f rom idea to final wr i t ten p roduc t , c o m m u n i c a t i n g that idea to ano the r h u m a n be ing .

T h e t ru th is, most o f us a re not u s ing o u r bra ins to capacity, not b e c a u s e the capabi l i ty i s not there or because we a re d u m b bu t because we have not b e e n t augh t how.

T h e u n d e r l y i n g message o f all the s tudies i s loud and c lear : wha t we a re s t r iv ing for is to be "who le -b ra ined , " to e n c o u r a g e a mutua l r e spec t , as a society and as an ind iv idua l bra in , for wha t each side of the b ra in can d o , to have a wi l l ingness to work toge ther in coope ra t ion a n d conf idence . T h e goa l of "who le -b ra ined t h i n k i n g " i s a call for bo th sides o f o u r bra in to work toge ther for the c o m m o n g o o d .

D o n ' t be content to live in the an t e room! C o m e , exp lo re the mans ion o f y o u r m i n d .

R I G H T B R A I N + L E F T B R A I N = W H O L E B R A I N

T h e two halves o f the bra in a re connec t ed , a t the ce rebra l (upper ) pa r t , by the corpus callosum, a mass of fibers b u n d l e d like a te lephone cab le . T h e p o w e r and the r ange o f activity o f this c o m m i s s u r a l b o n d a r e far m o r e as ton i sh ing than any m e r e te lephone cable , however. C a r l S a g a n , in The Dragons of Eden, refers to the co rpus ca l losum as a c o m p l e x cab l ing system, "a b u n d l e o f two h u n d r e d mil l ion neura l f ibers p r o c e s s i n g some th ing like several bil l ion bits p e r second be tween the two ce reb ra l hemispheres . " 2

Ideally, wha t we want (in fact, wha t E E G ' s show takes p lace in any h i g h l y c rea t ive th ink ing) a re ideas to c rack le across those w i r e s — a n a lmos t t ang ib le a rc of activity, back and forth, back and forth, as idea and its implemen ta t ion e n h a n c e and e n c o u r a g e each other, gene ra t ing


e n e r g y in mutua l suppor t and admi ra t ion . T h i s " w h o l e - b r a i n e d " activity is the full gen ius of Michelangelo ' s Sist ine C h a p e l (magni f icen t ar t combined wi th e x t r a o r d i n a r y logic and p l ann ing ) o r Einstein 's T h e o r y o f Relativity (the backbone o f physics, f i r s t conce ived whi le d a y d r e a m ing about a s u n b e a m in his eye) . H o n o r i n g the left hemisphe re inordinately completely overlooks the fact that these and other great scientific and artistic ach ievements o f o u r cu l tu r e have been p r o d u c e d t h r o u g h an interact ion of both hemispheres in mutua l coope ra t i on .

P r ince ton scholar Ju l ian Jaynes says that Eins te in go t so many g o o d ideas whi le shaving that he n e e d e d to move the razor slowly "lest he cu t h i m s e l f wi th surpr ise ." Jaynes also quotes a Br i t i sh physicist as say ing that the grea tes t scientific and mathemat ica l d iscover ies a re c o m m o n l y m a d e in the th ree B 's : the Bed, the Bath, and the Bus.

Eins t e in , d a V i n c i , P o i n c a r e , B e r n i n i , B u c k m i n s t e r Fuller , B e e thoven—these a re giants o f their f i e lds , and each one o f them left no tebooks or stories b e h i n d that c lear ly show it was intui t ion as well a s log ic , r hy thm c o m b i n e d wi th s t ruc ture , d a y d r e a m i n g c o u p l e d wi th ca re fu l p l a n n i n g , imag ina t ion t e a m e d with eva lua t ion that cons t i tu ted his pa r t i cu la r gen ius .

In c o m m o n eve ryday e x p e r i e n c e s we o r d i n a r y morta ls also activate this d u a l energy . For e x a m p l e , w h e n you a re c o m p o s i n g poetry, the r igh t s ide of the bra in genera tes the flow of words t umb l ing forth and keeps the beat ; the left side he lps out wi th the r h y m e (that is, any r h y m e that i s " t h o u g h t ou t " and not spon taneous) . Gene ra l ly s p e a k i n g , it is the r igh t hemisphe re that r e m e m b e r s a person 's face, whi le the left r e m e m b e r s the n a m e . T h e co rpus ca l lo sum assists in this coope r ative exchange , and the two halves of the bra in work toge the r as pa r tne rs , as in this d i a l o g u e :

Right: O h ! that face! I know I 've seen it before . It's so familiar .

Left: T h a t mous tache is unmis t akab le . What ' s his n a m e ? W h e r e do I

know h i m from? Not f rom chu rch , o r f rom the g o l f cou r se . . . .

Right: W a i t a m i n u t e . L e t m e p i c t u r e h i m i n h i s n a t u r a l h a b i tat. . . . W h e r e have I seen h im? H m m m . I see h im s tand ing b e h i n d a coun te r in a busy store.

Left: T h e g r o c e r y store? T h e post office?

Right: O h , wait a minu te . S o m e h o w I associate the colors g r e e n and gold wi th h im, and I r e m e m b e r some th ing to do wi th tools . Now I know. He wears a go ld and g r e e n smock . Tha t ' s the u n i f o r m at Smiley 's H a r d w a r e Store . I can j u s t see h i m s t and ing there beh ind the c o u n t e r a t the h a r d w a r e store. I can even see his n a m e tag : " B o b Jones."

(Click into the "here and now.")

Left: H i , B o b ! How's the nuts and bolts business?

R I G f f T B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 2 9

As for o u r wr i t ing , i t is a t its best w h e n we know how to tap into the respec t ive s t rengths o f bo th halves o f o u r bra in a t the app rop r i a t e t imes , w h e n we r e m e m b e r to a c k n o w l e d g e the cont r ibu t ion that each side makes and have them wa lk a longs ide each o the r as c o m p a n i o n s , not as enemies in oppos i t ion . Unfor tunate ly , there is a b lock aga ins t this wholeness , and that b lock usual ly c o m e s f rom the left h e m i s p h e r e l o r d i n g i t over the con t r ibu t ion of the r igh t . As I 've no ted , in Wes te rn society in par t icular , r i gh t -b ra ined k inds o f t h ink ing—in tu i t i on , specula t ion, and others o f that so r t—have genera l ly b e e n r id icu led o r d o w n p l a y e d . So before we can ce lebra te this g lo r ious f r ee ing unity, most of us n e e d to dea l wi th a pa r t of o u r bra in (wherever i t i s loca ted) that does not al low the o the r par t equa l play, that does not suppor t , e n c o u r a g e , invite, and c red i t the con t r ibu t ion of its oppos i t e number .

T H E " K N O W - I T - A L L " A N D T H E SILENT PARTNER

In Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Be t ty E d w a r d s calls the left hemisphe re the "know-i t -a l l s ide" ; T h o m a s B lakes l ee in Right Brain

refers to the r igh t hemisphe re as the "silent par tner ." T h e s e labels a r e appropr i a t e because the left expresses i tself logical ly a n d in words ; th is a r t i c u l a t i o n i s o f t e n c a r p i n g . T h e r i g h t e x p r e s s e s i t s e l f r a n d o m l y — i n pictures, patterns, rhy thms—and cannot articulate in words .

W h e n i t comes to wr i t ing , especially, the left bra in th inks i t knows eve ry th ing . T h e fact is inescapab le : l a n g u a g e , verba l and wr i t t en , is a left hemisphe re "specialty." More than ever, Mr. Know-i t -a l l is g o i n g to kick sand in the face of any sugges t ions that the r igh t side m i g h t ha l t ingly make . I t is t rue that the logical left dese rves the c r ed i t for g r a m m a r , punc tua t ion , fo rma t—al l essent ial to wr i t i ng a n y t h i n g r eadable. Bu t the r igh t hemisphe re has style. I t has r h y t h m . I t has the f low and the e n e r g y of exc i tement w h e n you ' r e on a roll . I t p rov ides i m a g e s and ana log ie s , co lor and m u s i c — i n short , e v e r y t h i n g that lifts y o u r wr i t ten p iece , whe the r it is a short story, a l ega l brief, or an office m e m o r a n d u m , f rom the m u n d a n e a n d p red ic tab le to the in sp i r ed and insp i r ing , the unforge t t ab le . T h a t d o e s not m e a n we don ' t n e e d the le f t—it s imply asks the left to c r ed i t the r igh t in tu rn for its contr i bu t ion to wr i t ing . A n y truly effective p iece has exe rc i sed both s ides of the bra in . T h e music o f the r i gh t hemisphe re o f y o u r b ra in , c o m b i n e d wi th the rhetor ic skills of the left, assures that you r words have impac t—tha t they a r e affect ive as well as effect ive. Bu t f i rs t you have to let that music out .

SHINING STARS

T h e stars a re ou t all the t ime. W h y is i t that we c a n only see them a t n igh t? B e c a u s e there i s too m u c h in te r fe rence f rom the sun . T h e r igh t hemisphe re is l ike that . I t constant ly sends us messages , bu t there is too m u c h static g o i n g on for us to no t i ce . 3


W h e n we quie t d o w n C a l i b a n , we b r ing A r i e l out o f h id ing . B u t the en t r ance is tentative and t imid . Say B o o ! and the stars d i sappear . In this interact ion be tween Jon and his we l l -known cat, Gar f ie ld , ca r toonist J im Davis under l ines a t ru th that is d e e p e r than the s imple injunct ion " D o n ' t d i scourage . " He is a lso g iv ing a d ramat i c a n a l o g u e of how the left side of the bra in interferes wi th flow and conf idence .

/ NOW I CAN S

ITAP-PANCEJ

^5} TAP JiAPPITY

TUP ~" TAP

GARFIELP.' \ C A T S CAN'T \

WALK ON THEIR ) H I N P F 6 6 T ! 7

5-17 ^7 SMACK! ^

In The Inner Game of Tennis T i m Ga l lwey demons t ra tes this same

pr inc ip le , " i f you don ' t m i n d a little u n d e r h a n d e d g a m e s m a n s h i p . "

T h e quickes t way, he asserts , to ru in a player 's g a m e is to d raw at ten

tion to his f ine p e r f o r m a n c e in the midd l e of the set. As you are

c h a n g i n g nets, you poin t out how well he is doing .

" G e o r g e , I don ' t know wha t i t i s abou t you r g a m e today! You ' r e

terrific! Tell me the t ru th . A r e you h o l d i n g the racket different ly? Is i t

y o u r wris t act ion? What ' s you r secret , G e o r g e ? "

G e o r g e i s beaming . Lit t le does he know y o u j u s t ki l led wha teve r i t

was that was g i v i n g h i m flow. Now the left hemisphe re takes c h a r g e .

"Okay , G e o r g e . D o n ' t blow i t now. K e e p y o u r wr is t l imp . Hold the

racket t ight , bu t not too t ight . T h a t ' s i t now. K e e p i t up . "

You have r u i n e d his g a m e , in the same way that Jon m a d e his cat

fall flat on his face. Ga l lwey does not use the te rms left and r igh t

b ra in ; rather, he talks abou t Se l f 1 and Se l f 2. Se l f 2 goes wi th the

flow; form and f igure a re one . Se l f 1 r eminds you how to ho ld the

racket and prov ides a steady s t r eam of c o m m e n t on the act ion. Lis ten

ing to the chat ter and r e p r i m a n d s of Se l f 1 can actual ly ru in y o u r

form and cer ta in ly u n d e r m i n e you r conf idence .

T h e same th ing h a p p e n s in wr i t ing . As soon as we let in the cr i t ical ,

RI_GJ;1T B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 31

eva lua t ing , ed i tor ia l voice s imul taneous ly wi th the p e r f o r m a n c e , we fall f la t . W h e n you hea r that voice , you s top wr i t ing . You stop and ponder , you s top and ques t ion , you s top and cr i t ic ize, or you simply g ive up and stop a l together . You in te r rup t the f low. Ra the r than g i v i n g life and e n e r g y to you r wr i t ing , such in te r fe rence makes i t p l o d d i n g and p red ic tab le or, worse , s ta lemated .

On the o ther hand , wonder fu l th ings h a p p e n w h e n you quie t d o w n the noisy left and let the stars shine. H e r e are some example s .

Stand on Your Head and Get a Different View of Things

In her l a n d m a r k books on d r a w i n g , Be t ty E d w a r d s gives an u n c o n vent ional answer to those w h o say, "I can ' t draw." She shows that all of us can draw, i f we are wi l l ing to let go of o u r t radi t ional a p p r o a c h .

O n e of her be t t e r -known exerc ises i s the ins t ruc t ion to d raw someth ing ups ide d o w n . H e r s tudents f i rs t copy a p ic tu re that is r igh t side u p . In her book the s tudy u sed is Picasso's Portrait of Igor Stravinsky.

T h e resul ts f rom the unp rac t i c ed h a n d a re usual ly pret ty pr imi t ive , then she tells t hem to tu rn the p ic tu re ups ide d o w n and follow the cu rves , ins tead of t ry ing to draw an e lbow or a cha i r leg. W h e n the s tudents tu rn their f in ished p r o d u c t r igh t side up and c o m p a r e i t wi th the f irs t sketch, they f ind that the ups ide d o w n p iece is invar iably dramat ica l ly supe r io r to the f i rs t a t tempt .

Author /a r t i s t E d w a r d s muses :

This puzzle puts the logical left brain into a logical box: how to account for this sudden ability to draw well, when it (the know-it-all left hemisphere) has been eased out of the task. The left brain, which admires a job well done, must now consider the possibility that the disdained right brain is good at drawing.

More seriously speaking, a plausible explanation of the illogical result is that the left brain refused the task of processing the upside-down image. Presumably, the left hemisphere, confused and blocked by the unfamiliar image and unable to name or symbolize as usual, turned off, and the job passed over to the right hemisphere. 4

W h a t h a p p e n s in ar t a lso h a p p e n s in wri t ing. T h e unconven t iona l a p p r o a c h p r o d u c e s dramat ica l ly supe r io r resul ts , l e ad ing to confid e n c e and f luency, as the left bra in is fo rced to admi t , however g r u d g ingly at f irst , that the r igh t bra in d id i t wel l .

A r epo r t e r f rom the Seattle Times was in a workshop of m ine r igh t af ter the e rup t ion of M o u n t St. Helens . She was one of the p e o p l e sent to cover this m o m e n t o u s story. Be fo re she left, they had a mee t ing in the C i ty R o o m . T h i s is not a pr int story, they were told. T h i s is a s tory for T V cameras and m a g a z i n e pho tog raphe r s . D o the best you can . So she went, and hovered over the cra ter in a hel icopter , and then d rove d o w n wha t was left of the mounta ins ide in a bumpy, o p e n j e e p . T h e devas ta t ion was e v e r y w h e r e . She t r ied to desc r ibe it.


"I t is like the m o o n . . . . " — n o , that would not d o ; she had never b e e n to the m o o n , a l t h o u g h she had seen the p ic tu res .

"I t is like hell . . . . " — b u t w h o had b e e n there and back to tell that tale?

Finally, he r left bra in r e fused to p rocess the i m a g e , and she wro te f lowingly abou t her inabil i ty to descr ibe the scene, the store of s tock i m a g e s that no longer se rved .

W h e n the p iece c a m e o u t on the front p a g e o f the p a p e r the next m o r n i n g , the r e sponse was immed ia t e . O n e r eade r s u m m e d i t up by saying, "I have seen all the p ic tu res in the m a g a z i n e s and p a p e r s ; I have been m e s m e r i z e d by the TV coverage . Bu t I never u n d e r s t o o d the dep th of the destruction* the b leakness and the unrea l i ty of it, unt i l I r ead you r p i ece in this morn ing ' s Times."

Maybe it was a pr int s tory af ter all .

Telephone Poles in Wisconsin

T h e r e have been t imes in my life, too , when I wan ted to r eco rd in words a scene that s t ruck me and my bra in said no, you canno t do i t j u s t i c e : only a c a m e r a or a pa in tbrush cou ld cap tu r e this. O n c e was on a c ross -count ry train ride, pass ing t h r o u g h Glac ie r Park, Montana , at 4 A . M . I i gno red the negat ive in junct ion and j u s t p lowed t h r o u g h :

This morning at about 4 A . M . we passed through Glacier Park, Montana. Jim and I were both awake, so we went up to the dome car to drink in the unreal sight. It was not pitch-dark, but early-morning dark, and we could make out miles and miles of mountains and evergreens dusted in snow. The snow was fresh and newly fallen, unsullied, and exquisite—-so still, so lovely, with an ethereal quality about it at that early hour. The conductor was coming through the cars, swinging a train lantern; all else was sleeping and still. The train sped on through the winter wonderland, all the more extraordinary for having just left behind the budding spring of Virginia, New York, and New Jersey.

T h o s e words , in spi te of my be l i e f that I cou ld not do the scene jus t i ce , today evoke i t more powerfu l ly for me than any static ce l lu lo id i m a g e migh t .

J e r ry -Mac Johns ton , a p l a y w r i g h t in my course , h e a r i n g of my expe r i ence , r e m e m b e r e d a train r ide f rom years a g o w h e n he had listened to the C a l i b a n left b ra in and had not even a t t empted to desc r ibe an i m a g e that still h a u n t e d h im . L o o k i n g ou t the w indow as the t ra in passed t h r o u g h Wiscons in , he saw row after row of l a rge te lephone poles ly ing a longside the tracks. A l t h o u g h i t d id not make m u c h sense, the s ight of those h u g e poles ly ing helpless in the snow m o v e d h im . He dec ided to wri te a p o e m about it. T h a t i s w h e n he s tar ted ge t t ing e n o r m o u s static.

—It's j u s t a b u n c h of te lephone poles , so what? W h e r e is the poe t ry in that?

R I G - H 3 B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 3 3

— M a y b e you cou ld take a p ic tu re . S o m e in teres t ing l ines there . B u t

i t c a n n o t be desc r ibed in words , and even i f i t c o u l d , you w o u l d n ' t be

the one w h o cou ld do it.

J e r ry -Mac l is tened to his c a r p i n g cr i t ical voice and d id not wr i te the

p o e m inside o f h im .

A f t e r he h a d told me this story, I po in t ed ou t that i t was not too

late to wr i te that p o e m . You can go back to that t ime, I told h i m , and

m a k e i t h a p p e n for you a g a i n ; you can be a t the scene once more , and

this t ime, you can i gno re the voice that tells y o u not to wr i te .

I had h i m re lax and i m a g i n e h i m s e l f back on that t rain, c a p t u r i n g

eve ry detai l possible in his mind 's e y e — t h e sound of the whee ls c lack

ing u n d e r n e a t h , the r h y t h m and sense o f movement , the smell and the

s ight and the sound of it. N o w tell the inner voice to b u g off, I said,

and wr i te in spite of it.

T h i s i s wha t he wro te :

Derelict now in their duties The metal towers lay face down

in the winter's shrubbery along the right of way

It was as if a giant scythe Was clearing the way

for final doom Or at least

the end of electricity in Wisconsin

Jon is w r o n g . U s i n g bo th sides of the bra in , cats can wa lk on their

h ind feet.

W h e t h e r you c h o o s e to call i t C a l i b a n and A r i e l or th ink i t sounds

be t te r to use the labels left b ra in and r i gh t b ra in , the impor t an t th ing

is to rea l ize that wha t you have is there all a long. To be who le -b r a ined ,

you need only quie t d o w n the noisy static s ide of you and listen to

you r o w n imag ina t ion . T h e n invite the eva lua to r back o n y o u r o w n

t e rms .

Now here's the parab le .

H A R R Y A N D H A R R I E T : A M O D E R N P A R A B L E

H a r r y wasn ' t a bad sort ; in fact, he was qu i te b r igh t . He j u s t n e e d e d

to l ea rn some m a n n e r s . Har r i e t was b r igh t , too , in her way; she was

j u s t too t imid for he r o w n — a n d H a r r y ' s — g o o d .

At f i r s t , H a r r y and Har r i e t were a pe r fec t ma tch . T h e y worked well

together . Har r i e t had a g r e a t feel for co lors in decora t ing , for e x a m p l e ;

H a r r y h e l p e d wi th m e a s u r e m e n t s and execu t ion . H a r r y l iked n u m b e r s

and was g o o d a t ma th . He b a l a n c e d the c h e c k b o o k and was p u n c t u a l .


He k n e w how to p lan th ings carefully, s tep by s tep, whi le Har r ie t was ta len ted at s ee ing the b ig p ic tu re . Har r i e t was often late for appoin t ments a n d somet imes go t so involved in a pro jec t that she comple te ly lost t rack of t ime, but she l iked music and had a natural rhy thm that was qu i t e at tract ive. H a r r y l iked to l isten to her s inging. He was a t t rac ted to her because she was so spon taneous and so playful .

"She ' s so ca re f r ee and imagina t ive , " he said. "I love her joie de vivre."

She s i g h e d and looked up to h im. "He 's so steady, so sure . I love his stability." T h e n s o m e t h i n g s o u r e d . "He 's so r ig id and u n b e n d i n g , " t hough t Harr ie t . "She ' s so f l ighty and care less ," t h o u g h t Harry . S o o n H a r r y s ta r ted shou t ing a lot, and Har r ie t wi thdrew. Q u i t e frankly, H a r r y t h o u g h t o f h i m s e l f as the brains beh ind the

o p e r a t i o n wi thou t r ea l i z ing that was only h a l f t rue . He was the more vocal m e m b e r of the team and was cer ta inly m o r e rat ional , bu t still, H a r r i e t was the one wi th the most creativity, and she had an intui t ive sense abou t th ings that was of ten very useful .

H a r r y never took a vaca t ion ; there was too m u c h work to do and n o b o d y else to do i t (so he thought ) . He felt ove rworked , whi le Har r i e t felt u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d . She k n e w her talents were not be ing used to their ful lest potent ia l . Somet imes i t was very f rus t ra t ing for Har r ie t ; he re was H a r r y r an t ing and rav ing , and i f only he 'd quie t d o w n and pay a t tent ion, she had a br i l l iant solut ion.

S o o n Har r i e t s t o p p e d s u g g e s t i n g ideas ; H a r r y never l is tened anyway, and w h e n he d id l isten he l a u g h e d or d i smissed her ideas as fool i sh or to ld her, yeah , yeah , that's a g o o d idea, Harr ie t , but then he d idn ' t wr i t e i t d o w n , and no th ing ever came of it. H a r r y was b e c o m i n g apop lec t i c : life was a series of m a z e s wi th no th ing but dead ends , and i t s e e m e d as t h o u g h there was no one to he lp h i m , to b r ing any fresh life into his rout ine . Was he the only one of the team w h o ca red i f th ings w e r e done cor rec t ly and on t ime?

S o m e t h i n g had to be done . Nei ther l iked themselves in their new ro les . H a r r y had b e c o m e a tyrant in spite of himself , and Har r i e t was so m e e k a n d mi ld that she was no more than a cipher. T h e y k n e w they c o u l d n ' t go on like this. I t was s a p p i n g e n e r g y f rom bo th of them, and ne i ther was g i v i n g the o ther r o o m to grow. H a r r y tu rned to se l f -help p a p e r b a c k s ; Ha r r i e t went to suppor t g r o u p s and took Asser t iveness T ra in ing . O n c e their consc iousness was ra ised , they clear ly u n d e r s t o o d the c h a n g e s they n e e d e d to m a k e in o rde r to go back to l iv ing the ful lest life poss ib le .

Ha r r i e t n e e d e d to bel ieve in he r se l f and be more assert ive; H a r r y n e e d e d to l ea rn not to be so g r u f f and to s top ac t ing so super io r and know-i t -a l l . H a r r i e t l e a r n e d that she too quickly gave in and s t e p p e d as ide w h e n H a r r y ra i sed his voice ; fortunately, Har r ie t r ea l i zed that

RIG-HT1" B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 3 5

you don ' t t rade years o f b e i n g put d o w n yourse l f by pu t t ing down another . She k n e w that, d e e p d o w n inside, H a r r y was a k ind m a n w h o only ac ted r o u g h b e c a u s e he had b e e n b r o u g h t up that way; he d idn ' t k n o w he had any op t ions . I t wou ld be j u s t as c rue l to b lame H a r r y for years of d o m i n a n c e as i t wou ld be to faul t Har r i e t for years of laying back . She also knew that his cont r ibut ions were necessary to their u n i o n , his pract ical i ty an impor tan t i ng red ien t in any imagina t ive p lan of theirs . Harriet ' s ideas were g o o d , but they were u n f o r m e d ; she n e e d e d Har ry ' s he lp t o m a k e t h e m h a p p e n .

As for Har ry , slowly the rea l iza t ion hit h im that he had not va lued H a r r i e t for all the cont r ibu t ions she m a d e to their lives, for the peace she b r o u g h t , for he r energy, for he r playfulness and spontaneity. I f not for her, they would never try a n y t h i n g new. Now that he t hough t abou t it, Har r i e t had c o m e up wi th some pret ty g o o d ideas, especial ly a t the qu ie t and c lose t imes, w h e n they were r id ing toge ther in the ca r or s l e e p i n g or t ak ing a shower. He had to give her some c red i t .

At first i t wasn ' t easy, they were so used to the old ways, but their efforts pa id o f f so h a n d s o m e l y that they were e n c o u r a g e d to k e e p w o r k i n g a t it. B o t h of t hem felt freer, more useful , more competen t . T h e r e was a generos i ty of spir i t abou t their interactions, a sense of m u t u a l p r ide in a j o b well done ; they were col laborators instead of compe t i t o r s . Harr ie t ' s c rea t ive ideas were e n h a n c e d by Harry ' s p lo t t ing a n d p l a n n i n g to m a k e them h a p p e n , and Harry ' s penchan t for per fect ion got p lenty of new mater ia l to work on . B o t h admi t ted that they we re r i che r for this new unity, hav ing e n h a n c e d their respect ive skills t h r o u g h r e p e a t e d use and the g low o f apprec ia t ion .

T h e i r re la t ionsh ip got the o ld spark back . No longer d id H a r r y have to t o u g h i t ou t and c a r r y the load by himself ; no longer did Har r i e t s l ink away h o l d i n g in he r feel ings and d r e a m s . He r e c o g n i z e d the ful lness of his o w n powers w h e n u sed in the r ight way, not pushy or s u p e r i o r but he lp fu l and k ind ; she b lossomed unde r his apprec ia t ion of he r con t r ibu t ion to their re la t ionship and his excel lent g u i d a n c e as he r f r iend. A n d the who le was g rea te r than the sum of the par ts . H a r r i e t was still a d r e a m e r and had no concep t of t ime, and there we re occas ions w h e n H a r r y go t impat ien t with her and raised his voice a little, bu t now they bo th cou ld l a u g h at i t and move on. More and more , H a r r y s tar ted l i s tening to Harr ie t ' s d r e a m s and p l a n n i n g the log ica l s teps to m a k e those d r e a m s reality. Har r ie t loved h im for it, a n d he loved her in r e tu rn for her imag ina t ion and sensitivity. T h e r e was h a r m o n y and happ iness and new life in their re la t ionship . Now they were a t eam; h a n d in h a n d they faced all cha l l enges—and were e q u a l to the task. Together , they m a d e d r e a m s h a p p e n .

It was lovely. Mora l of the s tory: Two heads are bet ter than one, which is to say,

one h e a d is be t te r than half.


He k n e w how to p lan th ings carefully, s tep by step, whi le Har r i e t was ta len ted a t s e e i n g the b ig p ic ture . Har r ie t was of ten late for appoin t ments and somet imes got so involved in a pro jec t that she comple te ly lost t rack of t ime, but she l iked music and had a na tura l r hy thm that was qu i te at t ract ive. H a r r y l iked to listen to her s inging. He was a t t rac ted to her b e c a u s e she was so spon taneous and so playful .

"She ' s so ca re f r ee and imagina t ive , " he said. "I love her joie de vivre."

She s i g h e d a n d looked up to h im . "He 's so steady, so sure . I love his stability." T h e n s o m e t h i n g s o u r e d . "He ' s so r i g id and u n b e n d i n g , " t h o u g h t Harr ie t . "She ' s so f l ighty and care less ," t h o u g h t Harry . S o o n H a r r y s tar ted shou t ing a lot, and Har r i e t wi thdrew. Q u i t e frankly, H a r r y t hough t o f h imse l f as the bra ins b e h i n d the

ope ra t i on wi thou t r ea l i z ing that was only h a l f t rue. He was the more vocal m e m b e r of the t eam and was cer ta in ly more rat ional , but still, H a r r i e t was the one wi th the most creativity, and she had an intuit ive sense abou t th ings that was of ten very usefu l .

H a r r y never took a vaca t ion; there was too much work to do and n o b o d y else to do i t (so he t hough t ) . He felt ove rworked , whi le Har r ie t felt u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d . She k n e w her talents were not b e i n g u sed to their ful lest potent ia l . Somet imes i t was very f rus t ra t ing for Harr ie t ; h e r e was H a r r y r an t ing and rav ing , and i f only he 'd qu ie t d o w n and pay at tent ion, she had a bri l l iant solut ion.

S o o n Har r i e t s t o p p e d s u g g e s t i n g ideas ; H a r r y never l is tened anyway, a n d w h e n he d id listen he l a u g h e d or d i smissed her ideas as fool ish or told her, y e a h , yeah , that's a g o o d idea, Harr ie t , but then he d i d n ' t wr i t e i t d o w n , and no th ing ever came of it. H a r r y was b e c o m i n g apop lec t i c : life was a series of mazes with no th ing but d e a d ends , and i t s e e m e d as t h o u g h there was no one to he lp h im, to b r ing any fresh life in to his rout ine . Was he the only one of the team w h o c a r e d i f th ings were d o n e cor rec t ly and on t ime?

S o m e t h i n g h a d to be done . Nei ther l iked themselves in their new ro les . H a r r y h a d b e c o m e a tyrant in spite of himself , and Har r ie t was so m e e k and mi ld that she was no more than a cipher. T h e y knew they c o u l d n ' t go on like this. I t was s a p p i n g e n e r g y f rom both of them, and ne i ther was g i v i n g the o ther r o o m to grow. Har ry t u r n e d to se l f -help p a p e r b a c k s ; Ha r r i e t went to suppor t g r o u p s and took Asser t iveness Tra in ing . O n c e thei r consc iousness was ra ised, they clear ly u n d e r s t o o d the c h a n g e s they n e e d e d to m a k e in o rde r to go back to l iv ing the ful les t life poss ib le .

H a r r i e t n e e d e d to be l ieve in he r se l f and be more assert ive; H a r r y n e e d e d to l ea rn not to be so g r u f f and to s top ac t ing so supe r io r and know-i t -a l l . Ha r r i e t l e a r n e d that she too quickly gave in and s t epped as ide w h e n H a r r y ra ised his voice ; fortunately, Har r i e t r ea l i zed that

R i * H T B R A I N / L E F T B R A I N / 3 5

y o u don ' t t rade years o f be ing put d o w n your se l f by pu t t ing d o w n another . She knew that, d e e p d o w n inside, H a r r y was a k ind m a n who only ac ted r o u g h b e c a u s e he had been b r o u g h t up that way; he d idn ' t k n o w he h a d any opt ions . I t would be j u s t as c rue l to b lame H a r r y for years of d o m i n a n c e as i t would be to faul t Har r i e t for years of laying back . She also k n e w that his cont r ibu t ions were necessa ry to their u n i o n , his pract ical i ty an impor tan t i ng red ien t in any imagina t ive p lan of theirs . Harr ie t ' s ideas were g o o d , but they were u n f o r m e d ; she n e e d e d Har ry ' s he lp to m a k e them h a p p e n .

As for Har ry , slowly the real izat ion hit h i m that he had not v a l u e d H a r r i e t for all the cont r ibu t ions she m a d e to their lives, for the p e a c e she b r o u g h t , for he r energy, for he r playfulness and spontaneity. I f not for her, they would never t ry a n y t h i n g new. Now that he t h o u g h t a b o u t it, Ha r r i e t had c o m e up with some pret ty g o o d ideas, especia l ly a t the qu ie t and c lose t imes, when they were r id ing toge ther in the ca r or s l e e p i n g or t ak ing a shower. He h a d to give her some credi t .

At f i rs t i t wasn ' t easy, they were so u sed to the old ways, but their efforts pa id of f so h a n d s o m e l y that they were e n c o u r a g e d to k e e p w o r k i n g a t it. B o t h of them felt freer, more useful , more compe ten t . T h e r e was a generos i ty of spir i t about their interact ions, a sense of m u t u a l p r ide in a j o b well done ; they were col labora tors instead of compe t i t o r s . Harr ie t ' s c rea t ive ideas were e n h a n c e d by Harry ' s p lo t t ing a n d p l a n n i n g to m a k e them h a p p e n , and Harry ' s p e n c h a n t for pe r fec tion go t p lenty of new mater ia l to work on . B o t h admi t t ed that they we re r i cher for this new unity, hav ing e n h a n c e d their respec t ive skills t h r o u g h r e p e a t e d use and the g low o f apprec ia t ion .

T h e i r re la t ionsh ip go t the old spark back. No longer d id H a r r y have to t o u g h i t ou t and c a r r y the load by himself ; no longer d id Har r i e t s l ink away ho ld ing in her feel ings and d r e a m s . He r e c o g n i z e d the ful lness of his o w n powers w h e n u sed in the r i gh t way, not pushy or s u p e r i o r bu t he lpfu l and k ind ; she b lossomed u n d e r his apprec ia t ion of he r con t r ibu t ion to their re la t ionship and his excel lent g u i d a n c e as he r f r iend. A n d the whole was g rea te r than the sum of the par t s . H a r r i e t was still a d r e a m e r and had no concep t of t ime, and there we re occas ions w h e n H a r r y got impat ien t wi th he r and raised his voice a little, but now they both cou ld l a u g h at i t and move on . More and more , H a r r y s tar ted l i s tening to Harr ie t ' s d r e a m s and p l a n n i n g the logica l s teps to m a k e those d r e a m s reality. Har r i e t loved h i m for it, a n d he loved her in r e tu rn for her imag ina t ion and sensitivity. T h e r e was h a r m o n y and happ iness and new life in their re la t ionship . Now they we re a t eam; h a n d in h a n d they faced all c h a l l e n g e s — a n d were e q u a l to the task. Together , they m a d e d r e a m s h a p p e n .

It was lovely.

Mora l of the s tory: Two heads are bet ter than one, w h i c h is to say, one h e a d is bet ter than half.

C H A P T E R 4

Rumination: Daydreaming and Nightdreaming

Biting my truant pen Beating myself for spite—

"Fool!" said my Muse to me "Look in thy heart and write."

— S I R PHILIP SIDNEY

In c h a p t e r 1, I men t ioned Dr. James A s h e r and his work with the c o m p r e h e n s i o n me thod of fore ign l a n g u a g e study. I spoke of the g r a c e p e r i o d of a "silent t i m e " — a t ime of inner l ea rn ing , ass imila t ing, rum i n a t i n g — l a s t g r a n t e d to us w h e n we were e igh t een months o ld and l e a r n i n g o u r mo the r t ongue . T h a t was the last t ime that anyone rej o i c e d in a p e r f o r m a n c e a p p r o x i m a t e l y r ight . Even c o m i n g close to say ing " m i l k i e " or " b l a n k i e " was a cause for g rea t ce lebra t ion t h e n — and gave us mi lk o r b lankets . W h a t power ! A n d wha t fast l ea rners we we re in that suppor t ive a tmosphere . From that point on , wha teve r we l e a r n e d h a d to be demons t r a t ed wi th proficiency a t once .

We need to re insta te the impor tan t "silent t ime" in o u r wr i t i ng p rocess , at the p r e w r i t i n g or rumina t ion s tage. We call i t d a y d r e a m i n g , or we say o u r mind is "d r i f t i ng off," when in fact i t is not d r i f t ing of f bu t e n g a g e d and m a k i n g an impor tan t cont r ibut ion to o u r wr i t ing . We n e e d to r e c o g n i z e and even invite the p r ewr i t i ng or incuba t ion p e r i o d , to de s igna t e a R u m i n a t i o n C h a i r or pe r fo rm a repet i t ive , fami l ia r task ( jogg ing , t ak ing a shower, d r i v i n g in the car ) . Invi te the d a y d r e a m i n g and dis t ract ions that will he lp you r f ina l idea gel .

J O R D A N A N D " S I L E N T T I M E "

T h e story o f Jo rdan i l lustrates the pr inciple o f silent t i m e — w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n we let th ings go in the na tura l way, wi thout forc ing p r o d u c t i o n . J o r d a n was six years o ld , and a l ready he ha ted to wri te . W h i l e his f i rs t -grade c lassmates scr ibbled away, he tore the p a p e r wi th his penc i l , d i g g i n g d e e p slashes in anger . I t hough t i t m i g h t be his

_ R U M I N A T I O N / 3 /

f rus t ra t ion wi th f o r m i n g letters and t h i n k i n g about words a t the same t i m e — i n chap te r 1 we ta lked about the e n o r m o u s p res su re on a little one j u s t b e g i n n i n g to wr i te , as he forms letters and ideas s imul taneously. So I wou ld sit wi th Jo rdan and tell h i m that he d id not have to wr i t e ou t his ideas , j u s t d ic ta te them to me and I would wr i te t hem for h im . " N o ! " He pu l l ed away the penci l that was cu t t ing g rooves into the desk . " H o w abou t no story, bu t a list of wonder fu l w o r d s ? " I took a sheet of p a p e r and wro t e "Jordan's Wonder fu l W o r d s " in b ig letters ac ross the top . "Just tell me words that you like, and I will wr i te them d o w n . " S i lence . " H o w about phosphorescence? Tha t ' s a word Emi ly Dickinson l iked ." S i lence . I wro t e d o w n phosphorescence.

T h i s went on for several weeks . Now I was the one feel ing f rus t ra ted . W h a t c o u l d I do to r each this k id? W h y did I th ink that my ass ignment , in t e ach ing this f i rs t -grade class, was to c ap tu r e and hold the p o w e r over words that they a l ready felt? W h o wou ld have t h o u g h t that a s ix -year -o ld wou ld have writer 's b lock? I t r ied every ploy I cou ld th ink of, bu t I cou ld not ge t Jo rdan to wri te .

Now, w h e n you a re an adu l t w h o hates to wri te , you tu rn y o u r ange r a n d f rus t ra t ion i n w a r d ; s ix-year-olds annoy their ne ighbors . I finally to ld J o r d a n that he cou ld stay in class on one condi t ion : he was not a l lowed to b u g the kid si t t ing next to h im . He d idn ' t have to wri te . He c o u l d w a l k a r o u n d the r o o m , he cou ld sit in a corner and read , he c o u l d d r a w or color. T h e only ru le was , he was not a l lowed to hit , p i n c h , or d is t rac t the o ther ch i ld ren .

T h i s a r r a n g e m e n t went on for seven months . Every once in awhi le , I would make an overture and be rejected. I tried everything. I b rought in u n u s u a l objects to touch and talk about ; we d a n c e d to music; we l o o k e d at p ic tu res . Noth ing . Jo rdan would not wri te . Not even a word . Finally, I let g o . I s t o p p e d t r y ing to cajole h im, to a m u s e h im. I let h i m be . As long as he wasn ' t bo the r ing the others , he cou ld stay in class . T h a t was it. S o o n I forgot he was even in the r o o m and j u s t went a h e a d and worked wi th the o ther ch i ld ren . Severa l more months p a s s e d . We put toge the r a little book , a compi la t ion of the class stories. J o r d a n h a d no entr ies .

I took the who le class to see Shakespeare ' s The Tempest. W h e n we c a m e back, they wro te wonde r fu l stories about C a l i b a n ("Cal iban was m e a n . He was a monster . He never b r u s h e d his teeth . He had no f r iends") and A r i e l ( "Ar ie l was sweet . S h e " — t h e y always t hough t that A r i e l was a s h e — " w r i t e s t hank-you notes wheneve r she gets a p res ent" ) . We ta lked abou t similes and compar i sons , and they came up wi th ana log ie s that were f resh and p ic tu resque . Jo rdan wro te noth ing. We ta lked abou t sound , l is tened to noises , and wro te p o e m s about s o u n d . We ta lked abou t al l i terat ion and came out with str ings o f words that s o u n d e d musica l . A l l this t ime, noth ing.

T h e n one day i t h a p p e n e d . I asked Jo rdan i f he would like to dic ta te


a s tory to me a n d I w o u l d wr i te i t d o w n . At f i rs t he said no , but then he r e l en ted . Halt ingly, he said some words , and I p r in ted them on his p a p e r in b ig let ters . Suddenly , he g r a b b e d the penci l out o f my h a n d a n d s ta r ted to wr i te furiously. To my as tonishment , he wro te in cursive. I d i d n ' t even know that he k n e w how to p r in t—I t h o u g h t that that was pa r t of his p r o b l e m . Bu t there he was , wr i t i ng up a s to rm, a n d he was wr i t i ng in l o n g h a n d . A n d guess what? Eve ry th ing was in there . S imi les , sounds , a l l i t e ra t ion—even C a l i b a n and A r i e l . Everyth ing that we h a d ta lked abou t in class. He had b e e n pay ing at tent ion. W h o w o u l d have g u e s s e d it?

"Jordan!" I said. " T h a t mus t be a mag ic penci l ! You b r o u g h t a m a g i c penci l to school today!" He looked a little sheepish , but he was g r i n n i n g . " S h e th inks it's mag ic , " he said to his r e g u l a r teacher. "It's not mag ic . "

A d a m h a d b roken loose . Jo rdan was now able to wr i te f luent ly and wonderfu l ly . A l l that t ime that he wa lked a r o u n d or read , he was ac tua l ly working . He was t ak ing in in format ion , wi thou t h a v i n g to p r o d u c e any th ing . W h e n he was ready to p r o d u c e , he was way a h e a d o f the res t o f the class, w h o had b e e n wr i t ing every w e e k for ten mon ths . He had b e e n a l lowed the l u x u r y of a silent t ime, a t ime of ass imi la t ion . A l l that t ime, he was l ea rn ing , ac tual ly l e a r n i n g more , a n d m o r e deeply, t han he would have had he b e e n forced to p r o d u c e .

N o w Jo rdan is the bes t wr i t e r in the class. In fact, one of his stories was a c c e p t e d to publ ica t ion in Cricket, a nat ional chi ldren ' s m a g a z i n e .

T h e r e i s a little bit of Jo rdan in each of us . O n l y you k n o w how m u c h t ime you n e e d . Forcing y o u r s e l f to p r o d u c e before you a re r eady g u a r a n t e e s t u r g i d p rose . W h a t we call p rocras t ina t ion m i g h t well be incubation, and the impor tance of prewri t ing—sort ing things through, ass imi la t ing , m a k i n g c o n n e c t i o n s — h a s rarely b e e n r e c o g n i z e d o r allowed in o u r schools . R e m e m b e r the baby l e a r n i n g to speak . A l l o f that m i n d m a p p i n g , syn tax bu i ld ing , connec t i ng and s o u n d i n g out , all o f that g o i n g on inside her h e a d well before she s tar ted to a r t i cu la te— the c o m p r e h e n s i o n s tage c a m e f i r s t , before p roduc t ion . Wi th all o the r l e a r n i n g , espec ia l ly wi th l e a r n i n g to wri te , c o m p r e h e n s i o n and p ro duc t i on a r e e x p e c t e d s imul taneously .

W R I T I N G O N T H E R I G H T

In o r d e r to do y o u r best wr i t ing , you need to a l low the r igh t b ra in to m a k e a con t r ibu t ion to y o u r work. L e a r n to r e c o g n i z e the t imes that A r i e l sends you messages , and be o p e n to those cont r ibut ions . O n c e y o u a re aware o f them, capi ta l ize on those occas ions and even s tage them.

Do you ge t a lot of g o o d ideas in the shower? W h a t ! and you go in there wi thou t an u n d e r w a t e r pen? How about w h e n you are j o g g i n g

R U M I N A T I O N / 39

or d r i v i n g a long a fami l iar route? You know the t imes: you r bra in is on au tomat ic , and sudden ly you see the stars. W h e r e a re y o u r pen a n d p a p e r ? Francis B a c o n , the s ix teen th -cen tu ry phi losopher , knew that you should never be wi thout a wr i t ing utensi l . Sa id B a c o n :

A man would do well to carry a pencil in his pocket and write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought are commonly the most valuable, and should be secured, because they seldom return.

N o w y o u know. T h e treat ise Of Discourse was wr i t ten on the run .

H o w m a n y t imes have you b e e n p resen ted with j u s t the r igh t words whi l e y o u were d r i v i n g the c a r — a g rea t idea for you r o p e n i n g l ine, the pe r f ec t conc lus ion , the u l t imate theme that ties up y o u r g r a n d p l a n — a n d then though t , cockily, "Wel l , I will j u s t wr i te that d o w n as soon as I ge t to the office"? U n h u n h u n h . Wri te i t d o w n r igh t away!

E X E R C I S E 4: S I M U L - D R I V E

Sit up s t ra igh t a t y o u r desk and stare a h e a d . Raise you r left h a n d to g r i p an i m a g i n a r y s teer ing whee l . Put a p a d of p a p e r sl ightly to y o u r r i gh t and a p e n or penci l in you r hand . K e e p you r eyes on the r o a d , m a k e a ca r noise i f y o u l ike, and , wi thou t l ook ing at the paper , wr i t e on y o u r pad , "I know I wil l not be able to r ead this." T a k e a m o m e n t r i gh t now and do that for yourself . Do not a t t empt to do t the i's or cross the t's.

You will be a m a z e d a t the legibi l i ty of you r scratching. Remember , in any g a t h e r i n g of words of this sort, wha t you a re af ter i s r eca l l ing the key word or phrase that pul ls i t together . Tha t ' s wha t you n e e d to r e c o r d . T h a t one word will b r i n g back all the rest o f you r inspi ra t ion .

A PERFECT PEN FOR EVERY PLACE

I have a col lec t ion of zany pens and penci ls , all of which a re de

s i g n e d to he lp the wr i t e r c a p t u r e the elusive u n s o u g h t word . T h e y

inc lude a p e n that pee l s ou t p a p e r f rom its c a p (excel lent for j o g g e r s ) ,

a p e n that l ights in the d a r k (par t icular ly useful for ear ly m o r n i n g

w r i t i n g or w h e n d r i v i n g t h r o u g h da rk tunnels ) , and a pen d e s i g n e d

by N A S A to wr i te in e x t r e m e s o f t empera tu re , in any d i rec t ion , u n d e r

wa te r and over butter. A penci l that a lways gets a p leased response is

my w o o d e n s p o o n penci l , w h i c h i s ind ispensable for those of you w h o

ge t g r e a t ideas whi le cook ing .

A l l of these tools have one th ing in c o m m o n : their p u r p o s e i s to

r e m i n d you that the ideas that c o m e a t u n p l a n n e d moments a re fre

quen t ly wor th saving , and i f you e q u i p you r se l f with a tool for ne t t ing

these ideas , you will be r e w a r d e d in y o u r pursu i t . A handy p e n will

h e l p you take full advan t age o f those t imes w h e n Arie l ' s f l ights o f


fancy have full re in and C a l i b a n is mostly as leep . You wil l be astonished to see how useful the though t s you cap tu re in these u n c o n v e n t ional wr i t i ng momen t s will be to you r f ina l p roduc t .

C o n t r a r y to p o p u l a r op in ion , you can p e r ambu la t e and mast icate s imul taneous ly (o therwise k n o w n as w a l k i n g and c h e w i n g g u m ) — a n d i t fol lows that you can also rumina t e whi le you pe reg r ina t e . A r m e d wi th the pe r fec t wr i t i ng utensi l for every p u r p o s e , you will soon f ind y o u r r ambl ings per ipa te t ic as well as poet ic .

I t rus t you h e a r wha t I am saying: incorpora te these t imes into y o u r wr i t i ng pa t t e rn . We lcome a n d seek the cont r ibut ions that A r i e l makes , a n d tell C a l i b a n to b u g o f f and come back later. It's j u s t you and A r i e l and y o u r N A S A p e n , te l l ing all the wor ld wha t i s neares t and deares t to you a n d e x p r e s s i n g i t in your f inest way.

T h e t ru th i s that we usual ly f ight the cont r ibut ions of this twi l ight zone pa r t o f us ; we don ' t a c k n o w l e d g e them by r e c o r d i n g them and g i v i n g t h e m cred i t . I am ask ing you ins tead not only to we lcome such ideas bu t to invi te t hem as w e l l — g o out of you r way to make them h a p p e n , and be su re you always have p a p e r and p e n wi th in easy g rab . T h e ve ry act of e q u i p p i n g y o u r s e l f i s a g u a r a n t e e that ideas will c o m e to you . C a r r y i n g a wr i t i ng tool wi th you w h e r e v e r you go is g u a r a n t e e d to send the message to you r bra in that y o u are recept ive to ideas . A n d , o n c e you start a t t end ing to it, the e x p e r i e n c e s multiply.

D E L I B E R A T E S T A G I N G

O n c e you r e c o g n i z e the va lue o f the words that c o m e to y o u un s o u g h t f rom the r i gh t hemisphe re across the co rpus ca l l o sum at idle momen t s , you will see that I am not b e i n g flip to sugges t del iberate ly s t a g i n g such momen t s . I f y o u r creat ive well has d r i e d u p , go for a wa lk , take a shower, d r ive a r o u n d the b lock—al low y o u r s e l f some reflect ive t ime. A n d b r i n g a p a d and a p e n with y o u .

A c k n o w l e d g e that this m u s i n g is actual ly par t of the wr i t ing p rocess , a k ind of p r e w r i t i n g that is in tegra l and necessary to the finished p r o d u c t . A l l o w t ime for this p r e l i m i n a r y pla teau w h e n you schedu le y o u r wr i t ing .

T H E E V A SHER MEMORIAL R U M I N A T I N G CHAIR

In fact, I bel ieve so s t rongly in the impor t ance of p rewr i t ing , or r u m i n a t i o n , that I wan t you to set up two separa te chai rs in y o u r w o r k s p a c e . D e s i g n a t e one the Wr i t ing Cha i r , and the o ther the R u m i na t i ng Cha i r . I f you do not have the l u x u r y o f two chai rs , s imply d e s i g n a t e two di f ferent d i rec t ions for the same chai r ; pul l out the side sl ide in you r desk for r u m i n a t i n g , and face front for wri t ing.

I t is not a mat te r of "d r i f t i ng off" and then "ge t t ing back to busin e s s " — b o t h opera t ions e n g a g e your mind in different ways . Se t t ing up a R u m i n a t i n g C h a i r is an a c k n o w l e d g m e n t of that fact.


M a r i l e e Z d e n e k notes , in her b o o k The Right-Brain Experience, tha t little g i r l s w h o s ta red ou t the window got in t rouble , whi le the ones w h o "app l i ed themse lves" go t g o o d g rades . So we treat o u r brains like little g i r l s a t schoo l . We send menta l d i sc ip l ina ry notes h o m e w h e n we ca tch ourse lves u s ing the r igh t side of the brain . Ra the r than invi t ing r u m i n a t i o n , we chas t ise ourse lves for it.

T h e R u m i n a t i n g Cha i r , on the o ther h a n d , al lows you to honor bo th ref lect ion and work. W h e n you find y o u r s e l f mus ing , tu rn to the desk sl ide or ge t up and move to the R u m i n a t i n g Cha i r . W h e n you are ready to wr i te , move back to you r Wr i t ing Cha i r , o r tu rn toward y o u r w r i t i n g pos i t ion .

T h e "Eva She r Memor ia l R u m i n a t i n g C h a i r " was n a m e d af ter a lovely p e r s o n w h o found that a l lowing he r se l f t ime to r u m i n a t e was a key to her new product ivi ty . Eva, let me exp la in , is the mo the r o f th ree smal l c h i l d r e n . She has plenty o f talent and p rec ious little t ime. H e r husband , R o n , g o o d - n a t u r e d l y of fered to take the ch i ld ren on Sa tu rdays so she cou ld wr i te in p e a c e and quie t . Somet imes w h e n he c a m e back after a h a r r i e d day of th ree little ones t u g g i n g a t h i m , h e — u n d e r s t a n d a b l y — w a n t e d t o k n o w w h a t she h a d p r o d u c e d . Eva fe l t t e r r i b l e i f she h a d n o t h i n g t o show. S h e fel t p r e s s u r e d to p r o d u c e pages and pages of mater ia l to jus t i fy a day of wr i t i ng work .

W h e n I i n t r o d u c e d Eva to the idea of the R u m i n a t i n g Cha i r , her eyes lit u p . She immed ia t e ly r e c o g n i z e d its va lue and its i m p o r t a n c e to her wr i t ing , an i m p o r t a n c e that she had been deny ing . She set up a R u m i n a t i n g C h a i r in the family den a t once . Now when Ron ret u r n e d , she cou ld say proudly, " A h ! I have b e e n r u m i n a t i n g ! " ( T h i s s o u n d s espec ia l ly effect ive w h e n you roll the r with a bit of Scot t ish f lourish.)

A n d as soon as Eva let go and r e c o g n i z e d that rumina t ion too was work and pa r t of the p rocess , the next t ime she sat d o w n to wri te , she was able to go to her Wr i t ing C h a i r and p r o d u c e vo lumes of qual i ty stuff. She h a d s imply a l lowed he r se l f to incorpora te rumina t ion into her w r i t i n g work flow.

T h e t ruth is that m u s i n g is j u s t as m u c h work as the wr i t i ng itself, a n d i t dese rves to be accep t ed as par t of the p rocess .

T H E A R T O F S T A R I N G O U T T H E WINDOW

" S o m e t h i n g beaut i fu l is forever a joy."

T h e story is told that John Keats f i rs t b e g a n his long p o e m Endymion with this l e s s - than -g r ipp ing line. He then s ta red ou t the w indow awhi le r e a r r a n g i n g the words to f inal ly click wi th "A th ing of beauty is a j o y forever." Prof. C o s m o s Fishawk is in the c o m p a n y of Keats w h e n he c o m e s back wi th his snappy re jo inder to his lef t -brained nephew, Skyler .


Del ibe ra t ion r u m i n a t i o n — s t a r i n g out the window, o therwise invi t ing a n d e n c o u r a g i n g that impor t an t p r e w r i t i n g pe r iod , and r e c o g n i z i n g i t as pa r t of the process—cuts d o w n on dead ly p r e m a t u r e ed i t ing , the too -ea r ly in te r fe rence o f lef t -brain logic with r ight -bra in wr i t ing .

W h e n I am w o r k i n g wi th y o u n g authors , we of ten spend forty-five minu te s o f the a l lo t ted h o u r ta lk ing abou t the stories, d r a w i n g pictu res , l i s ten ing to m u s i c — a n d only f i f t een minu tes wr i t ing . A n d w h a t wr i t i ng ! ! O n e f irs t-grade class I work wi th once a w e e k "pub l i shed" t h r ee f i f ty-page b o o k s in one year.

So w h e n e v e r y o u ' r e lost for ideas , don ' t be afra id to stare out the w i n d o w or move to you r R u m i n a t i o n C h a i r for inspira t ion.

A n d don ' t cal l i t p rocras t ina t ion . Ca l l i t incubat ion—it ' s pa r t o f the p roces s .

PAY A T T E N T I O N T O Y O U R DREAMS

T h e au thors of Superlearning tell the story of Elias Howe, the inventor o f the s e w i n g m a c h i n e . He h a d worked out all the intr icacies o f his c lever mach ine , bu t one pa r t s t u m p e d h i m : he c o u l d n ' t f igu re ou t how to c o n n e c t n e e d l e and fabric. He went to f i t fu l s leep , toss ing and t u r n i n g in his anxiety. He d r e a m t that he had b e e n c a p t u r e d by spear-w a v i n g cann iba l s , w h o were shout ing and d a n c i n g a r o u n d h im, ready to boi l h i m in a b ig b lack c a u l d r o n . Just w h e n he t hough t he would pass ou t f rom the sheer ho r ro r of i t al l , he looked up and no t iced that the spea r s had holes in their t ips. He awoke with a start and rea l i zed that all he n e e d e d to do was put the need le hole a t the t ip of the n e e d l e to get the s e w i n g m a c h i n e to work.

D o r o t h y B r a n d e , in her classic Becoming a Writer, details a suref i re way to wr i te whi le the left b ra in is quie t . I t sounds pa infu l , and I pe r sona l ly avo ided it for years . Finally, I s u c c u m b e d , and the resul ts w e r e d rama t i c . In fact, u s ing the t echn ique desc r ibed be low is exac t ly how I wro t e a l a rge por t ion of this book .

M O W N ?

IS6TAU3T

A mmiM

5


E X E R C I S E 5: R E V E I L L E ! R E V E I L L E !

M s . B r a n d e sugges t s that , wha teve r y o u r n o r m a l r i s ing t ime, you ge t up a h a l f or even a full h o u r earlier. ( I can h e a r the g r o a n s a l ready; p lease r ead on.) As soon as y o u get u p , start to wr i te . Wri te wi thou t r e a d i n g , wi thou t h a v i n g a c u p of coffee , wi thout s topp ing to r e r e a d w h a t y o u have wr i t t en—simply wri te . Wri te wha teve r comes into you r h e a d ; wr i t e that this is a fool ish as s ignment at best and an excruc ia t ing one a t wors t . Wri te that you see no p u r p o s e in this, or wri te the p a p e r o r m e m o o r let ter you had been pu t t ing o f f wri t ing.

W h e n I first s ta r ted fo l lowing Brande ' s advice , my words were qui te hos t i le . I wro t e th ings like "I simply can ' t be l ieve that my bra in is e n g a g e d a t this h o u r of the m o r n i n g wi thou t coffee ." I res is ted and res is ted and finally gave in to the sheer ev idence that I was wr i t i ng m o r e in less t ime than ever before in my life.

T h e r e t u r n on y o u r d a w n inves tment i s geomet r i c ra ther than ar i thmet ic . T h e work that you do d u r i n g you r rever ie wr i t i ng mul t ip l ies i t se l f t h r o u g h o u t the day. I t works like a se l f -c lean ing oven; once you have set it, y o u do not even have to be in the same r o o m wi th i t—it g r i n d s away, d o i n g all the d i r ty work for you . W h e n you start you r day by wr i t i ng , the r h y t h m and the as s ignment stay wi th you all day, even i f y o u don ' t ge t back to the pro jec t . By the next morn ing , you r ou tpu t is d rama t i ca l ly i nc reased . You will find that, w h e n you rise a g a i n to wr i te , y o u have a t you r f inger t ips more than doub le , o f ten t r iple , the a m o u n t o f o u t p u t o f the day before . Your wr i t i ng will have an e n e r g y a n d flow that not only p icks up on the work of the day before bu t a lso s o m e h o w incorpora te s all the menta l , possibly unconsc ious mus ing of the twenty- four hours in be tween . B e f o r e you know it, the p iece you have b e e n pu t t ing o f f i s f in ished.

T h e r e i s a r eason why y o u don ' t r e r ead wha t you have wr i t ten , r ead any o the r mater ia l , talk to anybody, m a k e a pot of coffee, or do

PA«ENM£....lTST/ME


w h a t e v e r e lse you usual ly do in the m o r n i n g to ge t y o u r se l f go ing , get y o u r b ra in in gear . T h a t ' s the po in t exactly. You do not want y o u r bra in to be in gear . You want the left side of y o u r bra in to " re fuse to p r o c e s s " the w r i t i n g that y o u do a t this hour. T h a t way, you are free to c a p t u r e w h a t B r a n d e calls y o u r o w n " in terna l hum." You a re free to e x p e r i e n c e w h a t i t is l ike to wr i t e on the r i gh t side of the bra in .

^ Progress Log: M a k e an en t ry in you r P rogres s L o g r e g a r d i n g y o u r e x p e r i e n c e wi th ear ly m o r n i n g wri t ing .

HOW TO MAKE A W R I T I N G WORKSHOP HUM

W h e n I am g i v i n g a two-day wr i t ing workshop , the first n igh t I c h a l l e n g e my s tudents to get up the nex t m o r n i n g before class and wr i t e in this way. I quo te (or b lame) Doro thea B r a n d e , tell them abou t the in te rna l h u m , and p romise that the r o o m will be h u m m i n g the n e x t m o r n i n g i f they all a g r e e to do it.

A n d it is absolute ly t rue ; a specia l spir i t is c rea ted in the r o o m the fo l lowing m o r n i n g , and there is a b ig smile (a k ind of secre t smile) on e a c h person 's face as he or she walks into the r o o m . H u m m m m m m m . H u m m m m m m m . T h e h u m i s a lmost audib le . T h e s e p e o p l e have g iven themse lves a gift , and they feel h a p p y about that, but i t is much m o r e of a g i f t t han they at f i rs t rea l ize . I t is not simply that they were able to wr i t e ; most of t hem repor t , wi th no little surpr i se , that the exerc i se was fun . W h a t most p l ea sed and su rp r i sed them is wha t c a m e out . T h i s i s exac t ly w h a t D o n a l d Murray, innovat ive and cand id teacher o f w r i t i n g a t N e w H a m p s h i r e University, i s t a lk ing about w h e n he speaks o f the "momen t s o f s u r p r i s e " that a re in tegral to any wr i t ing wor th r ead ing .

Mos t impor tan t , w h a t the workshop par t ic ipants have g iven themselves i s an e x p e r i e n c e of wr i t i ng wi thout th inking . ("Forget," says B r a n d e , " that you have any cr i t ical facul ty at all.") I t is not the a m o u n t o f w r i t i n g they do or even its q u a l i t y — w h a t they wr i te in the m o r n i n g m a y i n d e e d be g ibber i sh . B u t the e x p e r i e n c e o f sepa ra t ing the ed i t i ng voice f r o m the idea c r ea to r gives them a p o w e r over words that they c a n call up a t wil l . T h e po in t of i nc lud ing this exerc ise in a workshop is not on ly to gene ra te the h u m , establ ish c o m m u n i t y and ca r ing , and ge t some words d o w n o n paper , B U T T O G I V E A N E X P E R I E N C E OF T H E S E P A R A T I O N , a menta l shift that can be c rea ted later, m a k i n g the workshop a microcosm of what can happen at the workplace.

T h e resul ts a re d rama t i c . T h e eng ine i s h u m m i n g and r e v v e d u p w h e n I wa lk in for day two. T h e whole class is o p e n to the exerc ises that we do that day and e a g e r to d iscover even more .

A n d the same th ing can h a p p e n for you , in the pr ivate workshop o f y o u r o w n m i n d .


L E T T I N G T H E L E F T I N , T O O

If y o u w o u l d like to have the left side of you r bra in play a pa r t in this mul t ip l ic i ty ( r e m e m b e r i n g that o u r goa l i s to be who le -b ra ined ) , then cons ide r this add i t ion . First , you consciously work ou t the best a p p r o a c h to the ea r ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing y o u p lan to do , then you let y o u r s l e e p i n g subconsc ious go to work on it.

B e f o r e re t i r ing , check over the mater ia l a t hand , look a t y o u r outl ine, p o s e a ques t ion or wr i t e a head l ine , and then go to b e d . Ac tua l l y wr i t e that ques t ion o r head l ine d o w n in the j o u r n a l o r p a d you k e e p by y o u r beds ide . R e p e a t the ques t ion , or the key topic, to y o u r s e l f severa l t imes as y o u dr i f t o f f to s leep . W h e n you ge t up in the m o r n ing , all you n e e d to do i s to b e g i n en te r ing da ta a r o u n d that ve ry topic , w i thou t r e r e a d i n g w h a t you have a l ready wr i t ten o r t r y in g to f i gu re ou t w h a t comes next .

I t i s l ike l ay ing out y o u r clothes the n igh t before . Wi thou t even t h i n k i n g , wi thou t m a k i n g any consc ious choices , you j u m p into y o u r c lo thes , a n d you ' r e on y o u r way.

I N S U M

I o n c e h e a r d the c o m p o s e r A l a n Hovhaness in te rv iewed , the c o m

m e n t a r y in t e r spe r sed wi th s t rands o f his h a u n t i n g music . O n e th ing

that he said s t ruck me par t icular ly . He ment ioned that he a lways

ca r r i e s a little p a d wi th h i m , and he wri tes d o w n snatches of music

w h e r e v e r he g o e s — o n the bus , on the street , whi le wai t ing for his

wife , in the dentist 's o f f i ce—somet imes j u s t a few notes , somet imes

en t i re compos i t ions . I t s eems ve ry na tu ra l that a mus ic ian should have

mus ic p l ay ing in his head . S o , too , the wr i t e r has words playing. A n d

the w o r d s are not j u s t words , j u s t as Hovhaness ' s notes are not isolated

notes . Y o u r words have a pa t te rn and a rhy thm, a style and a flow, that

i s u n i q u e l y y o u r s . C a p t u r i n g that dis t inct ive voice makes you r words

c o m e al ive a n d d i s t ingu ishes y o u r p iece f rom any other ; that i s wha t

m a k e s the r e a d e r h e a r a pe r son b e h i n d the words , not a mach ine . I t

i s that a spec t of y o u r wr i t i ng that u l t imate ly pe r suades , w h i c h is wha t

all w r i t i n g is about , to one d e g r e e or another.

Ear ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing , wr i t i ng on the run , wr i t i ng whi le c o o k i n g o r

d r i v i n g or shower ing , the bits that you wr i te when , as B r a n d e says,

y o u r " subconsc ious i s in its a s c e n d a n c y " — a l l of these, w h e n a d d e d

la ter to the e d i t e d par ts , g ive y o u r work an authent ic r ing and m a k e

the p iece c o m e al ive.

L e a r n to l isten to the cont r ibu t ions o f y o u r r igh t hemisphere , y o u r

A r i e l vo ice . L e a r n to talk back to the left, the C a l i b a n side, w h e n i t

offers adv ice p remature ly . G e t out all the g o o d par ts on paper , and


then invi te the ed i tor ia l voice back , a t you r d i sc re t ion , to he lp wi th s t ruc tu re a n d g r a m m a r and pol ish . Separate the two functions when you are writing. R e m e m b e r this p r inc ip le , and you will wr i te well at will .

C H A P T E R 5

Branching: The W h o l e -Brained Way to Organ ize

Your Material

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane In some untrodden region of my mind,

Where branched thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,

Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind.

— J O H N KEATS, "ODE TO PSYCHE"

N o w that you have go t all these words on paper , you n e e d some s t ruc tu re . Many, i f not most , wr i t i ng ins t ructors insist that you p r e p a r e an ou t l ine be fo re you wr i te . S ince the majori ty of t hem m e a n a l inear ou t l ine , you a re d o o m e d before you start. T h e ve ry p rob lems that p l a g u e y o u in ge t t i ng words on p a p e r will i m p e d e the f luency o f you r ideas as y o u out l ine .

C h a n c e s a re , w h e n y o u r t h i rd -g rade teacher t a u g h t ou t l in ing , she

t a u g h t you the le f t -bra ined , l inear way to o r g a n i z e y o u r mater ia l .

A l inear ou t l ine is, by its na tu re , sequent ia l : B fol lows A; II follows I . T h e mos t impor t an t ru le to r e m e m b e r is that you canno t indicate a d iv i s ion of ideas unless y o u have a t least two of a k ind , so you are not a l lowed to have an (a.) wi thou t a (b.) or an (i.) wi thout a (ii.). B o w i n g to that ru le , the l inear out l ine looks some th ing l ike this:

I . Firs t m a i n idea I I . S e c o n d m a i n idea

A . Div is ion o f that A . Divis ion o f that

a. Subse t a. Subse t

b . Subse t b . Subse t

c. Subse t c. Subse t

B .D iv i s ion o f that B . Divis ion o f that a. Subse t

b . Subse t c. Subse t


L o o k s neat , eh? Bu t , as Tony B u z a n points out in Use Both Sides of Your Brain, w h a t is pic tor ia l ly neat may be o rgan iza t iona l ly "messy." Just b e c a u s e i t looks smar t does not m e a n that i t is smar t .

In fact , one of the only v i r tues of l inear ou t l in ing is that i t looks neat , and that ve ry v i r tue is its downfa l l . By work ing h a r d to make su re the out l ine is neat , we effectively cu t o f f any addi t ions or insert ions, any new idea . A f t e r al l , we do not want to mess up o u r neat out l ine . W h e n we move sequent ia l ly in the wor ld o f ideas , we p r o c e e d to the nex t c o n c e p t u n d e r the assumpt ion that we are f inished wi th the idea before it. T h e fallacy of this me thod is be l i ev ing that the concep t s we leave b e h i n d have b e e n t ho rough ly t hough t ou t and n e e d no ex tens ion .

O U T L I N E S A R E O U T ! B R A N C H O U T I N S T E A D

B r a n c h i n g , on the o the r hand , w h i c h starts f rom the cen te r and rad ia tes o u t w a r d , in an expans ive a p p r o a c h to o r g a n i z i n g mater ia l . By its ve ry na tu re , i t a l lows you to re t race y o u r steps for easy addi t ions a n d a f t e r though t s . A n d of ten the a f t e r thoughts a re the most va luable aspec t s .

B r a n c h i n g is the classic re jo inder to the school of wr i t i ng that ins tructs y o u to " b e g i n a t the b e g i n n i n g , go on unti l you c o m e to the e n d and then s top ." B r a n c h i n g beg ins in the middle , goes back to the s tar t and on to the end , a n d then moves back to the midd l e a g a i n . T h e p rocess physical ly b e g i n s i n the midd l e o f the page , then j u t s ou t ideas in o u t r a g e o u s r a n d o m fashion into a pa t te rn that is not a p p a r e n t unt i l the exerc i se i s done . T h e o rgan iza t ion of ideas comes f rom in te rna l log ic ; i t g r o w s ou t of the ideas themselves . Ra ther than be ing imposed from the outside (like pushing round ideas into square boxes) , i t a l lows the idea to dic ta te the form, ins tead of forc ing the form to d ic ta te the idea .

W i t h o u t ques t ion , b r a n c h i n g — t h e pr inc ip le o f r ad ia t ing out ideas f r o m a cen t ra l m a t r i x ra ther than m a r c h i n g them a long in l inear f a s h i o n — i n c r e a s e s fluency. Tony B u z a n inc ludes in his b o o k de ta i led e x a m p l e s o f w h a t he calls "bra in p a t t e r n i n g " o r "mind mapp ing . " He avers that O x f o r d Univers i ty s tudents , w h e n given the c h a n c e to outl ine their test r e sponses in this way, rece ived h ighe r g rades w o r k i n g t h r ee t imes faster. He tells p o i g n a n t stories o f c h i l d r e n w h o had b e e n d i smis sed as slow lea rne rs bu t were j u d g e d to be in the gen ius class w h e n g iven the o p p o r t u n i t y to exp re s s their ideas in a pa t te rn radiati ng o u t w a r d . B u z a n conc ludes that i t i s of ten not the s tudents but the way we have forced them to express themselves that is the p rob l em.

A l inear out l ine is one-s ided and lef t -bra ined. B r a n c h i n g is mult i -f ace ted a n d who le -b ra ined . B r a n c h i n g gives a p ic tu re and e n c o u r a g e s

BRANCHING / 49

spon tane i ty ( r ight ) ; a t the same t ime, i t p rovides s t ruc ture and indicates log ic (left).

E X E R C I S E 6 : Y O U R T U R N A T B R A N C H I N G

S o m e sugges t ions on p r o c e e d i n g (not to be mis taken as ru les and r egu la t i ons ) :

B e g i n wi th a c ircle or an oval in the midd le of y o u r page . I t is h e l p f u l i f all the ideas radia te o f f this one cent ra l point , to show their r e l a t ionsh ip to the m a i n idea .

S t o p for j u s t a m o m e n t and cons ide r the ma in point you want to ge t ac ross to y o u r r eade r s in the wr i t i ng task a t h a n d — t h e p u r p o s e of the letter, the r eason for the m e m o , the key concep t of the p roposa l . Wri te that idea , or a s ingle word e p i t o m i z i n g that cent ra l theme, in the cen te r ova l , or d r aw a p i c tu re r ep re sen t ing it, i f you prefer. T h a t is the last " c o n s c i o u s " t h i n k i n g that you d o .

B r a n c h ou t for a minimum of ten minutes, i n c l u d i n g even absu rd and silly ideas .

T u r n the p a p e r as you g o , inse r t ing ideas as they o c c u r to you . Do not w o r r y abou t s t ruc tu re or fo rm. Do not impose a pa t te rn ; let the pa t t e rn e m e r g e f rom the mater ia l itself.

As an e x a m p l e , he re i s wha t a b r a n c h e d out l ine of this chap t e r w o u l d look l ike :

50 / WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN

Now, take a f resh sheet of paper , d raw an oval or a p ic tu re in the m i d d l e of the p a g e , set a t imer for ten minutes , and b e g i n .

Later , y o u c a n go back a n d g r o u p key ideas wi th colors o r do t ted-

l ine fences ; you c a n use a r rows and put little p ic tures on the b ranches ,

i f y o u l ike . 1

L i k e b r a i n s t o r m i n g , b r a n c h i n g invites you to genera te ideas bu t s u s p e n d j u d g m e n t . As soon as you s top to eva lua te an idea o r to f igure ou t its p lace (when y o u "not ice y o u r p e n or penci l d i t he r ing over the p a g e , " as B u z a n puts it), then you have lost its ca rd ina l a t t r ibute . G e t all the ideas out : w o r r y abou t sense and p lace after. You will be p leasant ly as ton ished to see how many of these logist ical conce rns take ca re o f themse lves .

T h e same wall that inhibi ts r ap idwr i t i ng opera tes i n b ranch ing . T h i s is why y o u n e e d to b r a n c h for a m i n i m u m of ten minu tes . Just w h e n y o u th ink y o u have r u n ou t o f ideas , j u t ou t one more l ine, even t h o u g h y o u have no consc ious idea o f wha t goes on the end o f it. O f t e n by the t ime y o u f in ish d r a w i n g the l ine, the u n k n o w n idea i s r eady and w a i t i n g — o n e you m i g h t o therwise have lost out on.

I f an idea does not appear , use w h a t I call the Penul t imate Ploy. L e a v e the line g o i n g n o w h e r e b lank , j u t out ano ther l ine, and pu t y o u r next idea on the fo l lowing line. T h e one b l o c k i n g you is your next - to-the-last idea anyway (the wal l ! the wal l ! ) , and the real g e m is j u s t b e y o n d it. P r o v i d i n g a l ine for the penu l t ima te idea, and leav ing it b l ank , f rees you to scale the wall and move on to the be t te r idea b e y o n d .

T h a t i s why m a n y o f my o w n b r a n c h i n g d i a g r a m s inc lude an empty, d a n g l i n g l i n e . I t w a s a p l o y t o g e t o n t o t h e b e s t a n d l a s t idea .

^ Progress Log: M a k e an entry. W h a t was the b r a n c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e like for you?

A D V A N T A G E S T O SPIRAL T H I N K I N G

T h e advan tages o f b r a n c h i n g will b e c o m e increas ingly ev iden t the m o r e you use this t e chn ique and let its f luent na tu re genera te ideas for y o u . For one th ing , i t opera tes by profus ion , inv i t ing new ideas in that a b u n d a n c e . A p leasan t sense of d i scovery and de l igh t of ten acc o m p a n i e s this m e t h o d .

For another , b r a n c h i n g reveals any f laws in y o u r logic . Somet imes I even use i t in r everse as an ed i t i ng dev ice , when a p a r a g r a p h or a w h o l e p iece i s not work ing . W h e n you put a l ready fo rmula ted ideas back into this whee l - and - spoke des ign , the lapses in logic j u m p r igh t ou t a t you , a l l o w i n g you to easi ly recons t ruc t the a r g u m e n t f rom the e v i d e n c e in front o f you .

BRANCHING / 51

A n o t h e r a d v a n t a g e o f b r a n c h i n g i s its c o m p a c t n e s s . My w r i t i n g workshop , for e x a m p l e , is ten hours long; I can give an overv iew of the ent i re two-day session in one p a g e of b ranch ing . A n y la rge-sca le wr i t i ng pro jec t (a book , for e x a m p l e , or a long proposa l ) benefits f rom this holistic van tage point . W h a t m i g h t take six to seven p a g e s of l inear out l ine and lose the re la t ionship of the ma in points to one another can be done in one p a g e and be kep t r igh t bes ide you as you work. I know authors w h o have wr i t t en ent i re books w o r k i n g f rom a s ingle sheet o f paper .

B r a n c h i n g aids recal l and re tent ion, whe the r you use i t to genera te you r o w n ideas or to follow the path of another 's t hough t s . I t keeps you aler t and attentive, and i t c rea tes a k ind of posi t ive e n e r g y that gives life to wha tever work you are doing .

In teres t ingly e n o u g h , b r a n c h i n g incorpora tes all four o f the cr i ter ia u sed to eva lua te g i f t ed c h i l d r e n in crea t ive t h ink ing skills: fluency, flexibility, or iginal i ty, and e labora t ion .

PEOPLE I KNOW WHO C A L L THEMSELVES BRANCHERS

Men and w o m e n and ch i ld ren , too , w h o take my classes cont inual ly

a m a z e me with the new appl ica t ions they invent for b ranch ing . S o m e

of their uses m i g h t c rea te connec t ions for you . Feel f ree to e x p a n d on

their ideas or c rea te a few of your o w n .

Clarice, at the Seat t le B u i l d i n g and L a n d D e p a r t m e n t , uses i t to

rev iew mater ia l . A f t e r she reads a chap te r of a b o o k or each sect ion

of a repor t , for e x a m p l e , she b ranches ou t all the in format ion she

r e m e m b e r s . I t he lps to locate at once the areas that are spotty for her,

the p a g e s she needs to go back over. By b r a n c h i n g immedia te ly af ter

r e ad ing , she locks key concep t s in her m i n d .

K.C., a h igh school s tudent , u sed b r a n c h i n g to he lp fi l l ou t he r

co l l ege appl icat ion forms . A l l that l inear f i l l - in - the-b lanks s tuf f was

qui te o v e r w h e l m i n g her, cu t t ing o f f the flow of wha t to inc lude . Inspi

rat ion was at a low point , which only inc reased her anxiety. Wi th

b r anch ing , she r e m e m b e r e d to inc lude some aspects o f he r a ccom

pl ishments and goals that she wou ld not have cons ide r ed o the rwise .

T h e n she went back and t r ansposed the in format ion about he r se l f into

the l inear form that was e x p e c t e d of her. (P.S. She was accep ted at the

co l l ege o f her choice. )

Lois is a pol i t ic ian. She is of ten ca l led u p o n to give speeches . Ten

minu tes before her a p p e a r a n c e , she b ranches out on an index ca rd all

the points she needs to cover. T h e n , w o r k i n g di rect ly f rom the ca rd ,

she can get up in front of the g r o u p and g ive her speech wi thout the

dis t ract ion o f f l ipping t h r o u g h pages .

Bob is the Western reg iona l m a n a g e r of a l a rge s h i p p i n g company.

He used a k ind of inc rementa l b r a n c h i n g to plot ou t and ge t the most

benefi t f rom his a n n u a l visit to the co rpo ra t e office in New York by


h e l p i n g h i m t rack w h o m to see and w h a t to say there . Two weeks be fo re l eav ing , he b o u g h t a smal l pocke t no tebook and es tabl i shed a s epa ra t e b r a n c h i n g d i a g r a m for each execu t ive officer he n e e d e d to c o n f e r w i th . As ques t ions c a m e to h i m s u r r o u n d i n g the visit, he a d d e d b r a n c h e s on the p a g e s a p p r o p r i a t e to the pe r son in c h a r g e . He kep t l i nea r notes on the b l a n k p a g e s facing. T i m e was a t a p r e m i u m ; he h a d m u c h to cover and m a n y p e o p l e t o see . T h e e c o n o m y o f the b r a n c h e d p a g e was exac t ly w h a t he n e e d e d to k e e p h i m on target . Later , in d i scuss ion wi th one manage r , he m i g h t be g iven ano the r person ' s n a m e to f ind ou t ce r ta in vital in fo rmat ion ; he quickly a d d e d a n o t h e r l ine on the es tab l i shed p a g e . A f t e r each mee t ing , he spent severa l minu te s r e c a p p i n g w h a t he h a d l ea rned by wr i t i ng a g a i n on the same p a g e wi th his o r ig ina l b ranch ing . W h e n he c a m e back, he h a d all the in fo rmat ion he n e e d e d . He told me wi th a b ig g r i n that i t was the mos t p roduc t ive t r ip back East he had ever had .

Emily l ikes to tell s tor ies in front of he r class (she is in the th i rd g r a d e ) . She r ehea r ses for he r p e r f o r m a n c e s by b r a n c h i n g all the key w o r d s a n d the descr ip t ive phrases in her reci tal . Wi th a p ic tu re of he r o w n b r a n c h i n g in her head , she does not miss a bea t .

Bill is an e n g i n e e r and a c o m p u t e r wh iz w h o s tar ted a class to t each t e e n a g e r s the basis o f c o m p u t e r ope ra t ion . He n e e d e d to know how to dist i l l his vast t echn ica l k n o w l e d g e into some th ing they cou ld g r a s p a n d u s e — w h i c h points to stress, w h a t to cover, and wha t to leave out . In ten minu te s o f b r a n c h i n g , he o r g a n i z e d an ent i re twelve-week class.

Severa l months later, Bi l l wro t e to tell me that he had wr i t t en a h igh ly t echn ica l book , e leven chap te r s long, for i n - company d is t r ibut ion, a n d that he h a d u s e d b r a n c h i n g exclusively to bui ld i t u p . " I f ound that as I b r a n c h e d out , the mater ia l was more logical ly a r r a n g e d in my m i n d , a n d I t y p e d a pret ty g o o d first d ra f t r igh t f rom the d i a g r a m . I b r a n c h e d ou t for e a c h chap te r as well as for the who le work , w h i c h co l l ec ted m y though t s and sepa ra t ed major ideas . T h e b e a u t y of i t was that I had wha t would have b e e n many p a g e s of l inear ou t l ine on one p a g e in front o f me and cou ld get an overal l view." Bi l l was pa r t i cu la r ly grat i f ied to l ea rn that the f ina l r epor t was app rec i a t ed a n d u n d e r s t o o d by p e o p l e w h o usual ly do not read such technica l wr i t i ng , a n d he c red i t s the pa t t e rn p rov ided by his o r ig ina l b r a n c h i n g for that lucidity.

Vincent u s e d b r a n c h i n g in the wa i t ing r o o m of his t h e r a p i s t / T h e cen t ra l t heme in the m i d d l e of the blob was w h a t he wan ted to cover in that sess ion. T h e n he j u t t e d ou t all the th ings that were b u g g i n g h i m , the s t r u g g l e s he wan ted to talk about . As his p e n ran in circles a r o u n d a n d across the p a g e , he s tar ted ge t t ing ins ights into his p robl ems , a n d he saw connec t ions readi ly that had not b e e n a p p a r e n t to h i m be fo re this. He a m a z e d h i m s e l f a t the s tuff that he i nc luded , a t w h a t c a m e out . T h e n , w h e n i t was t ime for his appo in tment , he went

BRANCHING / 53

in a n d h a n d e d the sheet to his therapis t . T h e resul t was an ex t r eme ly sa t i s fy ing a n d p roduc t ive session, and he c la ims that by consis tent ly u s i n g this as a tool thereaf ter , he cons iderably shor tened his t rea tment .

Jim is a c o m m a n d e r in the U . S . Navy. W i t h seven o ther mi l i ta ry l eade r s , he p l a n n e d an ent i re two-week ope ra t ion on a b l ackboa rd u s i n g b r anch ing . T h e way he d e s c r i b e d it, they fo rmed a "col lec t ive bra in , " pu t t i ng toge the r eve ry aspec t o f this major unde r t ak ing . As they f inished a pa r t i cu la r phase , a y e o m a n in the front of the r o o m w o u l d copy d o w n the b r a n c h e d d i a g r a m f rom the b o a r d and r u n i t o f f on the copy m a c h i n e to d is t r ibute . T h e n they w o u l d erase the b o a r d a n d go on to the nex t phase . A l l was s m o o t h sai l ing, wi th a " fa i r w i n d and a fo l lowing sea," a n d J im was as ton ished by the posi t ive e n e r g y a n d c r a c k l i n g o f ideas i n the r o o m . W h a t m i g h t have taken severa l l eng thy a n d tense mee t ings was accompl i shed in one e n e r g i z e d one .

L I S T E N I N G TO L E C T U R E S IN A NEW WAY, W I T H A T T E N D A N C E

You can use b r a n c h i n g to take notes a t a l ec tu re . T h e t echn ique will a id reca l l immense ly , a n d i t will k e e p you aler t and attentive to the speaker . As an instant side benefi t , i t will m a k e immedia t e ly obv ious any f laws in the lec turer ' s p resen ta t ion . I f there a r e points left u n d e v e l o p e d or i r re levan t theses d r a g g e d in, you will have the ev idence r i gh t in front o f you .

A t t e n d i n g a w e e k - l o n g c on f e r e nc e on l ea rn ing , I u sed b r a n c h i n g exclus ive ly to r e c o r d salient points of the presen te rs ' speeches . I was able to re ta in the bes t ideas of e a c h presenta t ion on a s ingle p a g e , even for the l ec tu res that we r e th ree hou r s long. W h e n 1 went back to my r o o m e a c h n igh t , I b r a n c h e d ou t all the most useful and re levan t c o n c e p t s that I p i cked up that day and the uses I m i g h t m a k e of t hem. I was as ton ished at the ins ights this me thod of rev iew gave me and , later, a t how m a n y of those ideas cont inue to serve me wel l .

I was fo r tuna te e n o u g h , ear ly on in that week , to sit d o w n nex t to the mas t e r m i n d m a p p e r , Tony B u z a n himself . He o p e n e d on his l ap an env iab le set o f twenty- four Pentel colors and rapid ly z i g g e d and z a g g e d wi th an e n e r g y a n d de l i gh t that was con tag ious . T h a t d id it! No more black and white b ranching for me. I purchased , well, e ighteen co lors a n d s t e p p e d into a new wor ld . I t was like Doro thy pass ing t h r o u g h t o the L a n d o f O z f rom her m o n o c h r o m a t i c K a n s a s ; suddenly, all is r a i n b o w - h u e d . N o w I even p lan my day in mul t i co lor every m o r n i n g ; s o m e h o w the colors themselves he lp me to r e m e m b e r my p l an even w h e n I do not have the d i a g r a m in front of me (Cal l w h o m ? Let 's see , i t was in b lue . . . . O h , yes , Tom!) . I m a g i n e this day p lan in co lo r :


B R A N C H I N G W O R K S — S O M E REASONS WHY

W h a t fascinates me mos t about b r a n c h i n g is the way i t b r ings out ideas that I k n o w I o the rwise wou ld not have t h o u g h t to inc lude . S o m e t i m e s those ideas a r e " o b v i o u s " ones , and I am as tonished to see that I h a d forgot ten to cons ide r them before b r a n c h i n g ; more of ten , b r a n c h i n g invites the specia l idea, the u n i q u e a p p r o a c h , the unconven t ional , innovat ive , u n e x p e c t e d addi t ion . I t has a way of fe r re t ing ou t ideas that a re h i d i n g in c racks , afraid of the l ight of day. Perhaps its fo rm looks so p layful (especial ly w h e n you e x p e r i m e n t wi th colors) that ideas let d o w n thei r res is tance to c o m i n g fo rward . B r a n c h i n g also g ives y o u a sense of f r e e d o m . I t takes the p re s su re o f f b e c a u s e you a r e not l ocked in; w h e n you move on to a new b ranch , a new idea, you k n o w that you c a n a lways go back . It's like l eav ing h o m e but k n o w i n g y o u r pa ren t s d i d not tu rn y o u r b e d r o o m over to y o u r little s is ter— yet .

T h e mos t exc i t ing reason of all why b r a n c h i n g works is b e c a u s e i t i s

BRANCHING / 55

w h o l e - b r a i n e d ; i t e n g a g e s both hemispheres , s end ing p layful and ser ious messages across the c o r p u s ca l l o sum simultaneously, w h i c h is s t imula t ing a n d re f resh ing . You c o m e ou t of a b r a n c h i n g session feeli n g c h a r g e d u p and power fu l .

W h e n I g ive the b r a n c h i n g exerc i se to my classes, p e o p l e invar iably look up smi l ing af ter ten minu tes . T h e y feel euphor ic , and they g r i n b r oa d l y i f they have u sed the Penul t imate Ploy to c ap tu r e yet ano the r idea . T h e y e x p e r i e n c e feel ings o f expans iveness , o f plenty, o f p rosper ity a n d wel l -be ing . T h i s is all t rue , and i t all comes f rom b r a n c h i n g and f rom the exc i t ing , s o m e w h a t heady e x p e r i e n c e o f u s ing both sides o f y o u r bra in .

C H A P T E R 6

Procrastination: Not Just Around but Behind It

When I'm supposed to be writing I clean my apartment, take my clothes to the laundry, get organized, make lists, do the dishes. I would never do a dish unless I had to write.

— F R A N LEBOWITZ

We've pu t i t o f f l ong e n o u g h . It's t ime to talk about p rocras t ina t ion . Procrastination is an ugly, pejorat ive word . It is a stick to bea t y o u r s e l f

wi th , a k ick w h e n you a r e d o w n . Inhe ren t in the word i tse l f is a mora l j u d g m e n t . T h e j u d g e and j u r y have a l ready met . T h e verdic t i s passed . You a re gu i l ty wi thou t a p p e a l .

T h e c r u e l i rony of p rocras t ina t ion is that i t becomes wha t i t sets ou t to c o n d e m n . As soon as we start bea t i ng on ourse lves for p rocras t in a t ing , we f ind ourse lves e v e n more l ack ing in dr ive , even less mot iva ted to do the wr i t i ng that needs to be done .

R e a l i z i n g that you a r e p roc ras t ina t ing (what! aga in?) leads to such k i c k - y o u r s e l f ques t ions as

W h y do I pu t th ings of f?

W h y can ' t I ge t s tar ted?

W h y am I avo id ing the inevi table?

W h y can ' t I be like ?

Wha t ' s the mat te r w i th me?

D e m o r a l i z i n g , l i fe - sapping words like should and ought and can't s tart

to r eve rbe ra t e in y o u r head . You f ind wha t little e n e r g y you h a d

d r a i n i n g away. A n d you p rompt ly th ink o f several m o r e dis t ract ions to

k e e p y o u f rom wr i t ing .

Procrast ination paralyzes and then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

E X E R C I S E 7: M A K I N G UP A LIST

M a k e a list of all the ways y o u avoid wri t ing. N u m b e r you r excuses , if you like. Enter the list, complete with the number ing , in your Progress

PROCRASTINATION / 57

D o e s y o u r list look a n y t h i n g like that? G o o d !

N o w that y o u have r e c o g n i z e d you r inhe ren t creat ivi ty in c o m i n g up

wi th tactics for avo id ing wr i t ing , i t is t ime to t u rn that s ame creat ive

e n e r g y to ge t t ing the wr i t i ng accompl i shed and , e v e n m o r e signifi

cantly, to f inding ou t w h a t i s h o l d i n g you up in the f i rs t p lace .

P rocras t ina t ion is a fo rm of res is tance . Resis tance is someth ing we

do w h e n we do not feel safe. F ind ou t wha t i t i s that makes you feel

unsa fe , and y o u will des t roy y o u r res is tance to wr i t ing . O n c e you

u n d e r s t a n d wha t i s b e h i n d y o u r res is tance, you a re free to m a k e

cho ices .

G E T T I N G T O T H E R O O T O F I T

Mos t adv ice abou t p rocras t ina t ion has a major d r awback : i t t reats the s y m p t o m s , not the cause . Mot ivat ional tr icks get you m o v i n g a g a i n ;

L o g . Do not be modes t o r ch in tzy wi th you r ent r ies . T h e longes t list wins a p r i ze .

W h e n we do this exerc i se in my classes, these are some of the i tems p e o p l e c o m e u p wi th :


en t ic ing r e w a r d s act as a ca r ro t on a s t r ing, bu t unless you figure ou t w h a t m a d e the wr i t i ng mu le ba lk in the f i r s t p lace , you will not go ve ry far. Maybe there is some d a n g e r in the road a h e a d , some rea l or i m a g i n e d reason w h y the beas t has m a d e the decis ion to s top dead in his t racks . Sure , y o u m i g h t ge t h im g o i n g aga in , bu t i f you have not f igured ou t w h a t he was afraid of, y o u do not know how to p reven t i t f rom h a p p e n i n g fa r ther d o w n the road . Soon the ca r ro t tr ick does not work a n y m o r e .

A n a n a l o g y m i g h t b e m a d e wi th die ts . T h e r e a re over two h u n d r e d d ie t b o o k s cu r ren t ly on the marke t , and i nnumerab l e spas and clinics a r e avai lable to he lp p e o p l e shed we igh t . Yet , a c c o r d i n g to an ar t icle in the Washington Post, ou t of every two h u n d r e d p e o p l e w h o go on a die t , on ly one loses the we igh t and keeps i t off. T h e reason , as many psychologis t s a re s ta r t ing dramat ica l ly to rea l ize , is that diets treat the s y m p t o m of fat and never address the more fundamen ta l p r o b l e m of why p e o p l e overea t in the f i r s t p lace .

A n y d e v i c e — a new penc i l , f resh paper , a c lean d e s k — t h a t p r imes the w r i t i n g p u m p will t empora r i ly treat the symptoms of writer 's b lock, j u s t as e a t i ng ce le ry sticks ins tead of hot f u d g e sundaes will take the p o u n d s o f f for a w e e k .

B u t I p r o m i s e d y o u that I wou ld c h a n g e the na tu re of you r re la t ionsh ip wi th wr i t i ng pe rmanen t l y ; in o rde r to do that, you n e e d to ge t b e h i n d the p rocras t ina t ion (not j u s t a r o u n d it) and f ind out wha t is c a u s i n g i t in the f i rs t p lace . T h a t is the only way you will ever be able to c h a n g e the na tu re o f y o u r re la t ionship wi th wr i t i ng permanent ly . T rea t the cause a n d not the symp toms .

T h e tr icks to ge t y o u wr i t i ng a g a i n a re a f inger in the d ike , so to speak . T h e y may save the d a y — f o r one day. B u t the seawall needs ma jo r o v e r h a u l a n d repair , and you have only ten f ingers . W h e n you r u n ou t o f d ig i t a l co rks , you wil l be i nunda t ed . (Don ' t you j u s t love sus ta ined metaphors?) So i t i s impor tan t that you spend some t ime ge t t i ng in touch wi th the cause of the procras t ina t ion , the reasons b e h i n d it. O n l y then will you be t ruly f ree . O n l y then you will see that p roc ras t ina t ion is a cho ice , your cho ice : you a re not the helpless v ic t im of forces merci lessly outs ide of you but the one m a k i n g i t all h a p p e n . In the i m m o r t a l words of Pogo , " W e have met the e n e m y and they i s us ." O n c e you unde r s t and that u n d e r l y i n g pr inc ip le , you will be mas ter of the wr i t i ng task a n d no longer a t its mercy.

R E S I S T A N C E H A S M E A N I N G

I am always l ee ry of absolu tes . Myself , I never use them. L ike Jane Aus t en ' s E d m u n d B e r t r a m of Mansfield Park, "I t rust that absolutes have g rada t ions . " Yet there is one absolute I will a lways s tand b e h i n d . R e s i s t a n c e always h a s m e a n i n g . W h e n y o u f i n d y o u r s e l f r e l u c t a n t

"PROCRASTINATION / 59

to act , y o u r b o d y and y o u r m i n d a re t ry ing to tell you someth ing . I wan t you to take y o u r P rog re s s L o g , tu rn to a c lean page , and w r i t e t h i s l e g e n d i n b i g c o l o r f u l l e t t e r s : R e s i s t a n c e Always H a s M e a n i n g .

Do i t in ca l l ig raphy i f y o u l ike, a n d pu t a b ig , fancy b o r d e r a r o u n d

it. T h e m i n d a n d body a re so in te rconnec ted that even the s imple

c o m m o n co ld has some m e a n i n g in it, i f only you will quie t d o w n e n o u g h to let i t tell you its message . W h e n you delve into the m e a n i n g b e h i n d wha t eve r i t i s you a re resis t ing, you will d i scover that there a re cho ices u n d e r l y i n g the work s toppage , a payof f that makes not wr i t i ng s o m e h o w more at t ract ive than wri t ing. Maybe you r co ld is te l l ing you to slow d o w n and take bet ter ca re of you r se l f or p rov id ing you wi th a h a n d y e x c u s e not to have gues t s over. You may be res is t ing comple t ing a ce r t a in wr i t i ng p ro jec t because you don ' t want to face h a v i n g you r boss tea r i t apa r t .

T h e res i s tance that we speak of h e r e i s a different kind of res is tance t han we ta lked abou t ea r l i e r w h e n we came up aga ins t the wal l . T h e r e the res i s tance was a f r iendly cha l l enge ; a word of e n c o u r a g e m e n t was al l that was n e e d e d — l i k e B e a t r i x Potter 's spa r row tel l ing p o o r t r apped Peter Rabbi t , " I implore y o u to e x e r t y o u r s e l f — a n d wonder fu l words lay j u s t b e y o n d . H e r e we a r e t a lk ing abou t resis tance that i s ha rd -co re a n d m e a n . A n d i t does not pay to f ight it. Yet even a t the wal l you d id not use force . I t was a k ind of y i e ld ing , of le t t ing go , that got you past the wal l to the g r a n d e u r of the summi t , not a g i v i n g up or a g i v i n g

60 I- WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN

in , j u s t g i v i n g way. A n d that y i e ld ing i s even more impor t an t w h e n the

res i s tance is fo rmidab le .

F I G H T I N G R E S I S T A N C E N E V E R W O R K S

A funny t h ing h a p p e n s w h e n you f ight res is tance. I t gets worse . For e x a m p l e , the m o r e you f ight a noise, the loude r i t b e c o m e s . T h e more you force y o u r s e l f to ignore (i.e., resist) the d r i p p i n g faucet , the barki n g d o g , the snorer bes ide y o u , the more the noise amplifies and infur ia tes you a n d th rea tens y o u r sanity.

Do not f igh t p rocras t ina t ion . W h e n you ge t into a p o w e r s t r ugg l e , y o u o f ten lose . E i the r you b e c o m e even more p a r a l y z e d , incapac i ta ted , he lp less , and le tharg ic or, if you force you r se l f to wri te , in spi te of a nega t ive e n e r g y p u s h i n g you in the oppos i te d i rec t ion , c h a n c e s a re you will p r o d u c e tu rg id , p l o w i n g p rose that is awful to r ead . I f i t is r e a d a b l e at al l , i t is ce r ta in ly not y o u r bes t work . W h e n you wr i te w i t h y o u r t e e t h g r i t t e d , w h a t y o u w r i t e g r i t s t h e t e e t h o f y o u r reader .

On the o ther h a n d , i f you a c k n o w l e d g e procras t ina t ion , you do not n e e d to d r a m a t i z e it. T h e r e i s some th ing very p r o f o u n d abou t r e c o g n i z i n g that. It is not j u s t a not ic ing, it is a le t t ing g o . As in the mar t i a l a r t o f A i k i d o , w h e n you give up the p o w e r s t rugg le , you ac tua l ly r e g a i n power, b e c a u s e the oppos i t ion has lost its ho ld on y o u . S e e n in this l igh t , conflict of any k ind is posi t ive, a d a n c e of ene rgy . Ra the r than o p p o s i n g force with force, ove rcome i t by y ie ld ing. Move toward the p rocras t ina t ion , move wi th it. W h a t does i t have to tell you?

T H E H E A D A C H E DISAPPEARING A C T

Not ice w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n y o u have a headache or a backache , or w h e n you a r e t i red f rom si t t ing too long a t y o u r desk, o r w h e n y o u r neck hur t s . Most of us t ry to ignore compla in ts l ike these or th ink abou t not t h i n k i n g abou t them, and then the pa in intensifies. O f t e n such aches a n d pa ins will go away i f you s top for a m o m e n t and ask them why they c a m e . B e i n g P R E S E N T for a m o m e n t to y o u r h e a d a c h e or backache , p a y i n g a t tent ion to it, is of ten e n o u g h to make i t go away a n d s top b u g g i n g y o u . A l s o , i t i s usefu l to know why you had the pa in to b e g i n wi th .

T h i s s ame a p p r o a c h works well for little ch i ld ren w h o a re in ter rupt ing y o u r work . Be P R E S E N T to you r n a g g i n g ch i ld . Pe rhaps all the little one wants is a m o m e n t of you r at tent ion, to touch base, to know you care , a n d then he or she will let you a lone so you can ge t back to y o u r wr i t ing . You can see w h e r e this idea i s leading. Be P R E S E N T to y o u r p roc ras t ina t ion and not only will i t go away but, before go ing , i t will tell y o u why it was there in the first p lace .

"PROCRASTINATION / 61

RELAX A N D T A K E T H E ONUS O U T U S

So first, relax. " A h yes, he re I am proc ras t ina t ing aga in . " Be l i eve i t or not, there is no moral i ty here , so take the mora l j u d g

men t ou t of it; s imply accep t y o u r p rocras t ina t ion as a s ta tement of fact . You a re not an awful pe r son and there is no th ing the mat te r wi th y o u ; you a r e p rocras t ina t ing , p u r e and s imple .

O n e way to accep t p rocras t ina t ion is to give i t c red i t for b e i n g of ten an i m p o r t a n t cont r ibu t ion to the wr i t ing , a t ime of incuba t ion (see c h a p t e r 4) .

G i v e y o u r s e l f points for y o u r creativity.

" T h a t is a c lever ruse , self. Resea rch is always a noble pursui t . No one c o u l d accuse you o f s l o u g h i n g off."

R e s e a r c h is wor th at least ten points .

Or , "It was crea t ive o f you to th ink of c l e a n i n g you r de sk r igh t now. No run-of - the -mi l l excuse he re for not fac ing the pad . A f t e r all , w h o can work wi th a messy d e s k ? "

T h a t i s wor th e igh t poin ts .

G i v e y o u r s e l f c red i t for b r i n g i t in to awareness .

" I ' m g l ad you b r o u g h t this d ive r s ionary tactic to my at tent ion. T h i s t ime I was only X minutes into my favorite tactic # X . " (Use n u m b e r s f rom the list you c rea ted earlier .) R e d u c i n g th ings to a n u m b e r takes away thei r p o w e r and personal i ty , as we know too well w h e n we ourselves a re r e d u c e d to a social secur i ty or s tudent ID number .

T H E PROGRESS L O G COMES I N T O PLAY

N o w take that conversa t ion wi th your se l f and en ter i t into y o u r P rog re s s L o g . R e m e m b e r that a log r eco rds a jou rney , and p rog res s impl ies m o v i n g f o r w a r d — s o wha teve r you enter i s g o o d news : you are g a t h e r i n g m o r e useful in fo rmat ion about yo u r se l f and the ploys you use to k e e p f rom wr i t ing . B r i n g i n g into y o u r awareness act ions that we r e p rev ious ly outs ide of y o u r consc iousness i s the f i r s t p la teau in r e g a i n i n g cont ro l .

Be specif ic . Enter as da ta the t ime of day; the peop l e , i f any, invo lved ; the tr icks y o u a re us ing ; the p iece you a re work ing on ; the in t ended a u d i e n c e ; the dead l ine date ; and how long you were p rocras t ina t ing before y o u b r o u g h t i t into awareness . T h e b e m u s e d , bespec tac led an th ropo log i s t pose appl ies he re t oo : r e co rd the data wi thou t in te rpre ta t ion , wi thou t j u d g m e n t . L e t the pa t te rn e m e r g e ; do not i m p o s e one .

G E T BEHIND I T A N D FIND O U T W H A T I T MEANS

N o w that you have s topped f igh t ing you r procras t ina t ion , f ind out

wha t i t is te l l ing you about yourself . O f t e n j u s t d i scover ing wha t is


b e h i n d the res is tance i s e n o u g h to pul l the p l u g and get you wr i t ing

a g a i n .

In some sense, the who le f i r s t h a l f of this b o o k i s about procras t in

at ion a n d how to foil its c u r s e : any one of the exerc ises in o ther

c h a p t e r s u s e d to p r o m o t e f luency will also serve you well for b r e a k i n g

t h r o u g h the p rocras t ina t ion ba r r i e r and ge t t ing a t the m e a n i n g b e h i n d

it.

1. Rapidwrite Your Way Out of Procrastination

U s e r a p i d w r i t i n g to ge t a t the m e a n i n g beh ind you r procras t ina t ion . S imply sit d o w n and start to w r i t e — n o t in that forced " I - a m - g o i n g -to-wr i te - i f - i t -k i l l s -me" m o d e , tensely c lu tch ing p e n or penci l , bu t by ge t t i ng y o u r anx ie t i e s and re luc tance ou t on paper . Write out how you a re pu t t i ng this p ro jec t off, and descr ibe wha t i s bo the r ing you about i t a n d why i t is not h e a d e d in the d i rec t ion you want . O f t e n the p r o b l e m solves i t se l f as you wr i te i t out . Somet imes r ap idwr i t i ng he lps u n c o v e r an anx ie ty that i s outs ide of the wr i t i ng pro jec t i tself yet k e e p i n g you o f f task. O n c e I found m y s e l f was t ing a whole m o r n i n g ins tead of wr i t i ng ; t h r o u g h rap idwr i t ing , I d i scovered that i t was c o n c e r n abou t a sick f r iend that was caus ing the dis t ract ion. As soon as I h a d n a m e d my c o n c e r n , I felt relief.

O n c e y o u ge t all that ou t o f y o u r sys tem, you m i g h t a s well keep on wr i t i ng , and before you k n o w it, you will have t r icked y o u r se l f into w r i t i n g — a n d wr i t i ng we l l ! !—the p iece that t h rea tened you . I f you t h ink y o u r r ambl ings a re g o i n g nowhere , be sure to inc lude that j u d g m e n t , bu t keep on writing. S o o n you will have y o u r p i ece done . S imply ed i t ou t the e x t r a n e o u s chatter.

2. The BP Entry

An o f t en d rama t i c way to ge t the e n g i n e h u m m i n g once more i s to tu rn to y o u r P rog re s s L o g and make a BP (Before Procras t ina t ion) entry. T h i s a p p r o a c h works best w h e n a projec t that has b e e n ro l l ing a l o n g sudden ly s tops co ld . Want to get those whee l s in mot ion aga in? W h y d i d you s top in the f i r s t p lace? Res is tance has m e a n i n g , and once you k n o w the m e a n i n g , you a re free to m a k e choices .

L a b e l the en t ry BP in the m a r g i n , and answer these ques t ions :

W h a t was the last p a r a g r a p h , the last sentence that I wro te? W h e r e do I go f rom here? W h a t h a p p e n s w h e n I f inish this?

O f t e n , the answers y o u p r o d u c e wil l m a k e the s i tuat ion appa ren t a n d c lea r the a i r to go back to work . An accountan t in one o f my c o u r s e s , for e x a m p l e , was wr i t i ng to a cl ient , de ta i l ing the activity of his inves tment . He h a d the f i r s t h a l f o f the r epo r t neatly done and then kept pu t t i ng o f f ge t t i ng back to f inish it. A BP en t ry solved the

- -^-PROCRASTINATION / 63

d i l e m m a : the last p a r a g r a p h he wro te had b e e n about the g o o d s tuf f that was h a p p e n i n g ; the answer to " W h e r e do I go f rom h e r e ? " would con ta in all the b a d news . He went back and r eworked the r epor t so that the l ines o f d e m a r c a t i o n we re not so rude ly d r a w n .

A g r a d u a t e s tudent was d r a g g i n g her feet on f in ishing her dissertat ion. T h e BP en t ry p r o v i d e d a va luab le c lue . She actual ly felt s e c u r e a n d h a p p y in the academic w o m b , and ven tu r ing out into the j o b m a r k e t wi th he r new d e g r e e terrified her. T h e answer t o " W h a t h a p p e n s w h e n I f inish th is?" let he r in on her psyche's secret ; she l ined up a sa t is fying j o b first a n d f in ished her wr i t i ng a t n igh t , m a k i n g the t rans i t ion easier.

3. Branch Your Way Out of the Procrastination Box

You have a l ready seen the usefulness o f b r a n c h i n g to he lp pul l t oge the r ideas a n d pu t t hem in order . O n e o f the as tonish ing aspects of u s i n g this f ree- f lowing a p p r o a c h to o r g a n i z i n g y o u r mater ia l i s the g r a t i f y ing way i t of ten presents y o u with ideas that you d id not k n o w you h a d w h e n you f i r s t sat d o w n to c o m p o s e . T h e same gif t o c c u r s w h e n you u se b r a n c h i n g in a therapeut ic way. B r a n c h i n g will he lp y o u to get in touch wi th y o u r wr i t i ng anxiety.

W h y is it that I c a n n o t (or, more correctly, W h y is it that I c h o o s e not to) wr i t e this p iece?

Ident i fy the a s s ignmen t in the center, and b r a n c h ou t e v e r y t h i n g that b u g s y o u abou t it, k e e p i n g i t f rom speedy comple t ion . Just as fast as y o u can , j u t ou t all the reasons that m a k e i t safer to p rocras t ina te t han to b e g i n , or cont inue , wri t ing. Procras t ina t ion i s res is tance, and res i s tance is d i g g i n g y o u r heels in w h e n you a re be ing pushed in a d i r ec t i on w h e r e you do not feel safe. W h a t i s unsafe about the te r r i tory that you fear to t r ead? L e t b r a n c h i n g he lp you ferret ou t the rascal answers h i d i n g in the c loset o f y o u r m i n d . C ' m o n out , w h e r e v e r you a re , face me l ike a t rue opponen t , put up you r dukes , p r e p a r e for bat t le . S o m e t i m e s , w h e n you see the ac tua l size o f you r anxiety, you wil l l a u g h ins tead of f igh t—and then ge t back to you r wri t ing.

4. Rise to Write in the Morning

D o r o t h e a Brande ' s idea of "ear ly m o r n i n g w r i t i n g " can p rov ide a

p o w e r f u l b r e a k t h r o u g h for p r o l o n g e d procras t ina t ion . I t i s especia l ly

r e v e a l i n g i f y o u p o s e the ques t ion " W h a t i s i t that i s k e e p i n g me f rom

finishing this p i e c e ? " be fo re re t i r ing. Place a j o u r n a l or a no tebook by

y o u r b e d a n d wr i te ou t you r res is tance in the morn ing . B e c a u s e you r

b ra in is not awake e n o u g h to p rov ide ready answers , you will be

a s ton i shed a t the ins ights y o u rece ive .


B I T E Y O U R T O N G U E — L E A R N T O L I S T E N

I f y o u wan t to l ea rn to l isten to yourself , to quie t d o w n you r noisy left h e m i s p h e r e e n o u g h that y o u r r i gh t can tell you wha t i s h a p p e n i n g wi th y o u r wr i t ing , f i r s t l ea rn to listen to ano the r h u m a n being.

Do you k n o w how to totally l isten wi th you r whole hear t and full a t tent ion to ano the r pe r son? O n c e you have mas t e r ed that talent (it on ly takes th ree minu tes , so take hear t ) , i t is easy to tu rn those n e w f o u n d l i s ten ing skills i n w a r d .

In o u r e v e r y d a y l i s tening, or wha t passes for l i s tening in o u r society, we a re so a c c u s t o m e d to supp ly ing answers , in ter jec t ing advice , murm u r i n g sympathy, and o f fe r ing s imilar tales o f woe that we work o u r m o u t h musc les m o r e than o u r ear muscles . A su rp r i s ing th ing h a p p e n s w h e n we totally listen wi th o u r mouths c losed . W h e n we give o thers o u r u n d i v i d e d concen t ra t ion , we offer t hem the o p p o r t u n i t y to ge t in t ouch wi th answers inside themselves that are of ten more a p p r o pr ia te than a n y t h i n g we m i g h t supply. In my seminars we do a l isteni n g exerc i se that a lso mode l s the w o r k i n g vocabu la ry of a master, the one m a k i n g the choices . W h e n you do i t yourself , you will f ind that the exe rc i se has severa l in teres t ing and usefu l pe r iphe ra l benefi ts :

1 . I t t eaches you to l is ten, showing you how to quie t d o w n e n o u g h to h e a r wha t ano the r pe r son is saying;

2 . I t shows d ramat ica l ly w h a t t ru ths c o m e forth w h e n you give a n o t h e r pe r son the total and comple te gif t o f b e i n g l is tened to;

3 . I t g ives you , in tu rn , the e x p e r i e n c e of be ing l is tened to and , w i th in that r e a s su r ing space , he lps you get in touch wi th you r o w n answers b e h i n d you r p rocras t ina t ion ;

4. I t g ives you the w o r k i n g vocabu la ry for c h a n g i n g from a vict im to a pe r son in cont ro l , m a k i n g choices , ca l l ing the shots;

5 . I t teaches concre te ly the power of words in shap ing pe r son and persona l i ty ; and

6. I t teaches you , by e x a m p l e , how effect ive i t is to tu rn these n e w f o u n d l i s ten ing skills i nward .

A l l this in four t h r ee -minu te segments !

E X E R C I S E 8: L I S T E N E R A N D L I S T E N E E

You wil l n e e d a par tner . O n e wi thout e x p e r i e n c e is f ine, for he or she wil l be ge t t ing O J T — o n - t h e - j o b - t r a i n i n g . A n d , o f course , you p r o m i s e to r e tu rn the favor to the l i s t e n e r — w h o would b e g r u d g e you th ree minu tes of his t ime k n o w i n g that you, in tu rn , will g ive h im th r ee minu tes o f yours?

O n e of you is A a n d the o ther B. A is the first to speak , whi le B

PROCRASTINATION / 65

l is tens. I t h ink that it is ap t to call B the l is tener and A the " l is tenee," for the la t ter is not j u s t a pe r son s p e a k i n g bu t someone be ing l is tened to . Pe rhaps for the first t ime in her life, ano the r h u m a n b e i n g is ac tual ly g i v i n g th ree ful l , u n i n t e r r u p t e d minu tes o f t ime, and c o m ple te a t tent ion.

Part 1: The Victim Speaks

A, you a r e in for a treat . I want you to tell B all you r worst fears abou t wr i t i ng and deta i l y o u r very best tactics for p rocras t ina t ion . You m a y re fer to wr i t i ng in gene ra l or cen te r y o u r r e m a r k s a r o u n d a p a r t i c u l a r wr i t i ng pro jec t that y o u have been avoiding. For th ree solid minu tes , you have the f loor and y o u r par tner ' s rapt at tent ion. S ince you a r e c o m i n g at this pa r t of the exerc i se f rom a vict im posi t ion, I wan t y o u to use the vocabu la ry of a v ic t im. Inco rpo ra t e these words and phrases as m u c h as possible into you r conversa t ion :

Vocabulary of a Victim

should

ought

can ' t

it's really not my fault

I'm an awful person

As in "I real ly should be w o r k i n g on this s t ra tegy repor t . I don ' t know what 's the mat te r wi th me . I j u s t can ' t get s tar ted . Every t ime I set as ide some t ime to wr i te , some th ing else comes up that d e m a n d s my i m m e d i a t e a t tent ion. It's real ly not my fault . I o u g h t to get up ea r l i e r in the m o r n i n g , or stay up later at n igh t , I suppose , but I work h a r d all day and all these in te r rup t ions k e e p ge t t ing in my way. I can ' t s e e m to do a n y t h i n g abou t it. I guess I 'm j u s t an awful person ."

T h r e e minu te s . A n d d u r i n g this t ime, B listens in ten t ly—and says no th ing . T h e only noise that B is a l lowed to make is an aff irmative " u h - h u h " or an occas iona l " H m m m m . I see wha t you mean . " Bi te y o u r t o n g u e before say ing any th ing more .

T h e B's of ten ge t sore t ongues d u r i n g r o u n d one .

W h e n we do this exerc i se in my semina r s , the body l a n g u a g e is w o n d e r f u l to wa tch . No mat t e r how many A and B teams a re t a lk ing s imul taneous ly , e a c h l is tener m a n a g e s to focus totally in on the "l is tene e " a n d sc reen ou t all the o the r voices . T h e pe r son l i s tening leans

bb / WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN

f o r w a r d , total ly e n g r o s s e d ; the p e r s o n t a lk ing looks free and somewha t s u r p r i s e d to have the full and u n d i v i d e d at tent ion of ano the r h u m a n b e i n g for th ree full minu tes . Together , they make an intent uni t .

T h e n we switch and let B do the ta lk ing , whi le A follows all the g a m e ru les l is ted above .

Part 2: The Master Answers

T h e words we use w h e n we talk to ourse lves can actual ly affect o u r bel iefs a n d o u r behavior . In her wonder fu l , l i fe -g iv ing b o o k Celebrate Yourself, D o r o t h y B r i g g s devotes an ent i re chap te r to the i m p o r t a n c e o f words in f o r m i n g o u r be l ie fs . She calls this chap t e r "Watch Your L a n g u a g e ! " and I r e c o m m e n d that you look at it, especia l ly i f you have any d o u b t in y o u r m i n d that y o u r choice o f vocabu la ry shapes w h o you a r e and how you perce ive yourself .

We a re w h a t we say we are . We b e c o m e self-fulf i l led p rophec ies . Have y o u ever seen that p laque " C h i l d r e n L e a r n W h a t T h e y L ive , "

w h i c h says, " I f a chi ld lives with cr i t ic ism, he learns to c o n d e m n . If a ch i ld lives wi th pra ise , he l ea rns to apprec ia te , " and so on? T h e same d y n a m i c holds t rue for the adu l t and the self- talk that shapes h i m daily. In o the r words , wha t you th ink about i s wha t you b e c o m e . I f y o u cont inua l ly use the v ic t im vocabulary , you will see y o u r se l f as a v ic t im and , in fact, live y o u r life that way. Subst i tu te the l i fe -g iv ing p o w e r o f words o f choice and c h o o s i n g and you r wor ld will e x p a n d wi th a sense of potent ia l . C h a n g e you r self- talk and you c h a n g e yourself. C a t c h y o u r s e l f in the act of saying negat ive b row-bea t ing th ings to y o u r o w n psyche , and p u r g e out the nega t iv i sm. Subst i tu te a k ind t h o u g h t for an u n k i n d one . S top be l i ev ing the bad , start be l i ev ing in the g o o d . Be a g o o d f i n d e r ins tead of a faultfinder.

A n d start no t ic ing that there is a payof f for procras t ina t ion , a r eason why not w r i t i n g is somehow safer than wri t ing. Not ice that you are also p a y i n g a p r ice , para l le l to the payoff. W h a t wou ld c h a n g e for y o u i f you got all y o u r wr i t i ng done on t ime? A n d wha t i s s t and ing in the way o f that?

H e r e a re two e x a m p l e s o f the p r i ce /payof f para l le l : "It 's c o s t i n g me a lot in t e rms of frustrat ion and j o b dissatisfaction

not to do this r e p o r t on t ime, but the payof f is that if I don ' t wri te it, or if I h a n d i t in late, then my boss will not have the t ime to cr i t ic ize it."

Or "It's cos t ing me a p romot ion not to k e e p on top of all the wr i t i ng this j o b d e m a n d s , bu t the payof f is that i f I don ' t get p romoted , then I can stay comfor tab le at this level and won ' t have to wor ry abou t i n c r e a s e d responsibi l i t ies ."

A g a i n , A speaks for th ree minu tes . A g a i n , B is only a l lowed a nod ,

PROCRASTINATION / b7

a g r u n t , or any o the r s imple cue to say, "I follow you." T h i s t ime, however , there is a d i f fe rence . T h i s t ime the " l i s tenee" (not j u s t a speaker , r emember , but , more impor tan t , one b e i n g l is tened to) de l iberate ly incorpora te s the master 's vocabu la ry into his story. " S h o u l d " b e c o m e s " w a n t " o r " c h o o s e " ; "can ' t " becomes "choose not to."

Vocabulary of a Master

c h o o s e

c h o i c e

wish

prefer

responsibili ty

price

payoff

The Wall Revisited

By the way, w h e n you are d o i n g this exerc i se , you will f ind that you c o m e up aga ins t the same wall that ha l ted you d u r i n g r ap idwr i t i ng a n d b r a n c h i n g , especia l ly w h e n i t comes t ime to say, "Wel l , the payof f is. . . " M a n y p e o p l e find that they (think they have) r u n ou t of th ings to say a n d in fact feel f rus t ra ted that the l is tener is not r e s c u i n g them, as they a re a c c u s t o m e d . S .O.P. (S tandard O p e r a t i n g P r o c e d u r e ) . Push past the wal l , keep on ta lk ing , even i f you talk abou t not k n o w i n g wha t to say. A l l of a s u d d e n — b e c a u s e you were not r e s c u e d — b l u r p ! ou t c o m e s the t r e m e n d o u s ins igh t for wh ich you a lone had the key. L i g h t bu lbs p o p out all over the r o o m as wr ink les d i s a p p e a r f rom foreheads .

E X E R C I S E 9: T U R N I N G INWARD

O n c e you l ea rn how to l isten to another , then i t is a s imple th ing to

c lea r a space ins ide for yourself , w h e r e you can al low you r o w n reasons

for p roc ra s t i na t i ng to come to the fore. T h e r e is a p u r p o s e in y o u r

p roc ras t ina t ion , a r eason why pu t t ing o f f wr i t i ng seems safer than

d o i n g it. A n d y o u r r igh t bra in knows the answer. T h e same surpr i s ing

ins igh ts ins ide o thers that c o m e forward in the quie t spaces of the A

a n d B exe rc i se a re ins ide you , too , and are yours for the a s k i n g — a n d

the wai t ing.

G e t into a comfor tab le pos i t ion . C l o s e your eyes . Re lax . Notice you r

D O / W R I T I N G U N B O T H S I U K S O K I H t B K A I N

o w n brea th ing . Q u i e t e n yourself , as the Br i t i sh say, m e a n i n g slow d o w n inside.

Now ask your se l f abou t this p ro jec t you a re p roc ras t ina t ing on , o r abou t y o u r wr i t i ng procras t ina t ion in genera l , and let you r r igh t b ra in answer. S ince the r i gh t bra in is p rov id ing the answer, the solut ion or ins igh t m i g h t very well come in the form of an i m a g e or f igure ra ther than in words at f i rs t .

W h e n I was p r e p a r i n g chap te r 9, on v isual iza t ion , the i m a g e of a sun c a m e to me. T h a t i m a g e d id not m a k e sense to me, bu t I s tayed wi th it. S o o n , rad ia t ing f rom the sun c a m e concep t s l ike w a r m t h , f i re , l ight , energy , a n d — a surpr i se—roya l ty . A f t e r s taying wi th that i m a g e for a whi le , I felt ready to wri te , and the sun set the tone that I wan ted . I never d id qui te put into words w h e r e " roya l ty" f i t , bu t I had a sense of g randeur , of digni ty, of majesty as I wro t e that s e e m e d appropr i a t e to the p o w e r of the subject .

So do not reject the i m a g e , even i f i t init ially does not m a k e sense to you . Stay wi th it. A s k for more m e a n i n g , and wai t for the reply. E u g e n e G e n d l i n , in his b o o k Focusing, exp la ins that at this poin t most p e o p l e e x p e r i e n c e wha t he calls a "shift ," a k ind of "aha!" m o m e n t w h e n the cu r t a in lifts or the we igh t seems r e m o v e d . He goes on to sugges t that you "cheek" that answer. G e t verif icat ion, a "yes , that's it" sense. You will know w h e n you have it.

• Progress Log: M a k e an entry. What ' s the p r ice and what 's the

payof f for not wr i t ing?

I N S U M

Perhaps you are s tar t ing to see that p rocras t ina t ion is not an outs ide

force and you are not a helpless v ic t im. Procras t ina t ion comes f rom

res is tance inside, and you can m a k e choices . You are not a v ic t im. You

a re in c h a r g e . You can take c o m m a n d of the s i tuat ion, move fo rward ,

and wr i te .

In fact, w h e n you a re no longer e n c u m b e r e d by the psychologica l

d r a in o f p rocras t ina t ion , you will be f ree to do y o u r best and most

f luent wr i t i ng ever.

C H A P T E R 7

Assertiveness Training: Dealing with the Caliban Critic

You taught me language; and my profit on't Is, I know how to curse.

— C A L I B A N , SHAKESPEARE'S THE TEMPEST

T h e G r e e k s have a mytho log ica l dei ty n a m e d Momus , the g o d o f m o c k e r y and faul t f inding. T h i s c a r p i n g faul t f inder i s inside e a c h o f us , and , especia l ly w h e n i t comes to wr i t ing , this Cr i t ic nags and bo the r s us and tries to conv ince us that s ince we canno t wr i t e effectively at al l , why even start? Such a Cr i t i c conv inces t h r o u g h r id icule , s a r ca sm, a n d name-ca l l ing , e r o d i n g o u r conf idence and enve lop ing o u r goa l s in a m i a s m a of iner t ia .

T h e Cr i t i c I am ta lk ing abou t he re i s not the rat ional fr iend w h o in t e rcedes w h e n all i s said a n d done , the voice of r eason and restraint w h o he lps us ed i t , w h o lets us know wha t needs to be kept and wha t n e e d s to be cut . N o . T h e M o m u s Cr i t ic i s the one w h o will not let us ge t s ta r ted , the one w h o puts o u r s tomach in knots w h e n we a re facing a b l a n k sheet and m a k e s us th ink of a h u n d r e d and one o ther th ings we c o u l d be d o i n g a t the t ime. T h e M o m u s Cr i t ic commen t s caust ical ly on o u r cho ice o f words and calls u s " d u m b " and "s tupid ."

T h e M o m u s Cr i t i c is a liar.

L e a r n i n g to dea l with that liar, to take away some of its inord ina te

power , to c o p e wi th its des t ruct ive d i a l o g u e , to s tand up for y o u r

r igh t s a n d bel iefs , is w h a t this c h a p t e r is all about .

H I S T O R Y O F T H E C R I T I C : W H E R E D I D H E / S H E / I T / T H E Y

C O M E F R O M ?

W h e r e d id this cri t ical voice come f rom, and why does i t ho ld us in sway? W h y have we g iven i t so m u c h power? W h y do we constant ly in te rna l i ze the Cri t ic 's des t ruc t ive p r o n o u n c e m e n t s and accep t a t face va lue its mora l j u d g m e n t s ?

In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind,


Pr ince ton scholar Ju l ian Jaynes a d v a n c e d the r emarkab le theory that ea r ly m a n had no consc iousness bu t ra ther w h a t Jaynes calls a b i camera l m i n d , "an execu t ive pa r t ca l led a g o d , and a fol lower pa r t ca l led m a n . " Ear ly m a n func t ioned , in fact, su rv ived , pure ly t h r o u g h listeni n g to the god -vo ice wi th in .

T h e god -vo ice gave m a n advice , t h rea tened h im, cr i t ic ized and even m o c k e d h i m . Some t imes a v isual au ra a c c o m p a n i e d the aud i to ry one , a n d the g o d took on the form of an ange l , a devi l , a relat ive, or a f ami l i a r p e r s o n . Jaynes sugges t s that, because o f their author i ty and con t ro l , i t was v i r tua l ly imposs ib le to d i sobey these g o d s , and in fact he shows l inguis t ica l ly (obey comes f rom the La t in obedire, ob- + audire, " to hear, fac ing toward" ) that l i s tening to their d e c r e e s cons t i tu ted o b e d i e n c e a n d belief. S o m e ves t ige o f that u tmos t author i ty and control mus t sure ly exis t today as we listen to the Cri t ic 's voice and passively d e m u r to his admoni t ions , even as Ach i l l e s o b e y e d the author i ty o f T h e t i s , and Moses fo l lowed Yahweh ' s c o m m a n d f rom the b u r n i n g bush . Jaynes wr i t es :

How helpless the hearer! And if one belonged to a bicameral culture, where the voices were recognized as at the utmost hierarchy, taught you as gods, kings, majesties that owned you, head, heart, and foot, the omniscient, omnipotent voices that could not be categorized as beneath you, how obedient to them the bicameral man!'

T h e re s idua l o f that o m n i p o t e n t god-vo ice author i ty funct ions today

as w h a t H a r m a n and R h e i n g o l d , in Higher Creativity, call " the g u a r d

ian of the unconsc ious . . . . the in ternal censor at the por ta ls of w a k i n g

consc iousness . " 2

T h i s col lec t ive his tor ical pe r spec t ive i s m i r r o r e d for m a n y of us in

o u r i nd iv idua l e x p e r i e n c e . Most o f u s have had some author i ty f igu re

unwi t t i ng ly u n d e r m i n e o u r conf idence in wr i t ing , usua l ly u n d e r the

g u i s e of he lp ing . I met a w o m a n n a m e d Er in a t an ou t -o f - town con

f e r ence ; we had an instant r appor t . S o o n after r e t u r n i n g home , I

r ece ived a note f rom her that e n d e d :

I hope you can excuse my scribbles and overlook any misspl (good going!) miss-spelling. My Grandmother always answered my letters with corrections on my last letter. Then if I was away from home my mother did the same thing. I told my mother that I thought she, at least, should be glad just to get a letter. But I know it's good for me, otherwise I'd never learn.

Your new friend, Erin

Pe rhaps s o m e b o d y wel l - in tent ioned but devas ta t ing like that was s h a p i n g y o u r I n n e r Cr i t i c ear ly on .

ASS£R7Tv"E~NESS TRAINING / 71

N O W T H A T I T ' S H E R E , H O W D O W E D E A L W I T H I T ?

W h a t can we do abou t this I nne r Cr i t i c? How can we si lence it, o r

a t least d e v e l o p a w o r k i n g re la t ionship wi th it? T h e s e are the c h i e f

ways :

First , ge t to k n o w your Cr i t i c .

S e c o n d , l e a rn to talk back . T r a n s f o r m the parent -chi ld re la t ionship

y o u have wi th y o u r Cr i t i c into an adu l t -adu l t re la t ionship . I f all else

fails, ask i t (poli tely or not so poli tely) to leave. You can always have i t

back , on y o u r t e rms , in you r t ime f rame, a t you r invitat ion later, to

h e l p wi th e d i t i n g in a s u p p o r t i n g role .

Las t , a n d most dramatical ly , set up an actual interview, a conversa

t ion wi th y o u r Cr i t i c , to ge t r e m a r k a b l e ins ights into wha t makes the

Cr i t i c tick and how to ge t a h a n d l e on it.

G E T T O KNOW Y O U R C R I T I C

T h e Cr i t i c c a n be ma le or female , a g r o u p of peop le , o r a m a d e - u p

charac te r . Usually, bu t not a lways , the Cr i t ic is based on some real

p e r s o n y o u k n e w long a g o o r w h o i s cur ren t ly par t o f you r life. S e e i n g

the Cr i t i c as a p e r s o n — g e t t i n g to k n o w how he looks , how she behaves

a n d sounds , w h a t tr icks they use to keep you f rom w r i t i n g — w i l l he lp

y o u to c o m e to g r i p s with this in ternal pe r sona w h o holds you back .

T h e m o r e y o u know abou t y o u r Cr i t i c , the less p o w e r you r Cr i t ic will

have over y o u .

U s i n g some o f the t echn iques f rom chap te r 6 , especia l ly the ar t o f

d e e p l i s ten ing , you can quickly uncove r w h o you r Cr i t ic is.

W h e n y o u n a m e someth ing , you o w n it. I t no longer has p o w e r over

you once you have ca l led i t by n a m e . In the biblical accoun t A d a m

a n d Eve n a m e d the c rea tu res o f the new wor ld and in n a m i n g them

b e c a m e mas te rs over them. E u g e n e G e n d l i n , in Focusing, speaks of the

o w n e r s h i p , the shift in c a r r y i n g the b u r d e n that h a p p e n s w h e n you

a r e able to label a feel ing. G i v i n g you r Cr i t i c a n a m e and a face

d i s a r m s the Cri t ic ' s p o w e r and puts you back in c h a r g e .

T h e cen t ra l -cas t ing ability o f y o u r bra in wou ld make a movie d i rec

tor g r e e n wi th envy. If, to m a k e some sense of the Cr i t ic pe r sona to

y o u , y o u r psyche n e e d s to go back twenty-five years to a teacher you

h a d in g r a d e school and have not seen s ince, you r bra in will readi ly

supp ly that i m a g e as symbol . I f i t f i ts be t te r to connec t wi th a boss or

spouse , a per fec t ion is t paren t , or a s ibl ing f rom y o u r wor ld today, then

that i m a g e wil l be there for you . I t i s not u n c o m m o n to have the Cr i t i c

a p p e a r a s n o n h u m a n : g n o m e s and l e p r e c h a u n s s e e m especia l ly p o p

ular. A n d somet imes the Cr i t ic is a compos i t e p i c tu re of several per

sonal i t ies in y o u r life.

S o m e in te res t ing profi les e m e r g e w h e n p e o p l e pause for a moment ,


t u rn o f f the sp igo t of the Cri t ic 's negat ive s t ream, and ask the Cr i t ic to c o m e fo rward with an identity.

R ichard ' s Cr i t i c c a m e masked to their first mee t ing , and re fused to r emove the mask .

V iv ian ' s Cr i t ic to ld her his name . I t was Bentley, "and is he ever c u t e — a n d a g o o d dresser , t o o ! "

M a r k insis ted his Cr i t i c was his f r iend (the most ins idious k ind of Cr i t i c ) : " H e only wants to p ro tec t me f rom the outside."

Sh ie l a said her Cr i t i c l ooked like her father, whi le Rory d i scovered to his a m a z e m e n t , " M y Cr i t i c is me! Twenty years a g o , wi thout a b e a r d ! "

Some t imes the Cr i t ic tu rns out to be a host of peop le . R e m e m b e r the therapis t in c h a p t e r 2 w h o lived her life "as if there were a panel o f j u d g e s w a t c h i n g and t ak ing notes"? O n c loser inspec t ion , these b l a c k - r o b e d f igures t u r n e d out to be family m e m b e r s , w h o col lect ively cons t i tu ted her Cr i t i c : " g r a n d m o t h e r s , uncles , b ro thers , s tepmother ."

If the Cr i t i c is a compos i t e p ic tu re , it is qui te okay to give h i m a f i t t ing n a m e yourself , i f he does not supply one , or even be p r e s u m p tuous e n o u g h to c h a n g e the n a m e i f he presents you wi th one you do not l ike. A f t e r al l , w h o is in c h a r g e here?

A lawyer n a m e d G e o r g e r e c o r d e d his f i rs t conversa t ion with his Cr i t i c :

George: W h o are you?

Critic: D o n ' t y o u know by now?

George: D o n ' t answer a ques t ion wi th a ques t ion . W h o are you?

Critic: I am the pe r son you always wan ted to be . I 'm smarter , a n d

nicer, and I wr i te be t te r than y o u and unless you can do all the th ings

I c a n do (and you neve r can) , and wr i te as perfec t ly as I do , no one

will eve r real ly like you .

George: Well , that's a fine mess you 've go t ten us into this t ime, O l l i e . I th ink I'll call you O l l i e because the image of O l ive r Hardy i s ha rd ly one that I find in t imidat ing .

Critic: Oh no you don ' t . Ol l i e is not smarter , nicer, or be t te r than you

are . You should call me James . James B o n d . I like that better.

George: T o u g h shit . You ' r e 0 ' ' i e to me now, and that's w h o you are g o i n g to stay. Bes ides , the story you a re p e d d l i n g to me is j u s t a c rock . It's the s tory that an O l i v e r H a r d y would have—tha t you have to do th ings be t te r so that p e o p l e will like you , not because there is a j o y in d o i n g th ings as well as you possibly can . You should do th ings for the love of d o i n g them, not for the approva l of o thers . A t rue James B o n d w o u l d k n o w t h i s , b u t a n O l i v e r H a r d y w o u l d h i d e b e h i n d h i s " accompl i shmen t s . "

ASSEfJTlT VENESS TRAINING / 73

No mat te r wha t n a m e or face you give y o u r Cr i t i c , there seems to be a ce r t a in c o m m o n a l i t y a m o n g these c r ea tu re s o f the d e e p . T h e Cr i t ic ' s pe rsona l i ty is of ten caust ic and sarcastic, and he likes to de m e a n y o u . A l o o f and super ior , the Cr i t ic has a tendency to talk d o w n to y o u . S h e of ten makes you r ears b u r n and you r th roa t t igh ten . He m a k e s y o u r hea r t s ink and turns d o w n the br igh tness control knob on y o u r en thus ia sm and expec ta t ions . B e i n g caut ious (for y o u r o w n g o o d , y o u u n d e r s t a n d ) , the Cr i t ic wa rns you aga ins t be ing vu lnerab le , t ak ing r isks, ge t t ing hur t . L i s t en ing to the Cri t ic 's adv ice takes the wind ou t o f y o u r sails; you a re d e a d in the water. T h e Cr i t ic speaks in absolutes a n d emphas i ze s the negat ive . T h e vocabu la ry the Cr i t ic uses i s the v ic t im v o c a b u l a r y ("should," "can ' t ," " o u g h t , " "awfu l " ) , and she en c o u r a g e s you to use the same deathly words . T h e Cr i t ic looks for e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t y o u r p o o r op in ion o f y o u r s e l f and then h a m m e r s y o u wi th it. He ignores posi t ive steps you have taken or d ismisses t h e m as inconsequen t i a l . She e x p e c t s g ian t leaps and has little pa t ience wi th baby s teps. He has no r e g a r d for smal l t r iumphs and wants instant success . She likes to call you names and push y o u r low—self-esteem bu t tons .

T h e Cr i t i c i s not l i f e -g iv ing , e n e r g i z i n g , o r e n c o u r a g i n g . D o n ' t y o u th ink i t is t ime you c a m e to te rms?

E X E R C I S E 10: SAY H E L L O T O Y O U R C R I T I C

T h i s c r e a t u r e has been l iv ing inside o f you for twenty-odd years o r m o r e ; I th ink i t is abou t t ime you met . Fol lowing the l i s tening p re sc r ip tion ou t l ined in the last chapter , ge t into a comfor tab le posi t ion, c lose y o u r eyes , and qu ie t d o w n in wha teve r way works best for you . B e c o m e consc ious of you r b rea th ing ; use y o u r b rea th as a p u m p , e x h a l i n g tens ion , i n h a l i n g p e a c e a n d re laxa t ion . Stay in that peacefu l and qu ie t state for awhi le , and then, w h e n you feel ready, invi te y o u r Cr i t ic in for a c u p of tea. You j u s t want to see wha t he looks like, to hea r the s o u n d of her voice, to not ice wha t they have to say to you . You j u s t wan t the f igure to c o m e fo rward and identify itself. T h r e e minutes i s qu i t e e n o u g h t ime.

I t is be t te r not to go into this exerc i se with any p reconce ived not ions . Just let the i m a g e o f y o u r Cr i t ic well up inside o f you wi thout y o u r consc ious mind t r y ing to force or fo rm the i m a g e .

T A L K B A C K !

T h e s imples t way to h a n d l e the Cr i t i c , one that surpr i s ing ly few p e o p l e give themselves pe rmiss ion to d o , is to talk back . I t is impor tan t to l ea rn a few h a n d y little " b u g off" t r icks, some fly swatters to have in y o u r b a c k pocke t w h e n the pesky d r o n e i s k e e p i n g you f rom f in i shing y o u r wr i t ing . You can be gen tee l , a sk ing h i m poli tely to leave, or


y o u c a n t u r n rude , i f that works more effectively. You can start ou t

n ice , a n d then i f she still insists on b u g g i n g you , g r i t you r teeth and

yel l , " G e t out! N o w ! "

I f i t he lps , y o u c a n talk about y o u r s e l f f rom the safety and d i s tance

o f the th i rd pe r son . O n e fellow in my workshop found dea l i ng wi th

his Cr i t i c mos t effect ive w h e n he simply to ld the in te r fe r ing bois te rous

voice , " L o o k . Wou ld you leave the kid a l o n e ? "

SAY, " T H A N K Y O U FOR SHARING T H A T "

S o m e t i m e s the s ingu la r dev ice o f poli tely stat ing, " T h a n k you for

s h a r i n g t h a t " — a n d then m o v i n g o n — i s sufficient. T h e beau ty o f this

a p p r o a c h is that you do not s top to a r g u e the poin t or t ry to out-

s c r e a m the screamer . You a c k n o w l e d g e the Cr i t ic and k e e p on wri t ing.

T h i s i s k n o w n as the A i k i d o a p p r o a c h .

O u r son Peter was ten w h e n I t augh t h i m this one s imple dismissal

o f the Cr i t i c . Severa l days later, he was d o i n g a r epo r t on Mozar t . T h e

a s s i g n m e n t was to wr i te 150 words about the V i e n n e s e composer . At

103 (count ' em) words , Peter s t opped co ld . He had r u n ou t o f th ings

to say. In fact, he was c o n v i n c e d that he had complete ly e x h a u s t e d the

top ic . T h e r e was no th ing more to say abou t M o z a r t and classical

compos i t i on . T h e n he r e m e m b e r e d that i t was his Cr i t ic te l l ing h i m

that , and he r e m e m b e r e d how to talk back.

" T h a n k y o u for s h a r i n g that," he said in answer to his Cr i t ic te l l ing

h i m he h a d n o t h i n g left to say about Mozar t . T h e n he kep t on wr i t ing .

A n d wr i t ing . A n d wri t ing . S o o n h e c a m e r u n n i n g downsta i r s t o m y

d e n , g l ee fu l and g r i n n i n g , wav ing his paper . He s l apped his fo rehead

wi th the back o f his hand , incredulously . " T h r e e h u n d r e d — t h r e e

h u n d r e d ! — a n d th i r ty -e igh t words!!! ! G o s h , I h o p e I don ' t get into

t roub le for wr i t i ng too m u c h ! "

S a y i n g " T h a n k you for sha r ing that" acts as a d a m p e r w h e n the

Cr i t i c t u rns to " Y e s , but . . . " w h i n i n g that leads nowhere and stops

eve ry th ing . W h e n you do not answer back, however, you soon cap i tu

late, as the fo l lowing s tory i l lustrates.

Every summer , I t each a full two-day wr i t ing workshop at the uni

versity. I t is e x h a u s t i n g but exhi la ra t ing . I am on my feet l e c tu r ing

f r o m 9 A . M . to 5 P.M. for two days s t ra ight . By 4:00 of the second day,

I am on a rol l , the class is r e spond ing , and we are d a n c i n g together . I

feel e n e r g i z e d . O n e year, a t 4 : 1 0 , a w o m a n in the front of the r o o m

spoke out .

" Y o u mus t be e x h a u s t e d ! "

" N o , actually, I feel g r ea t ! "

" Y e s , bu t y o u have b e e n s t and ing on you r feet l ec tu r ing wi th ani

mat ion for two days. Don ' t your feet hur t?" She clucked sympathetically.

"Hones t . N o . I feel fine."

ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING / 75

" Y o u a re a m a z i n g . I cou ld never do that, s tand on my feet l ike that for two days a n d not be f razz led by four."

I was s ta r t ing to feel a little weak .

" I a d m i r e y o u r s tamina . Most p e o p l e wou ld be incoheren t by now, r eady to co l lapse . "

A l l of a sudden , I felt l ike a b roken r eco rd , w i n d i n g d o w n into slow mot ion . I felt p l o d d i n g and heavy. Every muscle in my body ached . We c r a w l e d to the finish l ine.

I f on ly I had said, " T h a n k you for sha r ing that!" and moved r igh t o n !

G E T T O U G H ! B E BRAVE!

T h e object i s to l ea rn to suppress you r Cr i t i c , a t least t emporar i ly (you will never lose the Cr i t i c pe rmanen t ly ) , so you can get on wi th the bus iness of wr i t ing . Tyson , a screenwri ter , told me that he r Cr i t i c was a ch i ld l ike g r e m l i n that sat on he r shoulder , j u m p i n g up and d o w n and s q u a w k i n g , ran t ing and rav ing and spi t t ing out cr i t icisms as Tyson t r ied to work . S h e c o n v i n c e d h i m to move o f f her shoulder and d o w n o n t o the t y p e w r i t e r — a n d then she pressed the ca r r i age r e tu rn and r a n g h i m off.

R i g h t now you have a m o n o l o g u e inside, a b a r r ag e of refuse r a in ing on y o u r b ra in . You ge t smal le r and smal le r a s you al low this d u m p t ruck to u n l o a d on y o u . T a l k back! Pul l r ank . Ju l ian Jaynes's b icamera l m a n a c c e p t e d the d i c t u m s o f the gods unques t ion ing ly ; we no longe r n e e d to accep t the Cri t ic 's voice as definit ive. I am e n c o u r a g i n g you to m a k e that m o n o l o g u e a d i a l o g u e , and give a few answers of y o u r o w n . Do not be in t imida ted . C a l l the Cri t ic 's bluff. S t r ip away his p u f f a n d thunder . R e m e m b e r in the Wizard of Oz how their knees k n o c k e d as D o r o t h y a n d h e r c o m p a n i o n s e n t e r e d the W i z a r d ' s t h r o n e r o o m ? ("Please , sir! A heart .") T h e W i z a r d s e e m e d so o m n i p o t e n t and un a p p r o a c h a b l e . T h e n Toto pu l l ed d o w n the cur ta ins to reveal a very sma l l m a n pu l l i ng levers and m a k i n g all k inds o f ampli f ied noise.

Of cou r se , the Cr i t i c i s o f ten present in m u c h that we do , not jus t wr i t i ng ; l e a rn to t ransfer over to wr i t i ng the ways you have l ea rned to dea l wi th h i m in o the r a renas . My cous in M a r y E d n a i s a watercolor i s t o f cons ide rab le talent . H e r Cr i t i c tries to sabotage that ability w h e n eve r poss ible . People a re s tar t led to h e a r her ca r ry on an aud ib le conver sa t ion wi th he r se l f as she paints .

" D a r k e r p i g m e n t . More magen ta . N o . Yes . B e brave!" I t i s this last re jo inder that gets he r t h r o u g h and helps her p r o d u c e

m a g n i f i c e n t a r twork . " B e brave! B e brave!" T h a t s imple in junct ion g ives h e r the c o u r a g e to apply more paint , use b r igh te r co lors , and no t be w e a k - w i l l e d in her b r u s h strokes. I b o r r o w e d he r phrase for my w r i t i n g a n d f ind i t o f t en helps me t h r o u g h a diff icul t passage . Be brave!


USE DEADLINE ENERGY

N o w that you know the Cr i t ic and see how l i s tening to his or he r

voice is k i l l ing you , you will no d o u b t r e c o g n i z e that i t is the inabil i ty

to s i lence this voice sooner that leads to pu t t ing of f wr i t i ng unti l the

last m inu te .

A l l o f us have had the e x p e r i e n c e o f pu t t ing out a p iece o f d y n a m i t e

work u n d e r p r e s s u r e — d e a d l i n e crisis gives us wr i t i ng ad rena l ine , and

we b e c o m e l ike p e o p l e w h o lift e x t r a o r d i n a r y weights d u r i n g f loods.

W h e n y o u or someone y o u love i s in danger , w h e n the f lood waters

a re r i s ing , there is no t ime to listen to the voice inside that says, " Y o u

can ' t do that!" In a s imi lar way, dead l ine e n e r g y gene ra t ed by the

crisis o f the e leventh h o u r pushes all object ions out o f the way and

c lears the road for us to wr i te o u r bes t and do i t wi th ease . O u t of

necessity, we t u rn o f f the Cri t ic 's voice and wri te as fast as possible

b e c a u s e we bel ieve we have no o ther choice . T h e s i tuat ion is life-

t h r e a t e n i n g , and we r e s p o n d wi th o u r f i nes t hou r o f wr i t ing .

O n c e I asked some co l l ege s tudents , w h o had j u s t h a n d e d in their

t e rm p a p e r s , w h a t a p p r o a c h they had used to get the pape r s in on

t ime. O n e y o u n g m a n s h a r e d this: " I went to the movies , then I went

to a party, ate lots of p izza , h a d a few bee r s , and then c a m e h o m e at

m i d n i g h t and powered i t out !" ( T h i s last wonder fu l phrase was accom

p a n i e d by a r r r r r u m s o u n d and a ges tu re of p lowing th rough . )

W i t h o u t r ea l i z ing it, he was desc r ib ing how to use dead l ine e n e r g y

to ge t pas t the Cr i t ic . We let wr i t i ng go unt i l the last possible m o m e n t

b e c a u s e we have not t ra ined o u r minds yet to tu rn o f f the Cri t ic 's

vo ice u n d e r any o the r c i r cums tances than b e i n g c lu tched .

" O u t of my way, I don ' t have t ime to listen to you . I 've got to get

this w r i t i n g done ! "

T h e r e is a more posi t ive way to let dead l ine e n e r g y work for you .

How to Work with Deadline Energy

1. A c c e p t it, know that i t is your work ing style, take the mora l

j u d g m e n t ou t o f it, and L E A V E S U N D A Y N I G H T O P E N .

2. Push i t up a w e e k or so ea r l i e r to take the frantic pace ou t by

r e c o g n i z i n g that the Cr i t i c is the cu lpr i t . You now have at you r

d i sposa l any n u m b e r of less stressful ways to anes thes ize the

screener , u s ing ear ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing , r ap idwr i t ing , answer ing

back, and o the r dev ices de ta i led t h r o u g h o u t this book.

N o w y o u have a cho ice . R e c o g n i z e why you a re wai t ing unti l the last m inu te , or move you r dead l ine up a bit, wr i te j u s t as well , and give y o u r s e l f a c h a n c e to look over wha t you 've wr i t ten before you submi t it.

A S S E R T 1 V E N E S S TRAINING / 77

I T A L L T I E S T O G E T H E R

A l r e a d y y o u c a n d i sce rn how c o m i n g to g r ip s wi th the Cr i t ic pulls t o g e t h e r the work you have b e e n d o i n g t h r o u g h o u t the o ther chap te r s of this b o o k . A f t e r al l , the Cr i t ic i s

• P rocras t ina t ion

• C a l i b a n

• T h e P r e m a t u r e Ed i t M o d e

• Y o u r t h i r d - g r a d e teacher wi th the r ed pen

• T h e left b ra in

• T h e wal l

• Jon te l l ing Garf ie ld that cats can ' t walk on their h ind feet.

R a p i d w r i t i n g works b e c a u s e you " p o w e r i t ou t" pas t the Cr i t ic . B r a n c h i n g is d ramat i c b e c a u s e you ease the Cr i t ic out of the task. R u m i n a t i o n thwarts he r because she mean t for i t to be h a r d e r than that . Ea r ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing is f luent because the Cr i t ic is still a s l eep . He n e e d s his s l eep , so let h i m s l e e p — m e a n t i m e , you wr i te what you n e e d and want t o wr i te . A n d you r P rogress L o g has a l ready g iven you ins igh t into some of the Cri t ic 's tactics and ploys; by he lp ing you u n c o v e r the pa t te rn , i t has a l ready s tar ted to put you back in cont ro l .

I N T E R V I E W W I T H T H E C R I T I C

Now that you k n o w the Crit ic 's n a m e and phone n u m b e r and have a t r ick or two up y o u r s leeve to momentar i ly dis tract h im, i t is t ime to have a more in -dep th conversa t ion , to lay ou t some g r o u n d ru les for the new re la t ionsh ip you p lan to fo rm. An in terview is the best way to do this . I t he lps to c lear the air and gives you a new pos i t i on—a pos i t ion of au thor i ty a n d s t rength . R i g h t now, you have a parent - to-ch i ld re la t ionsh ip , and you want to c h a n g e that. You want to beg in to d e v e l o p an adu l t - to -adu l t f r iendship .

E X E R C I S E 1 1 : A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H T H E C R I T I C

Stance

For this first official encounter , a few posi t ions need to be establ i shed. You wan t to ge t a t the Cri t ic 's identity and uncove r his work habi t s , his m o d u s o p e r a n d i . You want to redef ine the parent - to-chi ld a t t i tude , and you want to assert y o u r s e l f and point out that the Cr i t ic i s s t and ing on y o u r toes . T h i n k of y o u r s e l f as a j ou rna l i s t on ass ignment ; this d i s t anc ing helps , especial ly in the f i rs t interview. R e c o g n i z e that y o u r subjec t is c o m i n g to this in te rv iew wi th a l ifetime of p u s h i n g you a r o u n d and ge t t ing his o w n way in eve ry th ing . He has a reputa t ion


USE DEADLINE ENERGY

N o w that you know the Cr i t ic and see how l i s ten ing to his or he r

voice is k i l l ing y o u , you wil l no d o u b t r e c o g n i z e that i t is the inabil i ty

to s i lence this voice sooner that leads to pu t t ing o f f wr i t i ng unti l the

last m inu te .

A l l o f us have h a d the e x p e r i e n c e o f pu t t ing out a p iece o f d y n a m i t e

work u n d e r p r e s s u r e — d e a d l i n e crisis gives us wr i t i ng ad rena l ine , and

we b e c o m e like p e o p l e w h o lift e x t r a o r d i n a r y weigh ts d u r i n g f loods .

W h e n y o u or s o m e o n e y o u love i s in danger , w h e n the f lood waters

a re r i s ing , there is no t ime to l isten to the voice inside that says, " Y o u

can ' t do that!" In a s imi lar way, dead l ine e n e r g y gene ra t ed by the

crisis of the e leventh h o u r pushes all object ions out of the way and

c lears the road for us to wr i te o u r bes t and do i t with ease . O u t of

necessity, we t u rn o f f the Cri t ic 's voice and wr i te as fast as poss ib le

b e c a u s e we bel ieve we have no o ther choice . T h e s i tuat ion i s l ife-

t h r e a t e n i n g , and we r e s p o n d wi th o u r finest h o u r o f wr i t ing .

O n c e I a sked some co l l ege s tudents , w h o had j u s t h a n d e d in their

t e rm p a p e r s , w h a t a p p r o a c h they h a d u sed to ge t the papdrs in on

t ime. O n e y o u n g m a n s h a r e d this: " I went to the movies , then I went

to a party, ate lots of p i zza , had a few bee r s , and then c a m e h o m e at

m i d n i g h t and powered i t ou t ! " ( T h i s last wonder fu l phrase was accom

p a n i e d by a r r r r r u m sound and a ges tu re of p lowing th rough . )

W i t h o u t r ea l i z ing it, he was desc r ib ing how to use dead l ine e n e r g y

to ge t pas t the Cr i t i c . We let wr i t i ng go unti l the last possible m o m e n t

b e c a u s e we have not t ra ined o u r minds yet to tu rn o f f the Cri t ic 's

voice u n d e r any o the r c i r cums tances than be ing c lu tched .

" O u t of my way, I don ' t have t ime to listen to you . I 've go t to get

this w r i t i n g d o n e ! "

T h e r e is a m o r e posi t ive way to let dead l ine e n e r g y work for you .

How to Work with Deadline Energy

1. A c c e p t it, k n o w that i t is you r work ing style, take the mora l

j u d g m e n t ou t o f it, and L E A V E S U N D A Y N I G H T O P E N .

2. Push i t up a w e e k or so ear l ie r to take the frantic pace ou t by

r e c o g n i z i n g that the Cr i t i c is the cu lpr i t . You now have at you r

d i sposa l any n u m b e r of less stressful ways to anes thes ize the

screener , u s ing ear ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing , r ap idwr i t ing , a n s w e r i n g

back , and o the r dev ices de ta i led t h r o u g h o u t this book .

N o w you have a cho ice . R e c o g n i z e why you are wa i t ing unti l the last minu te , or move y o u r dead l ine up a bit, wr i te j u s t as well , and g ive y o u r s e l f a c h a n c e to look over wha t you 've wr i t ten before you submi t it.


I T A L L TIES T O G E T H E R

A l r e a d y y o u can d i s ce rn how c o m i n g to g r ip s wi th the Cr i t ic pulls t oge the r the work you have b e e n d o i n g t h r o u g h o u t the o ther chap te r s of this book . A f t e r al l , the Cr i t ic i s

• P rocras t ina t ion

• C a l i b a n

• T h e P r e m a t u r e Ed i t M o d e • Y o u r t h i rd -g rade teacher wi th the red p e n

• T h e left b ra in

• T h e wal l

• Jon te l l ing Garf ie ld that cats can ' t wa lk on their h ind feet.

R a p i d w r i t i n g works b e c a u s e y o u " p o w e r i t ou t " past the Cr i t ic . B r a n c h i n g i s d rama t i c because you ease the Cr i t i c ou t of the task. R u m i n a t i o n thwarts he r b e c a u s e she mean t for i t to be h a r d e r than that . Ea r ly m o r n i n g wr i t ing is f luent b e c a u s e the Cr i t ic is still a s l eep . He n e e d s his s l eep , so let h i m s l e e p ^ m e a n t i m e , you wr i te wha t you n e e d and wan t t o wr i te . A n d y o u r P rogres s L o g has a l ready g iven y o u ins igh t into some of the Cri t ic 's tactics and p loys ; by h e l p i n g you u n c o v e r the pa t t e rn , i t has a l r eady s tar ted to put you back in con t ro l .

I N T E R V I E W W I T H T H E C R I T I C

N o w that you know the Cr i t ic ' s n a m e and phone n u m b e r and have a t r ick or two up y o u r s leeve to momenta r i ly dis t ract h i m , i t is t ime to have a m o r e in -dep th conversa t ion , to lay ou t some g r o u n d ru les for the new re la t ionsh ip you p lan to fo rm. An in terv iew is the best way to do this. I t he lps to c lear the air and gives you a new pos i t i on—a pos i t ion of author i ty and s t reng th . R i g h t now, y o u have a parent - to-ch i ld re la t ionsh ip , a n d you want to c h a n g e that. You want to b e g i n to d e v e l o p an adu l t - to -adu l t f r i endsh ip .

E X E R C I S E 1 1 : A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H T H E C R I T I C

Stance

For this first official encounter , a few posi t ions n e e d to be es tabl i shed. You w a n t to get a t the Cri t ic 's identi ty and uncove r his work habi ts , his m o d u s o p e r a n d i . You want to redef ine the parent - to-ch i ld a t t i tude , a n d y o u wan t to asser t y o u r s e l f and poin t out that the Cr i t i c i s s t and ing on you r toes . T h i n k of y o u r s e l f as a j o u r n a l i s t on ass ignment ; this d i s t anc ing he lps , especia l ly in the f i rs t interview. R e c o g n i z e that y o u r subjec t is c o m i n g to this in terv iew wi th a l ifetime of push ing y o u a r o u n d a n d ge t t i ng his o w n way in every th ing . He has a reputa t ion


for b e i n g su l len and sarcast ic . We are ta lk ing b ig- t ime in terv iew here . T h i s i s l ike O r i a n a Fallaci i n t e rv i ewing the Aya to l l ah K h o m e i n i . She neve r let h i m have the last word . T h i s is ser ious stuff, and you mus t not let the Cr i t i c ge t the u p p e r h a n d .

Questions

Profess ional in te rv iewers know never to ask yes-or-no ques t ions ; i n s t e a d , t h e y p o s e q u e s t i o n s t h a t n e e d d e t a i l e d r e p l i e s . R a t h e r t han " A r e you h a p p y with this dec i s ion?" a g o o d in te rv iewer m i g h t ask, " W h a t a r e some of the th ings about this decis ion that p lease y o u ? " S i m i l a r l y , i n a p p r o a c h i n g y o u r C r i t i c , d o no t a sk , " C a n I ge t r id o f y o u ? " bu t ra ther " H o w can I get rid o f y o u ? " o r " W h a t a r e some ways we cou ld improve o u r work ing re la t ionsh ip?" Not " D o n ' t you l ike the way I w r i t e ? " bu t " W h a t is i t that you don ' t like about my w r i t i n g ? "

W h e n you formula te y o u r ques t ions , cons ider these f ive a reas :

1 . T h e Cri t ic ' s identi ty 2 . W h a t the Cr i t i c sees as y o u r p rob lems in wr i t i ng

3 . W h a t tr icks the Cr i t i c uses to p e r s u a d e you 4. H o w to get the Cr i t i c to go away

5 . A n y posi t ive m e s s a g e s — c o m p l i m e n t s , gif ts , etc.

T h i s last area of quest ioning often brings forth unexpec ted responses. Have a basic list of ques t ions j o t t e d d o w n , bu t be p r e p a r e d , as any

g o o d in te rv iewer knows , to put them aside i f you f ind the conversa t ion t a k i n g y o u e l s ewhere . L e t you r ques t ions f low f luen t ly f rom the rep l ies .

K e e p y o u r d i s tance , especia l ly in ear ly in te rv iews , by r e fe r r ing to y o u r s e l f in the th i rd pe r son .

" W h a t is i t that y o u don ' t l ike about Kevin ' s wr i t i ng?"

" H o w c o u l d D o r o t h y ge t r id o f y o u ? "

" W h a t tr icks do you use to ge t A l l e n to p rocras t ina te?"

The Wall

O n c e a g a i n , as in all the major exerc ises of this book , watch ou t for the wal l . S u r e e n o u g h , r i g h t before the g o o d stuff, the d e e p ins ight , the hand l e , the s u m m i t , y o u r mind will t ry to trick you into t h ink ing that there i s no th ing more there . W h e n y o u ( think you have) r u n ou t of th ings to say, ques t ions to ask, Excels ior ! T h a t d r y sensat ion is y o u r t ip that the best is yet to come . Excels ior ! A s k y o u r Cr i t ic ou t r igh t , "Wel l , I have no th ing m o r e to ask y o u . A r e you h id ing some th ing f rom me b e h i n d the w a l l ? "

Closing—Three Steps

T h i s f i r s t in te rv iew needs to be a m i n i m u m of twenty minu tes .

W h e n y o u r s igna l says that t ime i s u p , do th ree quick th ings before


end ing . First , t hank y o u r Cr i t i c for c o m i n g out o f h i d i n g and b e i n g wi l l i ng to talk wi th you . I t i s only r igh t that you a c k n o w l e d g e that, espec ia l ly s ince y o u wan t to leave the l ines of c o m m u n i c a t i o n o p e n for r e t u r n visits.

S e c o n d , r eun i t e wi th y o u r Cr i t ic in some in formal way. I do not w a n t y o u to c o m e out o f this exerc i se fee l ing sch izophren ic , and o f c o u r s e , the Cr i t i c is y o u . P r o s p e r o k n e w this in The Tempest. At the end of the play he dec ides to keep C a l i b a n on the is land with h i m : " T h i s t h ing o f da rknes s , I a c k n o w l e d g e mine ." At the e n d o f y o u r twenty-m i n u t e in terac t ion , r eun i t e in s imple fashion, saying, "We a re o n e " or "Le t ' s ge t back toge the r now."

T h i r d , m a k e an appo in tmen t to mee t aga in ; set an ac tual , specific da te a n d t ime. Maybe for b reakfas t the next m o r n i n g , that e v e n i n g be fo re b e d , a t l unch on Wednesday . Ac tua l ly enter that appo in tmen t la ter in y o u r d a t e b o o k ; i t is, as D o r o t h e a B r a n d e says of any appoin t m e n t to wr i te , "a deb t o f honor to be sc rupu lous ly d i s c h a r g e d . "

M o r e than in any o the r exerc i se in this b o o k so far, you n e e d to s u s p e n d j u d g m e n t abou t the o u t c o m e o r p r o c e d u r e o f this one . T h e r e is no " r i g h t " way to do this and no " w r o n g " way. W h a t e v e r h a p p e n s is w h a t is r i gh t for y o u . Main ta in a p layful pose , de t ached yet cu r ious , l ike t r y i n g a new e thn ic res tauran t that smells i n t r i gu ing w h e n y o u pass it. No risk, no way to be w r o n g , and the g o o d c h a n c e that s o m e t h i n g sa t is fying will r e w a r d y o u r wi l l ingness to try.

Now, set the t imer for twenty minu tes , have a few set ques t ions in m i n d , a n d then r ap idwr i t e you r way t h r o u g h the ent i re interview.

• Progress Log: R e c o r d y o u r e x p e r i e n c e with y o u r Cr i t ic . Note the

t ime and da te you s c h e d u l e d to mee t a g a i n .

EXAMPLES OF INTERVIEWS: PITFALLS AND P U L L T H R O U G H S

A l l the wr i t i ng d o n e d u r i n g my workshop i s pr ivate . Somet imes

p e o p l e a r e k ind e n o u g h a n d gene rous e n o u g h to share their work wi th

me . I am touched w h e n e v e r anyone does that because I r e c o g n i z e the

vu lnerab i l i ty involved , the l ay ing bare of self.

T h e p e o p l e q u o t e d be low have g iven me pe rmiss ion to share their

i n t e rv iews wi th their Cr i t ics in the h o p e that these exce rp t s wou ld he lp

y o u dea l wi th y o u r s . T h e ind iv idua ls r ep resen ted here come f rom

d i f fe ren t b a c k g r o u n d s and ambi t ions , yet their in te rv iews have a re

m a r k a b l e commonal i ty . None of them has ever seen the o thers ' inter

v i e w s , bu t the same moti fs appear .

V i c t o r y is a therapis t w h o secret ly wants to wr i te a novel ; R i cha rd ,

an a rch iv is t and P h . D . cand ida te w h o , af ter t ak ing my class, a lso

b e c a m e a songwr i t e r ; G e o r g e , an a t torney w h o app l i ed his d iscover ies

in h a n d l i n g the Cr i t i c d i rec t ly to his c o u r t r o o m interact ions. C l a r i c e

was a b u r e a u c r a t w h o , af ter t ak ing my cour se , r ea l i zed a l i fe long


d r e a m : she qu i t he r j o b and now suppor t s he r se l f ful l - t ime wi th her

f r ee l ance wri t ing.

First, the Last Word

Never let the Cr i t i c have the last word . You are the one in cont ro l . W h e n V i c t o r y d id her in te rv iew in class, she forgot this p r inc ip le and c a m e up to me sadly af ter the exerc i se . " N o w wha t do I d o ? " she m o a n e d , h a n d i n g me this.

Victory: W h a t do you look like?

Critic: A w h o l e g r o u p of f a m i l y — g r a n d m o t h e r s , u n c l e s , b ro the r s ,

s tepmother .

Victory: W h a t do you have to say to me?

Critic: T h a t y o u r wr i t i ng is in bad taste. You shouldn ' t have to s toop to b e i n g c o a r s e — i f you had any talent, you cou ld wr i te the k ind of work that would not offend anyone . T h i s use o f v u l g a r l a n g u a g e and b la tant sexua l i ty shows a lack of skill and a baseness of personal i ty . It's not that we ' r e p r u d i s h ; it's that y o u r l ifestyle, personali ty, and mora l s a r e ques t ionab le at best . I know you th ink you see and live life to the ful lest , bu t we th ink you a re an embar ras smen t .

T h a t i s no note to e n d an in te rv iew on!

" H o w c o m e they got the last w o r d ? " I asked . " G o back to the inter

v iew a g a i n and give a rebut ta l . C o m e back with an answer, any answer,

bu t do not let the Cr i t i c have the last word . "

So she went back to the in te rv iew and con t inued on with it. T h i s

t ime she took the re ins f irmly in h a n d and c a m e back with a decisive

re tor t .

Victory: T h a t is nasty. I th ink you ' r e j e a l o u s . I 've made , am m a k i n g , a n d will m a k e h o r r e n d o u s mis t akes—but a t least I 'm l i v ing—at least I 'm al ive. I don ' t ca re how trite that sounds—it ' s t rue . You are so p rov inc ia l , so j u d g m e n t a l . I don ' t know how anyone can take you seriously. Unfor tunate ly , I do . I do take you seriously. See , I ca re abou t y o u . I ca re abou t y o u r op in ion . You ' r e nice peop le . It's j u s t that you live a l ifestyle that I cou ld never be satisfied wi th . Not that m ine is b e t t e r — I wish all this s tup id j u d g i n g wou ld cease . I can ' t live the life y o u app rove o f — a h u s b a n d wi th the r i gh t j o b , cute kids w h o take swim l e s sons—say ing and d o i n g all the Jun ior L e a g u e th ings .

I 've chosen my pa th , and it's par t of w h o I a m . A n d w h o I am is a d a m n c a r i n g , lov ing , sensit ive, funny, t h ink ing w o m a n . A n d I have th ings to say. Now, i f you keep g i v i n g me all this c r ap , t ry ing to m a k e me feel guilty, j u s t because you ' r e not comfor tab le with wha t you hear, then we all lose . I ge t shut up and feel l ike a fa i lure and you lose h e a r i n g an intel l igent , a r t icu la te voice. So give me an f ing c h a n c e .


H e r c h o r u s o f Cr i t ics re len ted .

S tand up for yourse l f ; bel ieve in yourself . Do not be bul l ied by the Cr i t ic ' s s a rcasm. Do not be l ieve h im w h e n he lies to you . Ca l l h i m on his l ies and in fo rm h i m square ly that you will not tolerate a re la t ionsh ip based on dece i t .

Clarice: I don ' t wan t to s e e m harsh here , but you j u s t l ied to me. You said I 've never pub l i shed any th ing . I have. I t may not be m u c h , bu t I p u b l i s h e d a b o o k rev iew in a s tudent j o u r n a l , a n d I pub l i shed several p o e m s in h i g h school .

Critic: Oh h o ! So you c a u g h t me at it. A l l r igh t , so I l ied. I s eem to ge t away with i t mos t of the t ime. A b s o l u t e s a re so easy to sell .

Clarice: Wel l , I w o u l d like you to cons ide r carefu l ly that I do not d e s e r v e to be l ied to . I f y o u are go ing to he lp me out , wh ich I insist y o u do , I can ' t let you lie to me . Please take the a t t i tude that I don ' t wan t absolu tes a n d I don ' t wan t l ies. I want you to give me hones t eva lua t ions o f my p rog re s s . A b s o l u t e s don ' t he lp .

T h e Cr i t i c i s h u m b l e d in the face o f such s t reng th , and C l a r i c e es tabl ishes an exce l len t r appo r t wi th her Cr i t ic ear ly on in the interv i e w — a nice g ive-and- take is ev ident . Not ice that the Cr i t ic does not let C l a r i c e get away wi th a n y t h i n g either.

Clarice: I note a bit of a m u s e m e n t in you r voice; you don ' t take me

seriously. I wan t you to take me seriously.

Critic: Okay. As soon as you take you r se l f seriously.

A n d a g a i n , w h e n C l a r i c e sets a goa l o f wr i t i ng eve ry m o r n i n g u p o n

r i s ing for at least fifteen minu tes , the Cr i t ic calls he r on that.

Critic: If you a re ser ious abou t b e i n g a writer, fifteen minutes a day

d o e s n ' t hack it.

T h e n he helps her, wi th more gent le n u d g i n g , to set he r s ights h igher .

False Concessions

O n e r e c u r r i n g m o t i f c rops up so of ten in in te rv iews wi th the Cr i t ic that I n e e d to w a r n you to be on g u a r d for it. I have seen this decoy any n u m b e r o f t imes in in te rv iews with my o w n Cri t ic and in vi r tual ly e v e r y in te rv iew that p e o p l e have sha red wi th me . I t i s the " I ' l l -be-g o o d - i f - y o u ' l l - b e - g r e a t " b a r g a i n , and it is a wo l f in the c lo th ing of a l amb .

I t goes l ike this: the Cr i t i c g r u d g i n g l y makes a concess ion , suppos ed ly g i v i n g you space and suppor t , but there a re s t r ings a t tached . T h e a g r e e m e n t of s u p p o r t i s a hol low promise , d e m a n d i n g un rea sonab l e e x p e c t a t i o n s on y o u r pa r t to fulfill . I t is no b a r g a i n , bel ieve me! I t is


a u sed -ca r - sa l e sman p i tch , and you need to defend y o u r se l f and not accep t the t e rms . You have e a r n e d the r e w a r d wi thout the condi t ions .

I t i s a m a z i n g how m a n y Cr i t ics g r u d g i n g l y a g r e e to be suppor t ive , p r o v i d e d the wr i t e r wins a Pul i tzer Pr ize .

Critic: M a y b e we cou ld l igh ten up on you i f you wro te like that guy, J a m e s Her r io t , w h o wro t e all those t ouch ing b o o k s .

Victory: I 'd be p r o u d to wr i te like h i m , but that's j u s t not me. Tha t ' s not how I t h ink—i t wou ld be forced and phoney. I t cou ld never be my bes t work . I wish you 'd j u s t face up to it. A c c e p t it. Even give me a little suppo r t . I 'm a pret ty g o o d writer, and i f you 'd l igh ten up on me, I c o u l d be an exce l len t writer . W h a t do you say?

Critic: It's a lot to ask. Maybe . Bu t for us to buy that, you 'd be t te r be

real ly g o o d — n o t m e d i o c r e . T h a t maybe we cou ld swallow. Maybe i f

y o u wro te some th ing that won a Pul i tzer Pr ize or some th ing like that.

R ichard ' s Cr i t ic was j u s t as unre len t ing .

Critic: I mus t be pe r fec t and keep R i c h a r d pe r fec t so he won ' t be o p e n to cr i t ic ism. I w o u l d n ' t mind his wr i t ing i f he would j u s t wr i te perfect ly, beautiful ly, wisely, profoundly . A f t e r all , anyone can wr i te , bu t R i c h a r d has to be grea t , l ike M a r k Twain , o r M a r c u s A u r e l i u s , o r H e m i n g w a y , B o r g e s , S te inbeck , all the so-cal led grea ts o f l i t e ra tu re— S h a k e s p e a r e — y o u n a m e it. T h e y were smar t and per fec t . I f R i c h a r d w o u l d wr i te l ike that, I wou ld ease up my cri t ic ism of h im.

You n e e d s u p p o r t f ree and clear, and you dese rve no th ing less. R e s p o n d to the Cri t ic 's phoney b a r g a i n . A n s w e r back! C u t the s t r ings! Do not accep t those condi t iona l te rms.

Victory: Do you rea l ize the p res su re that puts on me? T h a t is j u s t a tad unrea l i s t ic , don ' t you th ink? Maybe I will wr i te someth ing that ou t s t and ing , bu t I 've go t to have the leeway to wri te all kinds of t h i n g s — s o m e of them maybe not even up to m e d i o c r e . Tha t ' s how I'll ge t better, that's how I'll l ea rn . I 'm sick of this who le conversa t ion; all you do i s th row up m o r e obstacles in my p a t h — I don ' t know w h a t you th ink y o u ' r e accompl i sh ing .

Critic: Okay , okay, we' l l g ive you a c h a n c e . Just p romise you ' l l real ly

t ry h a r d . No ha l f -hea r t ed shot. Give i t e v e r y t h i n g you 've got . We ' r e

t a lk ing h a r d work here . Do you th ink you can work a little self-

d i sc ip l ine into this fasc ina t ing life of yours?

Victory: Okay. You ' r e r i gh t on this. I will real ly do my best. Be l ieve it. A n d k e e p be l i ev ing it. T h a n k s for the words . See you aga in on Sunday.

R i c h a r d e x c h a n g e d the hol low b a r g a i n for a gif t , de ta i led below.

""«*•"*-•' ASSERTI VENESS TRAINING / 83

False Friend

To my m i n d , one o f the most ins id ious and desp icab le poses o f the Cr i t i c is the " I -on ly -want - to -be -your - f r i end" d i sgu i se . T h i s is of ten a di f f icul t c h a r g e to r e spond to, because i t is t rue that you need the Cr i t i c , bu t on dec ided ly d i f ferent t e rms . I f l i s tening to his advice is k e e p i n g y o u f rom wr i t ing , he i s no f r iend. L is ten to G e o r g e ' s Cr i t i c :

Critic: B u t y o u k n o w that you n e e d me . I f i t weren ' t for me, how w o u l d you k e e p f rom m a k i n g a fool of yourse l f? How wou ld you be su re to do a g o o d j o b ? I f you j u s t let y o u r s e l f wr i te wha teve r you w a n t e d to wr i te , how w o u l d y o u keep i t f rom be ing g ibber i sh? I f you don ' t n e e d to do th ings well in o rde r to be l iked by o ther peop l e , how do y o u e x p e c t to con t inue to do th ings well?

Richard ' s Cr i t i c s ings the same song.

Richard: Don ' t you think that Richard is old enough and smart enough

to h a n d l e his o w n si tuat ion, p rob lems , life, and wr i t ing , wi thou t y o u r

in t e r fe rence?

Critic: Well , he m a y be old e n o u g h , bu t he still needs me . He needs me to p ro t ec t h i m f rom others and his o w n lack of s ight . I am his e x c u s e for not p e r f o r m i n g and succeed ing .

T h i s fo rm o f h i t - and- run d r i v i n g of ten takes y o u r b rea th away. Do not lie in the s t reet s h a k i n g y o u r f i s t . G e t up and r u n after the cu lpr i t . For e x a m p l e , this was G e o r g e ' s answer w h e n Ol l i e , his Cr i t ic , t r ied that l ine:

George: I th ink you ' r e sca red , Ol l i e . Of course , I a m , too . You a re f ind ing my d o u b t s — y o u shou ld be able to b e c a u s e you 've b e e n with me an awful long t ime. Y o u ' r e sca red b e c a u s e you ' r e afra id that I won ' t n e e d you now that I 've l e a rned your g a m e a n d therefore you won ' t con t inue to exist . Y o u ' r e f ight ing for y o u r life. Don ' t worry. W h i l e I may k n o w your n a m e and you r g a m e , I 'm sure you ' l l con t inue to show u p . A n d I know I will con t inue to p e r f o r m well , not because of y o u , bu t b e c a u s e I wan t to . I know the p l easu re that can c o m e f rom d o i n g a n y t h i n g well . I l ike that fee l ing and I want to e x p e r i e n c e it. I w a n t to be t h o u g h t of by myse l f and others as a success , not b e c a u s e success i s impor t an t or because p e o p l e like you i f you a re successful , bu t b e c a u s e it's fun to be successful .

Hit-and-Run Driving

T h e Cr i t i c l ikes to smash you and wa lk away, l eav ing you w o u n d e d . Se t new s t andards : no h i t -and- run d r i v i n g a l lowed! Do not l imp silently away. A c k n o w l e d g e the blows that you can learn f rom; deflect b a c k the o thers .


Critic: You a re too af ra id of fa i lure to real ly be sucessful . You c a n be a sma l l - t ime wonder . You can do those th ings that a r e easy and foreseeab le for you , bu t y o u ' r e t oo afra id to fall on y o u r face, pa r t i cu la r ly wi th e v e r y o n e w a t c h i n g , to real ly go for the b ig t ime.

George: G o o d one , O l l i e . I have to g ive you c red i t . You cer ta in ly hit

me the re . I k n o w I 've s topped d r e a m i n g of the th ings I cou ld do or be

a n d have only l ooked at w h a t I k n o w that I can accompl i sh . I 'm g o i n g

to c h a n g e tha t—but in a real ist ic manner . First , I have to dea l wi th

y o u .

A n d I ha te to see you s toop to this, but name-ca l l i ng works bo th

ways .

Critic: G r e a t Phi losopher , e n l i g h t e n me on the road to happ iness . You ge t y o u r s e l f c a u g h t up i n ideas o f h a p p i n e s s — o f how you are g o i n g to wr i te g r e a t th ings , do g r e a t th ings , and then you are "happy." T h e p r o b l e m is that you never ge t those th ings wr i t t en , never ge t those th ings done . No se l f -d isc ip l ine . You ' r e not wi l l ing to m a k e the sacrifices necessa ry to ge t the j o b done . G r e a t concep t s , no p e r f o r m a n c e . O r , m o r e accurately, g r e a t concep t s , g o o d start, no f in ish . You wou ld be a g r e a t " rabbi t" in a r e c o r d - b r e a k i n g mile r u n .

George: You ce r ta in ly a re s h a r p today, fatso. Of cou r se , you are r igh t . B u t not completely . A f t e r al l , S a m u e l Johnson cont inual ly be ra t ed h i m s e l f for his laziness and sloth. He felt he was accompl i sh ing nothing. B a s e d on an abso lu te m e a s u r e m e n t , my life i s pret ty wor th l e s s— bu t a lmos t everyone ' s is. B u t j u s t b e c a u s e I can ' t p e r f o r m up to my ideal s t a n d a r d d o e s not m e a n I don ' t have to p e r f o r m at al l . I 'm g o i n g to fail , have false starts , sit w h e n I should be doing . Bu t that's not g o i n g t o excuse m e f rom ge t t ing u p and s ta r t ing a g a i n . A n d I 'm g o i n g to f inish some of the th ings I start . O t h e r s I won ' t ; they can wait .

Critic: O h , you p o m p o u s fool . Just let real i ty in t rude on y o u r d r e a m

wor ld a n d watch i t co l l apse . In any case , y o u r f i rs t b ig test is this

p r o p o s a l y o u a re w r i t i n g r i gh t now. A r e you g o i n g to m a k e the t ime

a n d find the abil i ty to sell y o u r p lan? I doub t it.

George: Watch my smoke! T i m e ' s u p , fatso. See you on W e d n e s d a y m o r n i n g . T h a n k s for the mot iva t ion .

The Half-Empty Glass

To the Cr i t i c the p roverb ia l glass f i l led to the mid l ine is a lways half-e m p t y ra the r than ha l f - fu l l . I t i s up to you to catch h i m at this g a m e a n d insist that some r e g a r d be g iven to posi t ive steps you have taken .

T h i s is wha t I call the Fabric B o o k S y n d r o m e : the ins is tence on n o t h i n g bu t exce l l ence i s why the beau t i fu l fabr ic -covered b l ank b o o k you got for C h r i s t m a s is still empty by June . No th ing -bu t - exce l l ence d o e s not mot iva te e x c e l l e n c e ; i t motivates nothing.


Clarice: He l lo , Cr i t i c . I 'm back. I 've go t a few more of Henr ie t te ' s ques t ions to ask y o u . Is i t all r i gh t to start in?

Critic: Cer ta in ly . Go r igh t a h e a d .

Clarice: How do you m a k e me bel ieve you w h e n I let you give me

nega t ive messages?

Critic: I po in t to all the nega t ive e v i d e n c e — t h e p u r e fact that you 've neve r pub l i shed a n y t h i n g — a n d then m a k e i t s e e m as i f there i s an end les s g u l f b e t w e e n w h e r e you are (i .e. , "unpub l i shed" ) and w h e r e y o u want to be (i .e. , " w i n n e r of the Nobe l Pr ize for l i t e ra ture") . Unti l y o u f ind a t h r ead to tie the two toge the r you will con t inue to stay on one side of the gulf .

C l a r i c e s o o n tires o f the Cri t ic 's negat iv i ty and f ina l ly comes r i gh t ou t a n d asks h i m for some posi t ive f eedback .

Clarice: It's t ime for a few more ques t ions , but first I wou ld like you to assess my first week 's efforts in posi t ive t e rms . Don ' t tell me wha t I d i d n ' t d o ; tell me w h a t I d i d and d id r ight .

Critic: A l l r igh t . You got up ear ly and wro t e for f i f teen minu tes e a c h m o r n i n g o f the work w e e k wi thou t r e g a r d to the qual i ty o f the wr i t ing . In add i t ion , y o u pu t in f i f teen minu tes on Sa tu rday even t h o u g h i t was not p r o m i s e d . You a lso r e s u m e d o u r conversa t ions for the most pa r t as p r o m i s e d .

I f you w o r r y too m u c h about b e i n g per fec t , p e r h a p s these two s tor ies wil l f ree you to l i gh ten up and m a k e a few mis takes . I am told that an exqu i s i t e Turk i sh t apes t ry h a n g s a t the Un i t ed Nat ions . O n l y the t ou r g u i d e c a n f ind the de l ibera te mis take in the lower corner . "To m a k e the t apes t ry pe r fec t wou ld be an affront to A l l a h , " he exp la ins . In the same vein , I r ish kni t ters , w h e n c ra f t ing a sweater, also del iberately i n c o r p o r a t e a mis take , for "only G o d is per fec t . " So tell y o u r Cr i t i c y o u do not wan t y o u r work to be sac r i l eg ious ; a mis take or two he lps keep you h u m b l e .

Rewards

A s k for clar if icat ion, k e e p on the track, do not accep t pushiness . Be asser t ive . I t pays to pe r seve re at the in te rv iew wi th the Cr i t ic . For one th ing , the t echn iques y o u use to dea l wi th his of ten-abras ive pe r son ality a r e e x t r e m e l y use fu l in c o p i n g wi th diff icult p e o p l e in genera l , so i t is g o o d t r a in ing for you to lea rn how not to let y o u r se l f get t r a m p l e d . As p e o p l e improve their re la t ionships with their Cr i t i cs , I su spec t they may genera l ly improve their o w n se l f -es teem and m a k e pa ra l l e l c h a n g e s in their in teract ions wi th combat ive p e o p l e in their l ives .

A l s o , s ince the Cr i t ic works in o the r a reas o f y o u r life bes ides


w r i t i n g , the f r e e d o m you ach ieve w h e n you s i lence h i m he re will def ini te ly e x t e n d to the goa l s and d r e a m s you have in o ther a reas . An office m a n a g e r at a l a rge hospi ta l wro t e to me af ter a w o r k s h o p :

Oh , yes, I am becoming acquainted with my Critic. It is a leprechaun, male, wearing a green suit, a black hat, and Robin Hood shoes. His name is Perversity. Perversity and I have some straightening out to do. He has been very active in my life. Not only in writing but in other areas where he does not need to be.

Transformation

F i n a l l y — a n d I can d o c u m e n t this f rom pe r sona l e x p e r i e n c e , as well a s f rom h u n d r e d s o f in te rv iews p e o p l e have sha red wi th m e — a s you c h a n g e y o u r re la t ionsh ip wi th y o u r Cr i t i c , the Cr i t ic changes in his in terac t ions wi th y o u . O v e r the years , the Cr i t i c ac tual ly b e c o m e s less comba t ive , m o r e suppor t ive . O n e wr i t e r I know sha red wi th me some ea r ly in te rv iews in w h i c h the Cr i t i c was p u n c h i n g he r in the s tomach . A f t e r f i v e years o f in te rv iews , y o u wou ld ha rd ly r e c o g n i z e this c o u p l e now. H e r Cr i t i c affirms her, ag ree s that she is p r o g r e s s i n g nicely, exc l a ims over her g o o d passages , says " K u d o s to y o u ! " a t he r smal les t victory. Of cour se , he still g o a d s her on and keeps he r mind fu l o f he r goa l s , bu t their r e la t ionsh ip is t ruly adu l t to adul t .

T h e four in te rv iewers q u o t e d above all r epo r t their re la t ionships wi th thei r Cr i t i c have i m p r o v e d . C l a r i c e , for e x a m p l e , now goes to he r C r i t i c e v e r y m o r n i n g , to he lp her set the day's goa ls a n d establ ish a r ea sonab le work schedu le . He is on her side. R icha rd was as tonished w h e n he asked his Cr i t i c for a gif t and rece ived the most e x t r a o r d i n a r y p resen t , w h i c h he cher i shes to this day.

G e n t l e yet f i rm insis tence that you will not let the Cr i t ic get the u p p e r h a n d leads g racefu l ly to such magni f icen t conversa t ions as this:

Richard: I f y o u were to g ive the wr i te r R i c h a r d a gift , wha t would you

g ive h im?

Critic: Wel l , I t h ink he wou ld like me to give h i m a P h . D . B u t that's the laziness in h i m . I say I 'd like to give h i m c o u r a g e , c o u r a g e to wr i te freely. For one th ing , that will take h i m t h r o u g h a P h . D . and beyond , t h r o u g h o u t his wr i t i ng life.

T h e Cr i t i c says that R i c h a r d mus t e a r n this gif t , but R i c h a r d persuades h i m to g ive i t to h i m now; the gif t i tself will he lp h i m be wor thy of it. So the Cr i t i c c o n c e d e s :

Critic: He mus t have the c o u r a g e to wri te , c o u r a g e to work h a r d a t the j o b o f wr i t i ng , w h e n he's t i red , b o r e d ; c o u r a g e to l ea rn new words a n d to u se o ld ones bet ter ; c o u r a g e to r ead o ther wri ters and l ea rn f rom them, not be in t imida ted by them; c o u r a g e to face the Cr i t i c ;

— A S S E R T I VENESS TRAINING / 8 7

c o u r a g e to face h imsel f ; c o u r a g e to wr i te th ings that anyone , eve ry o n e — o r no one—may read . He must have c o u r a g e to be ca l led a fool by any and al l ; c o u r a g e a lways to wr i te his best ; c o u r a g e to wri te freely a n d w i t h o u t inh ib i t ion ; c o u r a g e to be f inancially successful a t his wr i t ing . He mus t have c o u r a g e for all t ha t—and more . I have the p o w e r to g r a n t it. I have that a m o u n t to spare , and m u c h more . I have infini te c o u r a g e to wr i te . So I lose no th ing by g r a n t i n g a g o o d a m o u n t to the wr i t e r R i c h a r d .

I do so he re g ran t it, now, in this p e n , in these words , on this paper . He may here r ead my g r a n t i f he ever ques t ions his m e m o r y of it. W h a t i s g r a n t e d will not be t aken away.

Richard: T h a n k you , Mr. Cr i t i c . I call you Mis ter out of respec t . You shal l be h o n o r e d by y o u r gi f t . I shal l use i t f reely and wisely. I t h a n k y o u mos t s incere ly f rom the bo t tom of my hea r t and f rom the top o f my m i n d . My se l f i s no less d iv ided , but i s m o r e h a r m o n i o u s for the g i f t .

B u t let's not be t oo gu l l ib le he r e ; R i cha rd was smar t e n o u g h to have this g r a n t no to r i zed , in t r ipl icate, and i t serves h i m well to this day. You a re we lcome to ask y o u r Cr i t ic for a s imi lar boon . Be brave! You d e s e r v e it.

C H A P T E R 8

Re-Vision: Caliban Returns, at Your Invitation

There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed.

— J O H N KENNETH G A L B R A I T H

Let ' s ge t one th ing s t ra igh t f rom the start : it's okay to n e e d ed i t ing .

W h a t you wro te in r ap idwr i t ing , u s ing r u m i n a t i o n , a f ter t a lk ing back

to the Cr i t i c , is very likely only a d r a f t — a n d that's okay. W h a t you

wro t e was wr i t ten wi th the u n d e r s t a n d i n g that i t n e e d not be per fec t ,

a n d that, in fact, is w h a t gave i t its flow. T h e j u d g m e n t that you ought

to be able to wr i te per fec t ly a n d well r i gh t ou t the d o o r i s w h a t

i m p e d e s f low—the f low o f words in te rms o f a b u n d a n c e and in te rms

o f style.

So l igh ten up on your se l f w h e n i t c o m e s to the e d i t i n g par t . I f you

need a lot of rev is ion , congra tu l a t e y o u r s e l f on b e i n g so prol if ic .

C o n g r a t u l a t e y o u r s e l f o n y o u r spontaneity, y o u r p ro fus ion . A n d then

rol l up you r s leeves and ge t to work.

A M A T T E R O F A T T I T U D E

Ed i t i ng invites the left side of y o u r b r a i n — t h e logica l s i d e — t o

r e tu rn wi th you to you r wr i t t en p iece and offer specific advice on

i m p r o v e m e n t and r e a r r a n g e m e n t . R e m e m b e r , t h o u g h , C a l i b a n r e tu rn s

now at y o u r invi tat ion, as y o u r gues t , and so he c o m e s back as y o u r

f r iend. T h e d i f fe rence be tween this sort o f e d i t i n g and the p r e m a t u r e

ed i t voice i s that, w h e r e before the ed i t voice put you d o w n , now

C a l i b a n i s ready to offer adu l t - to -adu l t sugges t ions on i m p r o v i n g y o u r

wr i t ing .

T h i s book 's ed i to r exempl i f ied in the mos t power fu l a n d l i f e -g iv ing

way the k ind of cri t ic we c a n be to ourse lves in o u r o w n e d i t i n g w h e n

we go a t i t wi th mu tua l r e spec t . In o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , my ed i to r

ca l led h i m s e l f " the n a g g i n g voice o f the C r i t i c " — b u t he was never

RE-VISION / 89

that . He was never the m e a n and d i sp i r i t ing voice o f the Cr i t ic o f c h a p t e r 7 . W h e n he r e t u r n e d my m a n u s c r i p t with his s u g g e s t e d correc t ions , this was the o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h of the cover let ter :

Congratulations on writing a beautiful, breathtaking book. I don't know if 1 will ever see the writing process the same again after reading it. It undulates throughout with your voice, your enthusiasm, your excitement, your friendliness. It is "supportive" in the best sense, never demeaning or discouraging: it sends me out there thinking I can write anything, even this letter to its author. . .

. . . t e l l ing me e v e r y t h i n g I n e e d e d to cor rec t , a m e n d , revise , res tore , e labora te , e l imina te , clarify, and suppor t . I was ready; I was p r i m e d for it. W o u l d n ' t you be?

T a k e that o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h . W r a p i t a r o u n d you . Feel snug and w a r m inside o f it. A n d now tell me. Wou ld you be wi l l ing to m a k e the co r rec t ions s u g g e s t e d by such an ed i to r?

In fact , the words "never d e m e a n i n g or d i s c o u r a g i n g " apply equa l ly to my edi tor ' s con t r ibu t ion . A n d to that I cou ld add , "never d e m a n d ing ," for he cont inual ly c o u c h e d his c o m m e n t s in such qualif iers as "I th ink you n e e d . . . "; " M a y b e you cou ld note . . . "; "Wou ld you be w i l l i ng to . . . " He ra ised impor t an t ques t ions wi thou t supp ly ing answers ; he t rus ted me to p rov ide the answers . " T h i s i s confus ing here ." " C o u l d you c la r i fy?" "Someth ing ' s missing. Please supply the transit ion." " C a n y o u cons t ruc t some l ink be tween this chap t e r and the p r ev ious one? Do you th ink a l ink is necessa ry? I guess I t hough t the t rans i t ion was a bit bumpy, and I l ike i t w h e n chap te r s h o o k u p . If none s eems na tura l , forget it." He always left me with the g o o d fee l ing tha t I was the one in c h a r g e ; the opt ions of choice were mine .

W h a t I am a sk ing you to do is to be that same kind of gent le , p rac t ica l f r iend to y o u r s e l f w h e n you edi t y o u r o w n wri t ing . K e n n e t h K o c h , w h o teaches c h i l d r e n in New York Ci ty to wr i te poetry, has this lovely l ine : w h e n h e l p i n g s tudents edi t , he has them read their o w n work a loud a n d then asks, " H o w can I he lp y o u ? "

Even a y o u n g wr i t e r o f ten knows he r se l f the t rouble spots in her p i ece , wha t is w o r k i n g and wha t is not work ing ; i t changes the t empe r of the c o n f e r e n c e f rom the outse t for the teacher to come a t the ed i t i ng task wi th such a tone. Now the s tudent need not defend to the dea th the o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h that, d e e p in her hear t , she is not p leased wi th , either.

How can I help you? A r e y o u wi l l ing to ask y o u r s e l f that same pat ient and respect fu l

ques t i on a n d trust that the answer is wise?

It is in that l ight , and with that a t t i tude, that this chap te r rev iews the who le -b r a ined wr i t ing p rocess and presents some tips and techn iques that will be he lp fu l a t the ed i t ing poin t in y o u r venture .


1. Ruminate

2 . Rapidwri te

3. Retreat

4 . Revise

5. Repeat

1. R U M I N A T E , T H E N 2 . RAPIDWRITE

Steps 1 and 2 pu t into prac t ice m u c h of wha t you have l e a r n e d so far in this book . By now I t rus t you rea l ize that the rumina t i on s tage, some t imes ca l led p r ewr i t i ng , is in tegra l to the wr i t i ng task and needs to be a c k n o w l e d g e d as pa r t of the p rocess . T h i s i s the t ime for s ta r ing ou t the window, t a k i n g a shower, t h ink ing about you r ideas in a mos t g e n e r a l way, and also t h i n k i n g about y o u r aud ience . In a low-key, d e s u l t o r y fashion, address such ques t ions as W h a t a r e some of the th ings I want this wr i t i ng to accompl i sh? W h a t a re some of the points I wan t to cover? W h a t effect wi l l i t have on my readers?

T h e word rumination comes f rom the La t in word rumen, wh ich is the cow's second s tomach . Be like the con ten ted bovine , c h e w i n g medi ta tively on he r c u d , g a z i n g serenely into the d is tance , sans souci, wi thout c o n c e r n .

Follow this m u s i n g with rap idwr i t ing . "Power i t ou t " past the Cr i t i c , ge t w o r d s on paper . Jot y o u r ideas d o w n even i f they s e e m d i so rgan i z e d ; pu t d o w n y o u r doub t s and hesi tancy r igh t a long with the init ial

W H O L E - B R A I N E D W R I T I N G : T H E F I V E R*S

Every p i ece that y o u wr i te , whe the r i t is a short m e m o or a l ong t reat ise , a let ter to you r g r a n d m o t h e r or a legal brief, will benefi t f rom fo l lowing the Five R's o f who le -b ra ined wri t ing . W h o l e - b r a i n e d wr i t ing fol lows an a l t e rna t ing pa t te rn , u s ing the s t rengths of the r ight , then the left, then the r igh t , then the left aga in . T h e p rocess is like a m e a s u r e d m a r c h . Lef t - r ight - le f t - r ight - le f t - r ight - le f t : a m a r c h i n g cade n c e o f the b ra in .

M a n y o f you a l r eady follow this pa t t e rn na tura l ly wi thout b e i n g aware of it. W h a t I wan t to do is b r i n g the process into awareness , so that you may consciously fol low the steps that will pu t you back in c o m m a n d o f you r wr i t ing .

Follow these five s teps re l ig ious ly for a d ramat i c increase in f luency a n d pe r suas ion .

RE-VISION / 91

text . Do y o u r b r anch ing , too , in the same b ra in s to rming fashion as the nons top wri t ing . T h i s is not a t ime for j u d g m e n t or eva lua t ion : p u t the e d i t i n g side o f y o u r b ra in on ho ld .

3 . R E T R E A T : T H E SECOND "SILENT T I M E "

Ret rea t by s t e p p i n g back or away f rom y o u r manusc r ip t . To do so is not to deser t , bu t to r e g r o u p . T h i s ex t rao rd ina r i ly impor tan t s tep in the w r i t i n g p rocess i s too of ten u n d e r p l a y e d or omi t t ed a l together . Re t rea t is impera t ive to the qual i ty and the effect iveness of the f inished p r o d u c t , a n d i t i s the one s tep that h u r r i e d execu t ives and o ther busy wr i te r s th ink they can d i spense wi th . W r o n g ! T h i s th i rd s tep in the cycle o f compos i t i on g ives you new perspec t ive and makes revis ion (revision) l ive up to its n a m e . Re-v i s ion : to look at aga in . T a k e a s tep b a c k or away f rom your manusc r ip t , tu rn you r at tent ion to o the r ma t t e r s , a n d c o m e back r e n e w e d , to look a t i t aga in . C o m e back fresh, r eady to j u d g e the impac t o f you r words exact ly as the in tended a u d i e n c e wi l l .

O n c e I saw a c a r t o o n that dep i c t ed a bus inessman wi th his feet up on the desk and his h a n d s b e h i n d his head . T h e capt ion read , " I may not look busy, but I 've go t e i g h t e e n p e o p l e on hold r igh t now." W h e n y o u re t rea t , y o u let y o u r wr i t i ng a g e : "I may not look busy, bu t I have a m a n u s c r i p t on hold r igh t now."

I tell the p e o p l e I work wi th that this p e r i o d of re t rea t f rom the m a n u s c r i p t , of m o v i n g away and let t ing you r p a p e r "age , " i s nonnego-tiable— it is that impor t an t and that impera t ive . T h e re t reat that I re fe r to is m o r e a psychologica l apar tness than a p e r i o d of t ime away; t u rn y o u r a t tent ion, e v e n momentar i ly , to some th ing else . Ideally, i f y o u r s c h e d u l e pe rmi t s , let you r words lie fal low o v e r n i g h t (Doro thea B r a n d e sugges t s a week! ) , but even i f you do not have that l u x u r y of t ime, do not e l imina te this s tep. G e t up f rom y o u r work table, walk away a m o m e n t , take a d e e p b rea th , and re tu rn . Shi f t y o u r at tention away f rom w h a t you have wr i t t en , and w h e n you r e tu rn to it, w h e t h e r i t i s the nex t day or only severa l moments later, y o u will see i t wi th a new eye .

I t i s an i n g r e d i e n t o f gen ius to r e c o g n i z e the i m p o r t a n c e of re t reat . You a re in g o o d c o m p a n y w h e n you inc lude this e lement in you r work style. Ju l i an Jaynes recounts stories abou t H e l m h o l t z and Eins te in and the g r e a t ma themat i c i ans G a u s s and Poincare , all o f w h o m e x p e r i e n c e d r e m a r k a b l e b r e a k t h r o u g h s in their work after pu t t ing i t as ide for a wh i l e a n d not t h i n k i n g about i t a t all . T h e p ro jec t was worked on , then forgo t ten , before the f inal i l lumina t ion that b r o u g h t i t to f ru i t ion . " I n d e e d , " says Jaynes , "it is somet imes a lmost as if the p roblem h a d to be forgot ten to be so lved."

C h a r l e s B r o o k s says that wr i t i ng is a k ind of "back-s tove cookery." He con t inues his pot au feu me taphor by desc r ib ing how o u r words s i m m e r over a little flame:


Pieces of this and that, an odd carrot, as it were, a leftover potato, a pithy bone, discarded trifles, are tossed in from time to time to feed the composition. Raw paragraphs, when they have stewed all night, at last become tender to the fork.1

A n d , as a wit in one of my workshops a d d e d , " T h e n you can skim

the fat o f f the top!"

4. REVISE

Now that you have let you r p iece s immer, r e tu rn to i t r e f r e shed ;

" re -v i s ion" it, look at it a g a i n .

I want you to c o m e back at this poin t in a di f ferent f rame of mind ,

as though you were reading this document for the first time, as t h o u g h you were its p r i m a r y aud i ence , not its author.

As you read you r work for the first t ime, how does i t hi t you? Is the

m e a n i n g c lear? D o e s i t move you to act, or to feel a t one wi th the

wr i te r? D o e s the r h y t h m fall nicely on you r ear? Is there a b u i l d u p , a

c r e scendo , and a sense of comple t ion at the end?

Do not make cor rec t ions now; s imply m a r k the " p i n g s " — t h e places

w h e r e sense or sen tence goes awry, w h e r e m e a n i n g i s o b s c u r e d , w h e r e

the tone somehow offends . Somet imes you can actual ly feel a physical

p i n g in your s tomach at the par ts that do not fit; o ther t imes it is a

little bel l in you r head . S imply put a check m a r k in the m a r g i n wher

ever that unse t t l ing sensat ion occu r s . Not ice that you a re not m a k i n g

any j u d g m e n t s here abou t the author 's means o f express ion ; you are

only quie t ly no t ing the a reas that a r e weak or confus ing . U s i n g some

of the ed i t i ng poin ters de ta i led below, you will then be able to go back

and s t reng then those weak spots , co r rec t the tone, and get y o u r mes

sage across with power.

5. REPEAT

R e p e a t these steps as of ten as t ime al lows and the impor t ance of

you r p iece dictates . For most business let ters , memos , and the like,

once is usual ly sufficient. For longer commun ica t i ons , more weigh ty

mat te rs , you m i g h t want to go t h r o u g h these steps several t imes, each

t ime h o n i n g fur ther you r ed i t i ng skills and l is tening ear. I f you have

l imi ted t ime avai lable, d iv ide i t accordingly , bu t do not e l imina te a

s tep to compensa te . W h a t e v e r y o u r t ime f rame, a d a p t i n g all five steps

to fit i t assures that you r words will have impac t and be wor th r ead ing .

IN MEDIAS RES: V I E W S OF A W O R K IN P R O G R E S S

In his b o o k Writing Well, Wi l l i am Zinsser generous ly presents some t y p e d pages f rom his m a n u s c r i p t in the stages of ed i t ing . Just s ee ing those p a g e s was so h e a r t e n i n g to me that, in the same spiri t , I want

RE-VISION / 93

to share some vers ions of my work so you will know that i t d i d not a r r ive on the p a g e as a f in ished p roduc t . T h e ed i t ed vers ions a p p e a r on pages 94 to 9 5 . T h e f ina l p r o d u c t i s on pages 93 and 96 .

E D I T I N G T I P S A N D T E C H N I Q U E S

T h e goal of all wr i t ing , a c c o r d i n g to Horace , is to be "dulce et utile"— pala table as well as usefu l . C h a u c e r p r o m i s e d as m u c h w h e n his host , H a r r y Bailey, o f fe red a p r i ze of f ree s u p p e r to the C a n t e r b u r y p i l g r i m w h o cou ld tell the tale of "bes t sen tence and moos t so laas" : the bes t ins t ruct ion and h ighes t a m u s e m e n t . I t i s not classical and m e d i e v a l wr i te rs a lone w h o know the impor t of this s t andard . For over thir ty years , Highlights for Children has pub l i shed this b a n n e r on e a c h and eve ry cover : "Fun wi th a Pu rpose . "

W h e n you edi t , k e e p this n o r m in m i n d . T h e bo t tom line o f all

wr i t ing , whe the r you a re sel l ing in format ion or ideas , i s the answer to

this question: does it persuade pleasantly, does it educate and entertain?

You make you r p iece "dulce" by c a p t u r i n g a r h y t h m . Lis ten to how

you words fall on the ear. Reci te you r p i ece ou t loud , or have someone

r e a d i t t o y o u . En te r t a in wi th m e t a p h o r s , r he to r i ca l " c o l o r s " ; u se

express ions appropr i a t e to you r a u d i e n c e so that the r eader has the

dis t inct sense o f one h u m a n b e i n g add re s s ing ano the r h u m a n be ing .

No mat te r how technica l y o u r subject matter, this last i ng red ien t is

absolutely essential to effect ive wr i t ing . S o m e h o w your words need to

convey that you ca re for and respec t not only the subject bu t the

r e a d e r as wel l . T h e ed i t i ng t ips and profess ional t r icks o f the t rade

ou t l ined in this chap t e r will he lp do this a lmos t by osmosis .

You m a k e y o u r p iece "utile" i f you respec t clar i ty and are ru thless

abou t clutter. Your wr i t i ng educa tes , pe r suades , and has a p u r p o s e

w h e n you ca re impeccab ly about y o u r logic and the p rog res s ion o f

y o u r though t s . In this r e g a r d , the sect ion on fal lacies will a id y o u ;

"S t r ip M i n i n g " will show you how to put y o u r ideas in order .

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING I N S T A N T L Y IN T H R E E EASY LESSONS

I can r e c o m m e n d several books on c lear and effect ive wr i t ing , most

notably Wi l l i am Zinsser 's On Writing Well and S t r u n k and Whi te ' s

Elements of Style. A fine, s lender g u i d e to g o o d business wr i t i ng is El len

Roddick ' s Writing That Means Business: A Manager's Guide. S o m e of the best p u r e g r a m m a r books were wr i t ten in the 1940s and 1950s . As in

RE-VISION / 95


a g o o d b o o k of e t iquet te , the e x a m p l e s and appl ica t ions may c h a n g e , bu t the ru les ho ld sound , and the u n d e r l y i n g pr inc ip les do not c h a n g e wi th the fash ion . I s u g g e s t that if you are l ook ing for a sol id, r eadab le g r a m m a r , ge t an o ld one f rom a used books to re . K e e p i t on you r desk for those p i cayune points that p l a g u e y o u .

Pu t t i ng all the wr i t i ng books aside for a moment , I want to p inpo in t t h r ee p laces w h e r e co rpo ra t e p rose b o g s d o w n , and i f you never do a n o t h e r t h ing to y o u r wr i t i ng but m a k e changes there, I g u a r a n t e e that y o u r wr i t i ng will be m o r e effect ive. Each t ime I g ive an in -house w o r k s h o p , I pu t t oge the r a h a n d b o o k of the f i rm's wr i t i ng s t rengths a n d weaknesses , b a s e d on samples fu rn i shed in advance . I am never at a loss for e x a m p l e s to i l lustrate these th ree a reas . I am of ten able to g l e a n , f rom a s ingle p a r a g r a p h by the top manager , all th ree e x a m p l e s o f how not to wr i te .

T h e m e m b e r s o f eve ry law f i r m , co rpora t ion , hospi ta l , and school admin i s t r a t i on I work wi th m a k e d ramat i c d i f fe rences in their c o m m u n i c a t i o n by i nco rpo ra t i ng these th ree ru les . I f you want y o u r wri t i n g to be clear, concise , and pe rsuas ive ;

1. Avo id the passive voice

2. T r i m the fat

3 . Watch para l le l s

1. Avoid the Passive Voice

Not i ce h o w m a n y g u i d e s for business wr i t i ng today (see art icles in Byte, U.S. News and World Report, and Business Week m a g a z i n e s and the b o o k Be Twice as Smart as You Are as examples ) instruct the wr i t e r to "be conversa t iona l . " O n e th ing they m e a n by that i s avoid the passive voice , for the act ive voice is the voice of one pe r son s p e a k i n g to another .

In act ive voice sen tences , the subject comes f i r s t , so you know up front w h o is d o i n g the act ion of the verb ("I have no t iced . . . " ; " T h e m a n a g e r s of X D e p a r t m e n t r e p o r t that. . . " ) . T h e passive voice h ides the subjec t ; the r e a d e r has an uneasy sense that there are no p e o p l e a round ("It has come to my attention. . . "; "It has been repor ted. . . " ) .

T h e passive voice i s convo lu t ed ; i t takes the e n e r g y ou t of you r w r i t i n g and makes y o u r message f laccid . I t i s absolutely homic ida l—i t kills the p e o p l e in you r p rose . W h a t you a re left wi th is two robots c o m m u n i c a t i n g ; " A n effort has b e e n m a d e , mach ine , t o b r i n g to you r a t tent ion . . . " "P lease be adv i sed , mach ine , that y o u r bill is ove rdue . " T h e passive voice invar iably comes across as pont i f icat ing, pa t ron iz ing , t a lk ing d o w n . I t sounds ins incere , even dishonest , and i t makes the r e a d e r uncomfo r t ab l e , not t rus t ing , t h o u g h usual ly the r eade r canno t pu t he r f inger on why.

A c t i v e verbs are s t ronger , shorter, more d i rec t , and more pe r sona l .

RE-VISION / 97

T h e y convey convic t ion and a c k n o w l e d g e responsibil i ty, e n g e n d e r i n g con f idence a n d secur i ty in y o u r reader .

Of cou r se , the passive voice i s somet imes necessa ry and usefu l . T h e r e a r e t imes, especia l ly in legal documen t s , w h e n you do not want to a s s u m e responsibi l i ty for anyth ing . My favorite e x a m p l e of this c a m e f rom a p r o p e r t y m a n a g e m e n t let ter :

Of added benefit was that a turnover was created by the increase, bringing a higher quality tenant.

You have to a d m i t that is a clever, nonl i t ig ious way to say

We raised the rent and threw the deadbeats out.

Pe rhaps a m o r e ch i l l ing e x a m p l e of avo id ing responsibi l i ty was the n o w - f a m o u s stark four-sentence r epor t f rom the C o u n c i l o f Minis ters in M o s c o w af ter the accident a t C h e r n o b y l . Severa l days af ter the inc ident , this terse s ta tement "was i s sued" :

An accident has taken place at the Chernobyl power station, and one of the reactors was damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Those affected by it are being given assistance. A government commission has been set up.'1

If y o u n e e d to use the passive voice, use i t j ud ic ious ly ; i t has a t endency to snowbal l . O p e n y o u r let ter wi th "Enc losed is. . . ," fo l lowed by a t ang le of p repos i t iona l phrases , and the next six dead ly sentences m a r c h r i gh t into passive p lace . Star t ins tead with the active voice ("I enclose. . . ") and what follows will be more natural and "conversational."

2. Trim the Fat

Keep the report short and concise. The Gettysburg Address required only 266 words; the Ten Commandments, 297 words; the Declaration of Independence, 300 words, and the order of the U. S. Office of Price Administration to reduce the price of cabbage, 26,911 words.

—Unknown

Per iphras i s obfusca tes! (Two wonder fu l words that do wha t they tell y o u not to!) C h a l l e n g e yourself , w h e n you go back over a wr i t ten p iece , to e l imina t e o r t igh ten as m u c h as 50 pe rcen t o f you r words . T h i n k of i t as energ iz ing rather than defeating. A r e you equal to the challenge?

Peter E l b o w avers that for every word you cut , one more r eade r stays wi th y o u . In my first e d i t i n g r o u n d , I set a goa l to cu t at least seventy-f ive words f rom each p a g e ; I wan t seventy-five more readers p e r p a g e to stay wi th me .

H e r e a re some flags to watch for: • Too many prepositions usua l ly means there are not e n o u g h " w o r k i n g

w o r d s " in a sen tence : too m u c h mor ta r and not e n o u g h br icks . T h i s


let ter c a m e h o m e f rom school ; I had to r ead i t over several t imes be fo re I k n e w wha t it said.

As a result of Public Law 875, entitlement from the Federal government contributes to our general fund budget and it behooves us to make every effort to receive our full entitlement for this district for this year. [5 prepositions]

Present reporting methods require that we gather the information indicated on the accompanying card on one date in October. We are particularly interested in cards of pupils whose parents worked on federal property on October 1st. Since certain phases of eligibility in other categories require interpretation, we ask that all cards be returned. [9 prepositions]

Attention is called to the fact that regulations permit eligibility for federal payment in the instance of a parent coming to our school district as a member of the armed forces and leaving for duty outside of this area while the family retains its residence in this district. [9 prepositions; Total: 23 prepositions, 138 words]

W h y not this, ins tead?

Each year, the Federal Government (Public Law 875) contributes to our general fund budget. We need to contact every family to receive the district's full entitlement. [1 preposition]

Please fill out the enclosed card, even if you do not believe that you are eligible, especially if your parents worked on federal property on October 1st. [2 prepositions]

Even if one of the parents is in the military and does not live with the family, the district is still entitled to federal payment. [4 prepositions; Total: 1 prepositions, 78 words]

Ins tead o f

Please excuse my delay in responding to your request for examples of the charting format used at General Hospital Emergency Department. [5 prepositions] Attached for your review are two examples of actual patient records. [2 prepositions; Total: 7 prepositions, 32 words]

T r y

Please excuse my delayed response to your request for charting format examples. [2 prepositions] I have attached two examples of actual patient records used at General Hospital. [2 prepositions; Total: 4 prepositions, 25 words]

In s t ead o f

This information sheet was prepared to introduce you to the nomenclature of patient problem identification which has been adopted by the Nursing Department at General Hospital. [Total: 4 prepositions; 26 words]

T r y

The Nursing Department at General Hospital has adopted a system of

RE-VISION / 99

identifying patient problems; this information sheet introduces you to that system. [Total: 3 prepositions; 22 words]

L a w y e r s a r e especia l ly fond of mul t ip le prepos i t ions , wh ich tend to c o n f u s e ra ther than clarify.

In the event that there is a waiver of the attorney-client privilege by the client, the letters must be produced by the attorney for the purpose of inspection by the adversary party. [Total: 7 prepositions; 33 words] 3

T h a t c o u l d possibly be c h a n g e d to

If the client waives the attorney-client privilege, the attorney must produce letters for the adversary party to inspect. [Total: 1 preposition; 19 words]

O f t e n two prepos i t ions close to each o ther stretch out the work of o n e : l ea rn to spot these e longa t ed express ions and subst i tute the sing u l a r (for e x a m p l e , "by m e a n s of" = "by" ; "for the p u r p o s e of" = " fo r " ) .

• Of cou r se , passive voice is a lways wordier , because you need a h e l p i n g verb (was p r e p a r e d , has been adop ted , must be p r o d u c e d ) and of ten a p repos i t iona l s t r ing (by the N u r s i n g D e p a r t m e n t , by the adve r sa ry pa r ty ) to s u p p o r t it, so e l imina t ing the passive voice kills two ob fusca to ry b i rds w i th one stone.

• Qualifiers or empty intensifies a re wha t E. B. Whi t e , in a classic phrase , labels " l eeches that infest the p o n d of prose , suck ing the b lood of words . " 4 Be on you r g u a r d aga ins t very, quite, and that bane of vitality, really. Not ice how m u c h more v igo r y o u r sentences have w h e n y o u e l imina te these b loodsucke r s .

It was really a pleasure to meet with you. It is very unfortunate that we will not be able to put your plan into immediate operation. We were most pleased to have been able to assist you this far, and trust there will be other opportunities. As you are aware, we have relatively frequent contact with virtually all of our offices in other states, which might be of help to you.

T a k e ou t really, very, most, relatively, and virtually, and h e a r how m u c h s h a r p e r i t r eads .

3. Watch Parallels

You th row y o u r r eade r s o f f ba l ance w h e n you neg lec t the re la t ionsh ip o f words in y o u r sen tence o r head ings on y o u r paper . W h e n e v e r you list or use head ings and s u b h e a d i n g s , apply the prepos i t ions , ar t ic les , and verbs consistently. For e x a m p l e , this sentence is unse t t l ing :

T h e overall objective of the audit was to determine the store's effectiveness in meeting customer needs, compliance with company policies, and providing adequate internal controls of daily store operations.

T h e s ing le c h a n g e of compliance to complying makes this list para l le l and con t r ibu tes immeasu rab ly to its smoothness and sense.


It is totally embaras s ing w h e n a descr ip t ion of a wr i t i ng cou r se is poor ly wri t ten , bu t I had the word including before developing in the copy I gave to the ed i to r of the co l l ege bu l le t in , and I s u p p o s e the copy editor, to e c o n o m i z e , chose to omi t it. T h i s comple te ly nonpar -allel course descr ip t ion , to my mort i f icat ion, ran :

Dr. Klauser's class will address how to write and sell articles, developing saleable ideas, slanting, writing a query letter and dealing with editors.

H e a d i n g s and s u b h e a d i n g s in a paper , chapter , or m e m o also r ead

bet ter w h e n you k e e p in m i n d the gu ide l ine o f para l le l cons t ruc t ion

(as in "Avoid the Passive Voice ," "Trim the Fat," "Watch Paral le ls") .

E X E R C I S E 12: I M P R O V E T H I S S A M P L E

U s i n g the fo l lowing sample , o r one o f y o u r o w n , c h a n g e the passive

voice to the active, slash the n u m b e r of p repos i t ions , c o m p a c t the

word iness and repet i t ion , and cor rec t the faulty para l le l i sm:

In today's situation, there is still a lack of understanding by many of our employees and publics about the way this program is being managed. This is evidenced by polarized interests, increased appeals, litigation, violence, etc. There needs to be a major focus for our information and education program that helps people easily understand our mission; some of the laws and regulations under which we manage; the many successes in our management and some of the failures, and what corrective measures are being taken; a better understanding of our planning process; how public input is used; and in what ways our agency is providing for public interests.

T O N E

Tone is a mat te r of respec t for the reader . Somet imes wr i te rs a re

r u d e wi thou t rea l i z ing it. R e a d you r let ter o r m e m o or wha teve r back

to y o u r s e l f out loud . A r e you o f fended?

I f you are conscious o f y o u r aud i ence , and i f you incorpora te the

th ree ru les de ta i led above into you r wr i t ing , the tone wil l take ca re of

itself.

For e x a m p l e , a let ter b e g u n in passive voice a l ready sets the tone for

d i s t anc ing and coolness . I knew an execu t ive d i r ec to r w h o b e g a n every

letter he wrote with this chil l ing phrase: "Reference is made to your. . . "

Wi th such an opener , the rest of the let ter was sure to be a rch and

diff ident.

I f you need to say s o m e t h i n g harsh , of ten the s imple e x p e d i e n t o f

pu t t ing the ha rsh word in the midd l e of the let ter softens the blow.

T H E FOG INDEX

T h e Fog Index is a useful tool for ra t ing y o u r wr i t i ng and g a u g i n g

the level o f obscur i ty in y o u r p rose . D e v e l o p e d by Robe r t G u n n i n g o f

RE-VISION / 101

C o l u m b u s , O h i o , to g u i d e n e w s p a p e r wri ters , the Fog Index i s an ac tua l ma themat i ca l fo rmula that you c a n apply to any wr i t ing sample to d e t e r m i n e the grade level tha t it takes to easily unde r s t and wha t you j u s t w r o t e . 5

To use the Fog I n d e x , p ick a sample of wr i t i ng about 1 0 0 - 1 2 5 words long. C o u n t the n u m b e r o f words in s u c c e e d i n g sen tences : for e x a m ple , 8 + 21 + 11 + 3 + 19 + 7 + 23 + 10 = 102 words in 8 sentences. Dates and other number combinations count as single words. I n d e p e n d e n t c lauses qual i fy as separa te sentences . " In school we s tudi ed ; we l e a r n e d ; we i m p r o v e d " is t h ree sentences . Div ide the total words by the n u m b e r of sen tences : in the e x a m p l e , 102 words d iv ided by 8 sen tences equa l s 13 words , the average sen tence l eng th .

Nex t , c o u n t the n u m b e r o f words that have th ree o r m o r e syllables. Do not i nc lude words m a d e up of short words , such as yellowtail o r pawnbroker. A l s o , d o not inc lude polysyl labic words that b e g i n a sent ence ; p r o p e r n a m e s ; or verbs m a d e into th ree syllables by a d d i n g -es or -ed (for e x a m p l e , concluded). D iv ide this coun t by the passage length to ge t the percentage o f l o n g words . For e x a m p l e , i f you coun ted 16 polysyl lables ou t o f 102 words , you wou ld d iv ide 16 by 102 and ge t 15 pe rcen t .

N o w a d d the average sen tence length to the pe r cen t age o f l ong words . Mul t ip ly the total by 0.4 to ge t the g r a d e level of r e a d i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n . ( I g n o r e the d ig i t s fo l lowing the dec ima l point ; do not r o u n d o f f number s . ) In o u r e x a m p l e , 13 + 15 = 28; 28 x 0.4 = 1 1 .

T h e Fog I n d e x i s relat ive. T h e r e i s no r igh t o r w r o n g score , a l t h o u g h I pe r sona l ly ge t a little t ight a r o u n d the co l la r wi th any score over 1 5 . I f y o u a re w r i t i n g to an e d u c a t e d , but not an e rud i t e aud ience , 11 o r 12 is an app rop r i a t e level . Harper's and Atlantic Monthly a re 1 2 ; Time, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal ave rage 1 1 . For a gene ra l a u d i e n c e , 10 s eems abou t r igh t : the G e t t y s b u r g A d d r e s s and Reader ' s D iges t bo th have a Fog I n d e x of 10 . Most bes t -se l l ing books have a Fog I n d e x of f rom 8 to 10 .


1. C h o o s e a sample 1 0 0 - 1 2 5 words long.

2. Count the words and sentences . Coun t the

independent c lauses as separate sentences .

Divide the word count by the sentence count.

3. Coun t words of three or more syl lables . Di

v ide by the length of the passage to get the

percentage . Add this to the average sentence

length.

4. Mult iply the total by 0.4.

(Product: The grade level needed for easy c o m

prehension, or the Fog Index.)

E X E R C I S E 13: APPLY T H E F O G INDEX T O Y O U R O W N W R I T I N G

U s i n g the char t , app ly the Fog I n d e x to a p a r a g r a p h or two of y o u r o w n wr i t ing . I s y o u r score h i g h e r or lower than you an t ic ipa ted? Pick ano the r sample . D o e s you r score r ema in the same, even i f you r aud i e n c e c h a n g e s ? Do you have one style of wr i t ing , take i t or leave it, no ma t t e r w h a t the a g e o r educa t ion o f y o u r r eade r? U s i n g the Fog I n d e x in the m a n n e r de ta i l ed be low will he lp you answer such ques t i ons— and m a k e any c h a n g e s necessary.

A Self-Help Tool

O n e of the beaut ies of the Fog I n d e x i s that i t can o p e n the eyes of those w h o s e wr i t i ng tends to m a k e others c r inge . I t is especial ly useful as a tool b e c a u s e i t is se l f -appl ied and thus se l f -correc t ing . T h e off e n d i n g wr i t e r mere ly s h r u g s in c h a g r i n and makes the necessa ry c h a n g e s .

T h e head o f a l a rge g o v e r n m e n t agency and several o f his s taff o n c e took my cou r se a t the same t ime. T h e boss was fond of b ig words and l o n g , convo lu ted sen tences , w h i c h o v e r w h e l m e d his readers . His staff h a d t r ied wi thou t success to conv ince h i m that his wr i t i ng was labor i ous and to ge t h i m to cu t d o w n on the polysyl lables and shor ten his sen tences . Now here he was in my class, scor ing his o w n wr i t ing : he app l i ed the Fog I n d e x fo rmula and c a m e ou t with a g r a d e level of 18 .

T h e boss smi led , a little emba r r a s sed at himself , and on the spot vowed to use shor te r sen tences . In one stroke, the Fog I n d e x d id wha t

RE-VISION / 103

the s taff h a d b e e n t ry ing to accompl i sh for years . T h e y s ighed in relief.

It's s imple . I f the Fog I n d e x is lower than you r a u d i e n c e appea l , add a few c o m p o u n d s and semicolons and subst i tute more sophis t icated vocabu la ry . I f i t is h i g h e r than you wan t i t to be, cu t d o w n on the b ig words a n d va ry the sentence length .

T h e n o r m for bus iness sentences i s no more than twenty- two words , w h i c h is s o m e w h a t res t r ic t ive; there will be t imes w h e n a longer sentence i s appropr i a t e , and even fun, as long as you keep cont ro l . T h e last sen tence in Exe rc i se 12 has seventy-one words , and as you can see , the wr i t e r lost cont ro l of it; but i t is possible, even power fu l and hypno t i c , to wr i te a l ong sentence that works . Only, p lease , do not put two of t hem in a row. A p p l e C o m p u t e r is we l l -known for its "user-f r i end ly" m a n u a l s , o f ten wr i t t en ent i re ly in active voice. H e r e is an e x a m p l e of a fifty-five-word sen tence f rom the Apple II Reference Manual tha t works . Not ice that the lead sen tence has only e leven words .

The Apple Power Supply is a high-voltage "switching" power supply. While most other power supplies use a large transformer with many windings to convert the input voltage into many lesser voltages and then rectify and regulate these lesser voltages, the Apple power supply first converts the AC line voltage into a DC voltage, and then uses this DC voltage to drive a high-frequency oscillator.6

A n d he re is a h u n d r e d - w o r d sentence that I wro te j u s t for fun to my n iece Jenn i fe r w h e n her t r ip to mee t her new baby cous in was c a n c e l e d :

And , Jenny, if you can understand the peculiar logic of this, think of it this way: come September, our visit will be in front of you, not behind you; something still to look forward to, not to look back on; something exciting yet to happen; rather than a has-been, a will-be—and since your darling cousin Emily gets cuter by the day, she will be all that more the darling by the time you see her and all that less, I guess, had you seen her earlier than you will, had you seen her when you meant to. So there.

I f y o u de l i gh t in long sentences , keep cont ro l , watch you r para l le ls , use most ly monosyl labic words , and in te rsperse you r long sentences wi th short , snappy ones .

The Fog Index in Reverse

T h e Fog I n d e x is most use fu l w h e n you apply i t in reverse , that is, w h e n y o u apply i t not j u s t to you r o w n wr i t i ng bu t to the wr i t ing you wan t to emula te . A p p l y the Fog I n d e x in reverse , and a im to match the c l ient you are d e a l i n g wi th , the p rose level of the publ icat ion you a r e w r i t i n g for. D e t e r m i n e the Fog Index of the classic e x a m p l e s of work in y o u r f ie ld , whe the r that means a w a r d - w i n n i n g ads or the s p e e c h e s o f Just ice Ho lmes , and pa t te rn y o u r p i ece accordingly .


T h e a d v a n t a g e of us ing the Fog I n d e x in reverse i s the ins igh t that i t g ives y o u into the wr i t i ng of the aud i ence you are address ing . T h i s c a n be a p o w e r f u l pe r spec t ive . I f you are an inves tment f i rm in New York wi th a major cl ient in Minneapo l i s , y o u r cl ient may not mee t wi th y o u persona l ly and will o f ten j u d g e you r compat ibi l i ty by y o u r wr i t ten c o m m u n i c a t i o n ; i t is impor t an t that that pe r son see you as " s p e a k i n g his l a n g u a g e . " S imple ! M e a s u r e and match his Fog Index . I f the cl ient y o u a re c o r r e s p o n d i n g wi th wri tes to you with a Fog Index of 1 2 , then y o u r r e tu rn reply i s too inflated wi th 15 and too c o n d e s c e n d i n g with 6.

I f you wr i te for a pa r t i cu la r pe r iod ica l , you e levate (raise) y o u r c h a n c e s of a p p e a r i n g in pr in t i f you can ascer ta in ( f igure out) the Fog I n d e x of y o u r t a rge t marke t . ( I f their Fog Index is 10, use raise ins tead of elevate and f igure out ins tead of ascertain.)

An a t to rney n a m e d Janet o n c e told me this s tory: A client had sent he r the d ra f t of a letter, wh ich she was to co r rec t and send to a state agency. T h e let ter con ta ined i r re levant mater ia l , even some potent ia l t rouble-making statements. However, each time Janet rewrote her client's letter, i t kep t c o m i n g ou t s o u n d i n g like a lawyer. T h e n she r e m e m b e r e d the Fog I n d e x I had t a u g h t her. She d i scovered that he r client had a Fog I n d e x o f 8 but he r r e v a m p e d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e scored 1 2 . She m a d e the a p p r o p r i a t e ad jus tments and r ewro te the let ter successfully. T h e cl ient was ve ry p l eased ("It sounds as i f I wro te it!" he said), and o f f to the state a g e n c y went the letter.

W h e n you apply the Fog I n d e x in reverse , be p r e p a r e d for some su rp r i se s . An ad execu t ive , for e x a m p l e , needs to k n o w that ads have a cons iderab ly lower index than the m a g a z i n e s they a p p e a r in. Even if the r e a d i n g level of the magaz ine ' s text i s 11 or 1 2 , p e o p l e only want to pay 6- to 8-level at tent ion to the ads .

I o n c e c h a l l e n g e d a g r o u p of lawyers to apply the Fog I n d e x to the s p e e c h e s o f Just ice Ho lmes . T h e y were as tonished to f ind that his s p e e c h e s r eg i s t e r ed only 1 1 .

T h e lesson is, we n e e d not obfuscate in o rde r to be classic.

C H A N G I N G VERBS: I N F L U E N C I N G W I T H I N T E G R I T Y

B e s i d e s u s ing the Fog I n d e x in reverse , another , o f t en d ramat i c way to establ ish a r a p p o r t wi th y o u r a u d i e n c e is to be sensit ive to their wor ldv i ew a n d to the verbs and adverbs and adjectives that they tend to use as c lues to that s tance . People tend to take in i n f o r m a t i o n — a n d g ive i t o u t — p r e d o m i n a n t l y in the m o d e most comfor tab le to t hem, usua l ly one of t h ree : audi tory , kinesthet ic (active) o r v i sua l .

T h e theory o f neuro l ingu is t i c p r o g r a m m i n g ( N L P ) makes the po in t that y o u can j u d g e a person 's sys tem by the verbs and " c o l o r " words he or she uses . For e x a m p l e , an aud i to ry l ea rner m i g h t wr i te , "I t s o u n d s g o o d to me," whi le a pe r son w h o opera tes main ly f rom the

RE-VISION / 105

kinesthet ic s tance m i g h t state, " I do not g r a sp your meaning ." T h e visual a p p r o a c h can be r e c o g n i z e d (recognized is a v isual verb) by such express ions as "Let ' s take a look at it" or " T h a t idea is not clear." If y o u want to be compat ib le wi th someone , not ice and match the e x p r e s sion of his or her sys tem. 7

My m o d e is p r imar i ly kinesthet ic and v isua l . I n e e d to r e m e m b e r this and be sensitive to the aud i to ry lea rners in my r e a d i n g a u d i e n c e . In r e r e a d i n g chap te r 3 of this book , I not iced qui te a few kinesthet ic words and c h a n g e d some of them, par t icu la r ly in the s u m m a t i o n p a r a g r a p h s , out o f respec t for my aud i to ry readers .

T h e vision words or express ions in chap te r 3 inc luded seen, overlooks, picture him, noticing, looking at, see it, insight, overview, sight.

Befo re I m a d e any changes , the aud i to ry e x a m p l e s were few and far b e t w e e n : tell us, speak, called, articulate.

T h e kinesthetic express ions were embar rass ing ly abundan t : stands,

emerged, uncovered, expanded, alive, examine, invite, share, provide, list, generate, offer, bundled, crackle, activate, enhance, encourage, kick sand in the face of, exercise, shine, show, aspire to, point to, provide a springboard, work things out, tap into, hold, touch, coming to grips with, opening doors, beaming, shaving, left behind. A l l these in the first seven pages .

O r i g i n a l l y this p a r a g r a p h on p . 27 read

So, to see it in terms of right and left brain (or hemispheres) is another way of looking at the phenomena of Ariel and Caliban, of noticing that one part of your brain works best for ideas and one part helps with editing and structure. This division of labor is not strict, but it is a useful way of looking at. . .

To m a k e i t sound more audi tory, I m a d e f ive smal l changes .

So, to speak in terms of right and left brain (or hemispheres) is another way of expressing the phenomena that I have been calling Ariel and Caliban, of paying attention to the fact that one part of your brain works best for ideas and one part helps with editing and structure. This division of labor is not strict, but it is a useful way of talking about. . .

A later par t was recast :

Whether you choose to call it Caliban and Ariel or think it sounds better to use the labels left brain and right brain, the important thing to realize is that what you have is there all along. To be whole-brained, you need only quiet down the noisy static side of you and listen to your own imagination.

I f you ' r e l ike me, you need to cons ide r a d d i n g more aud i to ry vocabu la ry to you r overal l text so that the aud i to ry learners can hea r you . I f you r wor ldview is audi tory, be consc ious of you r verbs so y o u r r e a d e r can see you r poin t or feel a t one with you r posi t ion.


T R I C K S O F T H E T R A D E

You have l e a r n e d to e l imina te the passive voice, cut d o w n on you r sen tence l eng th , va ry y o u r sen tence meter, and match y o u r para l le ls , bu t still y o u r words lack luster. H e r e are two little tricks that p rofes sional wr i te rs use constant ly to he lp g ive sat isfying resul ts .

1, The Echo

Ins tan t p rofess iona l i sm: a verbal echo at the end of you r p iece that h a r k s back to s o m e t h i n g you said in the b e g i n n i n g . Many n e w s p a p e r co lumn i s t s use this dev ice in their daily work , and i t never gets o ld . T h e tr ick i s to take some word or phrase f rom your o p e n e r or f rom ear ly on in y o u r p i ece and e c h o i t verbal ly at the end , o f ten wi th a twist . N o w that I have to ld you that tr ick, you a re g o i n g to f ind i t everywhere . (After wri t ing this section, my heightened awareness found this dev ice in f ive of six ar t icles in the C o l u m b i a a l u m n i magaz ine . ) B e f o r e , you only k n e w that you were satisfied wi th a p iece . Now you k n o w why.

E c h o end ings p r e s u p p o s e that the b e g i n n i n g is a lso a s u m m a r y . In my b r a n c h i n g t rees the o p e n i n g and c los ing concepts a re of ten on the same m a i n b r anch , r e m i n d i n g me to give the r eader a sense of h a v i n g c o m e full c i rc le .

R e m e m b e r the o ld co l l ege essays, in w h i c h you f i r s t s ta ted w h a t you w e r e g o i n g to do in y o u r b lue b o o k answer, then d id it, and then t ied it all t oge the r wi th "and thus we c a n see . . . " or some th ing equa l ly obv ious?

You c a n be less t r anspa ren t about it, bu t i t is a g o o d idea to tell the r e a d e r w h e r e he i s g o i n g , how he will get there, and w h e n he has a r r ived . O f t e n the e c h o crea tes that uni ty effortlessly.

O n e of my s tudents wro t e a New Year 's p iece for the local p a p e r wi th a n ice use of the e c h o dev ice . She had e x p e r i e n c e d a t r agedy at C h r i s t m a s : her o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h told o f the c l ean whi te ca l enda r on he r desk , symbol o f he r re luc tance to get back into the swing of th ings af ter the ho l idays : " T h e u n b l e m i s h e d ca l enda r was tangib le p r o o f that I cou ld r e m a i n home , wi th in my comfor t zone , s ecu re and u n t o u c h e d by the outs ide wor ld . " Gradual ly , f r iends reach ou t to her and h e l p he r ou t o f her c o c o o n , and a t the e n d o f the p iece , she makes an en t ry on the ca l enda r : to wr i te and thank the fr iends and loved ones w h o were so suppor t ive .

T h e l ine that you e c h o n e e d not be r igh t up front; somet imes the e n d i n g r e s o n a n c e c a n c o m e f rom an idea b u r i e d in the midd l e o f you r wr i t ing . C o l u m n i s t Dave B a r r y uses that t e chn ique all the t ime, of ten wi th his character is t ic b iza r re twist. O n e t ime, in the midd l e of a c o l u m n , he a c c u s e d his readers o f hav ing "no more m e d i a sophist ication t han a l u n g f luke" and then went merr i ly on with his topic. Four

RE-VISION / 107

p a r a g r a p h s later, he def ined lung fluke as a parasi te that can ge t into y o u r l u n g s , a n d i t was not unt i l the e n d of the p iece that he tied i t all t oge the r by adv i s ing r eade r s not to ea t u n c o o k e d c rab because they m i g h t p ick u p f l u k e l a rvae .

In c h a p t e r 3 I p re sen t the Garf ie ld c a r t o o n in the midd le of the c h a p t e r and then e c h o it wi th a var ia t ion at the end : "Jon is wrong . U s i n g bo th sides of the bra in , cats can s tand on their h ind feet."

Wel l -wr i t ten p rose is like a fine p iece of music that falls en ter ta ining ly on the ear, a n d the u n d e r l y i n g pr inc ip le of f ine music i s e c h o , repe t i t ion , var ia t ions on a theme. A repe t i t ion of the o p e n i n g bars , o f t en wi th a ba r or two a d d e d , lets the l istener know the p iece has c o n c l u d e d . A n d there i s a sa t isfying sense of hav ing b e e n par t of i t a l l .

2. End with Accent

T a k i n g ano the r a n a l o g y f rom music , i t i s of ten effective to end y o u r p i ece on a d o w n b e a t . O p e n i n g s are wha t catch the reader ' s at tent ion a n d e n c o u r a g e h i m to read o n ; the e n d i n g i s o f ten wha t causes h i m to act on y o u r words . Be forceful and d rama t i c in y o u r last word , and y o u r total c o m m u n i c a t i o n will have more impac t . T h e accen ted syllable is the one w h e r e the j a w d r o p s : sin cere, or a s ingle s t rong word such as brain. W h e r e v e r possible , recas t y o u r sen tence to a r r a n g e you r w o r d s so that the last syllable is the accen ted one and you wil l leave an impress ion in the m i n d of y o u r reader .

E n d i n g accents a re par t icu la r ly favored by ed i to r ia l wr i te rs and c a m p a i g n s p e e c h w r i t e r s ; that shou ld tell y o u something . Ra ther t han u r g i n g you lamely to "vote for this resolut ion," the forceful wr i te r ends her exhor t a t ion wi th " T h i s reso lu t ion dese rves y o u r vo te !" I t was no mis take that Patr ick H e n r y d id not go d o w n in his tory saying, " G i v e me dea th , or g ive me liberty," nor is i t su rp r i s ing that they ca r r i ed W i l l i a m Jenn ings B r y a n t ou t on their shou lders and nomina t ed h i m for p res iden t w h e n he r o u s e d the c r o w d wi th his impass ioned e n d i n g accen t s : " Y o u shall not c ruc i fy m a n k i n d u p o n a cross of go ld ."

Do you hea r how less sat isfying those end ings m i g h t be had the au tho r s chosen ins tead to f in ish wi th u n a c c e n t e d syllables?

W h i c h moves you more to ac t ion: a let ter that ends , " G i v e me a call i f you have any p rob l ems , " o r one with more p u n c h , " I f you have any p r o b l e m s , give me a ca l l "? W h i c h sounds more forceful , more s incere? W h i c h s o u n d s like the k ind o f pe r son wi th w h o m you want t o do bus iness?

I am h a p p y to poin t ou t that, wi thou t con t r ivance , I m a n a g e d to e n d m a n y chap te r s of this b o o k on a d o w n b e a t , in fact several t imes wi th a s t r ing of s t rong accents .

C h a p t e r 2: better they get.


C h a p t e r 3: better than half. C h a p t e r 4: you will write well at will C h a p t e r 5: both sides of your brain

E X E R C I S E 14: A C C E N T E D E N D I N G S

Recas t these sen tences so that they end on an accen ted syllable.

1. Please feel free to contact me should you desire further information.

2 . T h e r e are bo th l ega l and profess ional manda tes for u s ing this

p rocess .

3. Table 1 lists the free pamphlets available from national organizat ions.

STRIP MINING

S o m e t i m e s y o u have wr i t ten a p iece that does not h a n g together , bu t y o u c a n n o t qui te f igure ou t the gl i tch . St r ip m i n i n g to the rescue . I c a m e u p o n this usefu l t e chn ique a lmos t by accident , work ing wi th f i rs t -graders . W h e n y o u a re j u s t l e a r n i n g to print , i t i s diff icult to edi t , b e c a u s e y o u r ideas a re so sp read ou t that y o u easily lose s igh t o f the re la t ionsh ip o f y o u r sentences to e a c h other. O n e sentence can take up a who le fat- l ined p a g e and trail on to the next . My s tudents were h a v i n g such t rouble e d i t i n g that I k n e w we n e e d e d s o m e t h i n g smal le r to m a n i p u l a t e . So I t y p e d up their p o e m s and stories line by l ine, each sen tence or t h o u g h t on a separa te l ine, and then we cu t them into s t r ips . As an e x a m p l e , he re is a p o e m about wha t i t would be like to be ten feet tall , by a first-grader, Jason.

If I were ten feet tall, I would put clouds in my pillowcase. I would climb the Empire State Building like King Kong. I could pick up that lady in my hand like King Kong. I would have the biggest ears in the world. I would be a basketball player. I could catch all the bugs in the world and throw them all away. I would be taller than anybody in the world. I would climb the biggest ladder in the world. I would climb that ladder up and out of the universe and I would

climb back down with thousands of stars in my arms. I would have the biggest arms in the world. I would have the biggest feet in the world. I would kick a ball up to Mars. I'd have the biggest house in the world.

Not bad for a s ix -year -o ld . S o m e nice images and ideas , and Jason was p l eased b e c a u s e he h a d never wr i t ten that m u c h before . B u t he d id not th ink i t s o u n d e d like a p o e m . We laid ou t the s t r ips on his desk , a n d I a sked h i m to g r o u p like th ings together . So he put toge the r the s t r ips abou t the feet and the ears and the a rms and then f i gu red

RE-VISION / 109

that i f he had the b igges t feet, a rms , and ea rs in the wor ld , he wou ld porobab ly need the b igges t house . He l iked the l ine about the c louds in his p i l lowcase , so he dec ided to leave that f i rs t . Now he cou ld see that the basketbal l player d id not go wi th a n y t h i n g else, so he put i t as ide. He had not c h a n g e d a word ; he had simply r e a r r a n g e d wha t was a l ready there, and left out one line. Now this is the way his p o e m s o u n d e d :

If I were ten feet tall, I would put clouds in my pillowcase. I would have the biggest arms in the world. I would have the biggest feet in the world. I would have the biggest ears in the world

and I'd have the biggest house in the world. I would be taller than anybody in the world. I would climb the Empire State Building like King Kong. I could pick up that lady in my hand like King Kong

and I would kick a ball up to Mars. I could catch all the bugs in the world and throw them all away. I would climb the biggest ladder in the world. I would climb that ladder up and out of the universe. And I would climb back down with thousands of stars in my arms.

Now that's a p o e m !

You need not l i terally cut up you r sentences into s t r ips , a l t h o u g h i t

is fun to man ipu l a t e y o u r words that way: a s imple and effect ive

a p p r o a c h is simply to circle the key word in each sentence in a para

g r a p h . T h e n you' l l have 5 or 6 words to j u g g l e a r o u n d ra ther than

1 5 0 .

At the b e g i n n i n g of this chapter , I u sed this me thod to he lp o r g a

nize a p a r a g r a p h that was not h a n g i n g together . Or ig ina l ly , i t r e ad

Remember, Caliban returns now at your invitation, as your guest, and so he comes back as your friend. Editing invites the left and logical side of your brain to return with you to your written piece and offer specific advice on improvement and rearrangement. The difference between this sort of editing and the premature edit voice is that, where before the edit voice put you down, now Caliban is ready to offer adult-to-adult suggestions on improving your writing.

Ra the r than m a n i p u l a t i n g 80 words to f ind the p rob lem, I c i rc led

the key word in each sen tence : Caliban, editing and difference. N o w I cou ld see that Caliban had to go in the m i d d l e because i t was par t of

the whole , a ca t egory u n d e r the genera l h e a d i n g of editing. I a d d e d

" t h o u g h " and r e a r r a n g e d the sentences to r ead

Editing invites the left and logical side of your brain to return with you to

1 1 0 / WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN

your written piece and offer specific advice on improvement and rearrangement. Remember, though, Caliban returns now at your invitation, as your guest, and so he comes back as your friend. The difference between this sort of editing and the premature edit voice is that, where before the edit voice put you down, now Caliban is ready to offer adult-to-adult suggestions on improving your writing.

E X E R C I S E 15: Strip Mining

U s e a p a r a g r a p h of you r o w n wr i t i ng or the one p rov ided below.

C i r c l e the m a i n words of e a c h sentence to see the ing red ien t that does

not f i t , the new idea that is i n t r o d u c e d wi thou t t ransi t ion.

It was inevitable that the attempt should be made. The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto was the first to experiment with the idea of projecting a translation on a screen over the stage. A similar system was inaugurated by New York City Opera during their abbreviated 1982—83 season, with numerous additional major American and foreign companies quickly following suit. The translation being used in the current production of La Traviata was first devised at the suggestion of Francesca Zambello, a young, live-wire opera director who staged La Traviata during San Francisco's 1983 Fall Season. 8

F A L L A C I E S : E R R O R S I N R E A S O N I N G

" T h e p rob l em," said C h r i s t o p h e r Morley, "is to teach ourse lves to th ink and the wr i t i ng wil l take ca re of itself."

O n e o f the mos t effect ive and p e r m a n e n t ways to insure that y o u r w r i t i n g flows logical ly is to be able to r e c o g n i z e fallacies in you r o w n a n d o t h e r people ' s wri t ing. Even i f an a r g u m e n t a p p e a r s reasonable , c loser e x a m i n a t i o n somet imes reveals a fallacy, that is, unc lea r th inking wi th an i l logica l conc lus ion . R e c o g n i z i n g fallacies forces you to stick to the issue wi thou t ge t t ing s ide t racked. As I u n d e r s t a n d it, f lee ing c r imina l s , to th row b l o o d h o u n d s of f their t rack, would smea r themse lves wi th spoi led (red) h e r r i n g to des t roy their o w n scent, sending the sea rch d o g s d o w n the w r o n g trail . In a b road sense, then, eve ry in fo rmal fal lacy is a " r e d he r r ing , " because i t d raws you away f rom the t rue issue and hooks you into cons idera t ions that have nothing to do wi th the ma t t e r a t hand . B e i n g aware of fal lacies and k n o w i n g how to label t h e m gives you a dec ided advan tage in f o r m i n g s o u n d a r g u m e n t s y o u r s e l f and in ana lyz ing o thers ' not -so-sound ones . T h i s skill will s h a r p e n y o u r wit as well as you r wr i t ing .

I r e c o m m e n d that you b u y and enjoy a g o o d logic book . O n e of my favori tes , b e c a u s e i t is not at all pedan t ic (it even includes ca r toons ) , is With Good Reason by S. Morr is Engel . Tony B u z a n has a g o o d c h a p t e r on fal lacies in Make the Most of Your Mind, and S. I. Hayakawa 's Language in Thought and Action, wr i t t en in 1 9 3 9 and now in its four th ed i t ion , still serves well .

RE-VISION / 1 1 1

lb a r m you in the mean t ime , I have put toge ther this shor t g u i d e . 1 have cast my e x a m p l e s p redomina t e ly in te rms o f paren t -ch i ld d y n a m ics, f i rs t , b e c a u s e we c a n all identify wi th that sort of re la t ionship (even if you a re not a pa ren t , you o n c e were a chi ld) , and second , because you can use this k n o w l e d g e not only in wr i t i ng but also in you r verbal in terac t ions wi th y o u r o f f sp r ing (or you r boss , spouse , f r iend, banker , o r the T V r e p a i r m a n ) .

K n o w i n g fal lacies will p r e p a r e you to wr i te incisively and logically, u s i n g s o u n d a r g u m e n t s o r k n o w i n g w h e n to emp loy rhetor ic for effect and p e r s u a s i o n ; you will a lso have an advan tage in any a r g u m e n t and you wil l au tomat ica l ly b e c o m e a more j u d i c i o u s l is tener and r e a d e r of po l i t i c ians a n d the dai ly news .

I N S A N I T Y IS HEREDITARY: Y O U G E T IT FROM Y O U R KIDS

I don ' t know why all the p o p u l a r chi ld psycho logy books don ' t i nc lude , as a mat te r of fo rm, a chap te r on logic . W h e n e v e r you need an e x a m p l e of a fallacy, c o u n t on a chi ld to supply you with one. L i s t en .

1. Fallacy of Accent

Mother: P lease don ' t leave y o u r clothes on the f loor, dear. Would you

k ind ly p ick up y o u r j a c k e t , and don ' t throw i t there aga in .

Child: It's not my j acke t , it's my coat .

T h e fal lacy o f accen t del ibera te ly o r unin ten t iona l ly places the e m phasis on the w r o n g par t of y o u r sentence , l e ad ing you to a r g u e a po in t that is not at issue. Or i t g ives we igh t to a minor aspec t of your s ta tement , c l o u d i n g the more impor t an t issue. Movie adver t isers of ten de l ibera te ly c o m m i t the fallacy o f accent . T h e rev iewer wri tes , " I f they gave O s c a r s for p o o r ac t ing and s tag ing , this movie deserves an Oscar ." T h e ad wr i t e r convenien t ly omits par t o f that sen tence and a n n o u n c e s on the movie p a g e that " . . . this movie dese rves an O s c a r ! " Fallacy of accent .

K i d s love the fal lacy of accent . W h e n you tell them to s top b a n g i n g on the table, they comply by b a n g i n g on the wal l , and w h e n you ask " D i d you tell y o u r b ro the r to stop spray ing the hose a t the h o u s e ? " Sis ter c o m e s back in s o p p i n g wet : " Y e s , I told h im."

A n d L o r d B y r o n , w h e n told that s tudents a t C a m b r i d g e were not a l lowed to k e e p d o g s in their r ooms , o b e y e d the rules and c o n f o u n d e d the d e a n . He kept a bear.

2. Generalizations (a) Hasty

T h e hasty genera l i za t ion assumes a genera l p r inc ip le on the ev i d e n c e of a few e x a m p l e s .


Mother: We don ' t want you to go to the rock concer t .

Teenager: Bu t M a a - u m , eve rybody is g o i n g ! T h e y all th ink you a re so

m e a n . You are the meanes t m o m in the whole wor ld .

A l l th ree exc lamat ions a re overs impl i f i ca t ions—genera l s ta tements

based on insufficient ev idence .

In wr i t ing , hasty genera l iza t ion pe r su ad es because , based on a few

e x a m p l e s , the wr i t e r impl ies that the appl ica t ion of the p r inc ip le p re

sented is w i d e s p r e a d . In a let ter to the ed i to r of a local paper , a

w o m a n compla ined that this n e w s p a p e r had no women ' s sect ion; c i t ing

th ree major newspape r s that d id , she c o n c l u d e d that all pape r s of any

note had a women's sect ion.

(b) Sweeping

A sweep ing genera l iza t ion , ca l led in La t in dicto simpliciter, reverses

that scheme, t ak ing a genera l p r inc ip le and ap p ly in g i t b road ly w h e r e

i t does not apply.

Daughter: You to ld me always to tell the t ru th , so I told the ne ighbo r s

that you said their lawn was a d i sg race to the n e i g h b o r h o o d .

A n o t h e r e x a m p l e :

Son: Everyone loves a j o k e , so how c o m e the g u y s on the footbal l t eam

d idn ' t l a u g h when we put i t ch ing p o w d e r in their u n i f o r m pants?

A g a i n , i t is a mat te r of overs impl i f icat ion; here , based on an un

qual i f ied genera l iza t ion w h e r e the gene ra l ru le d o e s not apply to the

specific case. Sweeping generalizations are particularly dangerous when

we use them to a r g u e that wha t i s t rue of a who le g r o u p appl ies

equa l ly to ind iv idua l m e m b e r s o f that g r o u p .

3. Personal Attack

An ad hominem ("against the man" ) at tack d i rec ts at tent ion away

from the a r g u m e n t to the pe r son m a k i n g the a r g u m e n t . O n e type

takes a d i rec t , abusive shot by n a m e ca l l ing : for e x a m p l e , c r i t ic iz ing

the teacher ins tead of accep t ing responsibi l i ty for a p o o r g r a d e , or

ca l l ing you , the paren t , un fa i r ins tead of e x a m i n i n g the issue sur

rounding your decision. (See how fallacies overlap? "You are so mean!")

A n o t h e r vers ion of the ad hominem a t tack is ca l led po i son ing the

well . B e f o r e the pe r son has had a c h a n c e to p resen t he r se l f or he r

a r g u m e n t , this fallacy besmi rches her reputa t ion . It is a fo rm of ad

hominem because i t goe s for the j u g u l a r of the pe rson ra ther than the

hear t o f the a r g u m e n t .

Not ice that the fallacy of po i son ing the well of ten inc ludes o ther

fallacies to b r ing h o m e its dev ious point .

RE-VISION / 1 1 3

High school student: B e f o r e you even go to see my teacher, I th ink you shou ld k n o w she has a reputa t ion for b e i n g an a i rhead . Eve rybody ha tes her [hasty genera l i za t ion] . Even the p r inc ipa l th inks she's we i rd [ appea l to au thor i ty ] .

Yet ano the r fo rm of ad hominem is a fallacy that k ids love; the La t in n a m e for i t is tu quoque. T h e name m e a n s " y o u a lso ," and it is an a t t empt to d i sc red i t the a r g u m e n t by a t tack ing the pe r son p resen t ing i t b e c a u s e he d o e s not "prac t ice wha t he preaches . " H e r e i s an e x a m p l e of tu quoque:

Parent: I wan t this r o o m c l eaned , and I wan t it c l eaned now. I wish y o u w o u l d k e e p i t tidier.

Kid: You shou ld talk. Y o u r ca r [desk, br iefcase] is a lways t rashed out . W h o a re y o u to tell me to c lean up my space?

A n o t h e r e x a m p l e :

Father: D o n ' t let you r h o m e w o r k go unti l Sunday n igh t , and get working on those te rm pape r s ear ly in the semester . You ge t in t rouble w h e n you pu t th ings o f f unti l the last minu te .

Teenager: You ' r e te l l ing m e ! A n d who's the one w h o waits until A p r i l 14 th e v e r y yea r to do his taxes?

L e e I acocca , in his bes tse l l ing autobiography, used a vei led ad hominem a r g u m e n t to d i sc red i t one of his opponen t s in the C h r y s l e r bailout . He speaks a t l eng th o f this congressman ' s man ipu l a t i on o f the m e d i a to t u rn p e o p l e aga ins t a federal loan g u a r a n t e e , and then takes w h a t was , no doub t , an i rresis t ible swipe . T h i s same c o n g r e s s m a n , he r epor t s , " the g r e a t de f ende r o f the A m e r i c a n way o f life, was convic ted twice in the A b s c a m affair and sen tenced to a t e rm in j a i l . He lost the e lec t ion , and went out in d i s repu te . . . .

"Poet ic j u s t i c e ! " c r o w s I a c o c c a . 9 Pe rhaps , but a lso , in terms of his a r g u m e n t , tu quoque.

W h o the s p e a k e r is or how he lives his life is i r re levant to the soundnes s o f a n a r g u m e n t .

4. Appeal to Authority

Q u o t i n g an e x p e r t to lend credib i l i ty to an a r g u m e n t i s k n o w n as an a p p e a l to authority, or, in La t in , ipse dixit ("he h i m s e l f said i t") . It is a p o w e r f u l p e r s u a d e r :

Teenager: Janet 's pa ren t s let her go to R-ra ted movies . T i m ' s parents let h i m go to R-ra ted movies ; even M a r g a r e t i s a l lowed to go to R-ra ted movies , and you k n o w how strict her parents a re ! W h y can ' t I go?

T h e a p p e a l to au thor i ty i s one o f k ids ' s t rongest defenses . You m i g h t


be s t rongly aga ins t y o u r son or d a u g h t e r d r i v i n g a t age s ix teen , for

e x a m p l e , unti l , one af ter another , his or her f r iends dr ive up in their

cars , and you start to w e a k e n . T h i s is an indi rec t appea l to author i ty .

their parents (authori ty) th ink it is okay to dr ive at s ix t een ; what 's

w r o n g with you?

I see the appea l to author i ty as a teenager ' s s t rongest suit , even

p lay ing one pa ren t aga ins t another.

Kid: (To Mom) C a n I have a raise in my a l lowance? Dad says it's okay.

(Then to Dad) M o m says it's okay to raise my a l lowance if it's okay wi th

y o u .

B e wary!

In wr i t ing , i t is o f ten useful to quo t e o ther p e o p l e to back up y o u r

o w n a r g u m e n t s . I do i t m y s e l f qui te of ten t h r o u g h o u t this book . T h e r e

i s no th ing intrinsically w r o n g with q u o t i n g ex p e r t s for co lor and even

suppor t , bu t be carefu l that the a r g u m e n t s tands on its o w n meri ts

wi thout the p rop .

5. Bifurcation

A classic e x a m p l e of man ipu l a t i on based on fallacies is the "ei ther-

o r " fallacy, wh ich over looks a th i rd opt ion , "none of the above." T h e

cor rec t te rm for it is b i furcat ion, c o m i n g from the La t i n bifurcus,

m e a n i n g " t w o - p r o n g e d " (bi is the La t in pref ix for " t w o " ; furca m e n a s

"fork or b ranch" ) . I t is the "e i the r -you-he lp -me-wi th -my-homework-or -

I-fai l" type o f a r g u m e n t , wh ich exc ludes the a l te rna t ive " D o y o u r o w n

homework ." " I f you don ' t buy me a car, I will be late for work e v e r y

d a y " s idesteps at least two o ther possibi l i t ies: " B u y y o u r se l f a c a r " or

" G e t up ear l ie r and catch the bus." " L e t me get my ea r s p i e r ced or I'll

be a social outcast . None of the kids in school will talk to me." T h i s

last is also an appea l to pity (see be low) . Do not get t r apped . Bi fur

cat ion forces you to c h o o s e be tween two a l ternat ives w h e n you r choices

are actual ly not so l imi ted . You think y o u are in a b ind, but you a re

not. Make the decis ion based on its o w n meri ts .

Adver t i se r s of ten make use of b i furca t ion because i t convenient ly

gives the c o n s u m e r only two choices : the one , some d i re c o n s e q u e n c e ;

the other, to buy their p roduc t . New York A i r pub l i shed an ad s h o w i n g

a cas t -of f w e d d i n g r ing and a note f rom a wife w h o had r u n o f f wi th

another m a n whi le her husband was on a business t r ip . How sad,

when , "for j u s t $25 ," he cou ld have taken her with h i m . T h e ad

conc ludes that this specia l fare is " c h e a p e r than a lawyer."

6. Appeal to Pity

If all else fails, the ad misericordiam ("to mercy") a r g u m e n t , the

appea l to pity, of ten sways.

RE-VISION / 1 1 5

Student: I hope you give this p a p e r a g o o d g r a d e . I worked all n igh t on it. I spen t hours in the l ib ra ry d o i n g r e sea rch , and I even missed ou t on a family out ing . T h a t should be wor th an A.

T h e fallacy of ad misericordiam plays u p o n y o u r sympathy to d iver t y o u r a t tent ion f rom the mat te r u n d e r examina t ion . L e t me of f the h o o k b e c a u s e of how I suffer ; be n ice to me because I am in pa in . Here ' s ano the r e x a m p l e :

Child: W h e n you won ' t let me watch TV on school n igh ts , I feel out of i t a t school the nex t day. T h e kids l a u g h a t me b e c a u s e they a re all t a l k i n g abou t the shows on last n igh t and l a u g h i n g together, and I 'm not pa r t of their fun . I t makes me feel so lonely that I want to cry. S o m e t i m e s I do cry, w h e n nobody is looking . I go into the b a t h r o o m or the coa t c loset a n d j u s t c ry b e c a u s e nobody likes me . N o b o d y wants to be f r iends wi th a k id w h o is not a l lowed to watch T V .

B e f o r e you ge t ou t the viol ins and the hank ie s , label this fallacy for w h a t i t is. T h e n , i f you wan t t o discuss l imi ted w e e k n i g h t TV v i e w i n g , the way is f ree for a c l ea r -headed d iscuss ion .

7. False Analogy

False a n a l o g y c o m p a r e s two activit ies that a re al ike in insignif icant a n d tr ivial w a y s — b u t d iss imi la r in s ignif icant w a y s — i n o rde r to a t tach the onus of one to the s i tuat ion of the other. False a n a l o g y usual ly app l ies an e m o t i o n - p a c k e d simile to a less volati le one or tries to r e d u c e the s ign i f icance of a h igh ly c h a r g e d issue by c o m p a r i n g i t to a m u n d a n e one . C h i l d r e n usual ly escalate the si tuat ion u p w a r d , and thei r use of false a n a l o g y i s subt le and thus potent . I t can be e n o u g h to th row y o u o f f ba lance . O n c e you d i sce rn how easily this sort o f a r g u m e n t seduces you away f rom the issue a t hand , you will be aler t to i t in o ther a reas of y o u r life and on g u a r d aga ins t i t in y o u r o w n wr i t ing .

I f y o u r son accuses you o f chi ld abuse because you won ' t let h i m have candy before d inner , that is false analogy. Especia l ly b e c a u s e ch i ld abuse i s such an emot iona l ly c h a r g e d topic, the issue of candy now takes on a w h o l e new c o l o r a t i o n — i f you al low y o u r se l f to be s ide t racked . L e a r n to separa te the emot ion -packed issue f rom the real i ty a n d you l ea rn an impor t an t ru le o f logic .

T h e a r c h b i s h o p o f D u b l i n w a r n e d that i f d ivorce b e c a m e lega l i n I r e l and , " D i v o r c e would sp read t h r o u g h I re land like the radia t ion that s ta r ted a t C h e r n o b y l and then covered all of Eu rope . " T h i s was a pa r t i cu la r ly po ten t i m a g e s ince, af ter the acc ident in Russia , radia t ion levels in I r i sh l amb had inc reased five h u n d r e d percen t , and p e o p l e we r e s ca red . B u t radia t ion sp reads t h r o u g h ind isc r imina te fallout, and d ivo rce is c h o s e n or not chosen by p e o p l e in con t ro l of their o w n lives.


Metaphors and s imiles a r e power fu l tools for the wr i te r ; w h e n you

use such i m a g e s , be ca re fu l that the connec t ions are sound .

8. False Cause

T h e fal lacy o f false cause o c c u r s w h e n we confuse cause and effect , a s s u m i n g that an event i s the d i rec t resu l t o f some th ing that o c c u r r e d previously , w h e n no such connec t ion has b e e n es tabl ished. In La t in , i t is k n o w n as post hoc, ergo propter hoc; the n a m e descr ibes the fallacy ("after this, therefore b e c a u s e of this") .

Supers t i t ions a re of ten e x a m p l e s of post hoc:

Walking under a ladder brings bad luck; I knew a man once who walked under a ladder—two days later, he fell down and broke his neck.

S o m e t i m e s we use false cause a r g u m e n t s in a h u m o r o u s way, for

e x a m p l e ,

Carrots are good for your eyes and I can prove it. Have your ever seen a rabbit with glasses?

Yet, l ike all o the r fal lacies, post hoc is also used , of ten unwit t ingly, in

a se r ious con tex t , for e x a m p l e : A h igh school s tudent , s u s p e n d e d f rom

school for u s ing sugges t ive l a n g u a g e in a c a m p a i g n s p e e c h , sued the

school for v iola t ion of his f r e edom of s p e e c h . He took the case to the

S u p r e m e C o u r t a n d lost. In an ar t icle d e f e n d i n g his posi t ion, he

w r o t e :

My friend was subsequently overwhelmingly elected, vindicating my campaign tactics.

False cause r e a s o n i n g a b o u n d s in adver t i s ing , s u g g e s t i n g some absolu te connec t ion b e t w e e n the p r o d u c t and a des i red ou tcome . C o m pu te r ads of ten imply that d o i n g well in school is t ied in with h a v i n g a h o m e computer , and conversely, not o w n i n g one leads to f lunk ing ou t . A p a p e r p roduc t s ad tells of a c o n c e r n e d mothe r w h o worr ies that he r d a u g h t e r can ' t concen t ra te because she is t oo fidgety. "I was s h o c k e d to find that ha r sh toilet t issue was the cause ." A n d an ad for b r a n ce rea l exp l a in s that a mothe r should not be a n g r y wi th her d a u g h t e r for a p o o r r e p o r t c a r d : cons t ipa t ion is at fault . Post hoc, ergo propter hoc: all of these e x a m p l e s c o m m i t the mis take of e r r o n e o u s causa l connec t i on . S e q u e n c e does not prove c o n s e q u e n c e .

I t is fun to be able to cal l fallacies by n a m e (and especia l ly usefu l to have the La t in phrases handy) , but wha t we a re after he re i s ra is ing you r consciousness about the existence of fallacies and lapses in l og i c— in y o u r o w n and o the r people ' s wri t ing. O n c e you a re a ler t to even a few, y o u wil l start to l isten m o r e sharply to any a r g u m e n t and sense the i l logic in y o u r o w n wr i t i ng and th ink ing . I f the fallacy you detec t does

RE-VISION / 1 1 7

not fall in to one of these ca tegor ies o r you n e e d more in format ion in de f in ing y o u r t e rms , check Make the Most of Your Mind or With Good Reason.

F A L L A C I E S A N D T H E C R I T I C

K n o w i n g abou t fal lacies he lps you to dea l wi th the Cr i t i c , w h o cons tan t ly tries to th row y o u o f f the scent wi th a r e d h e r r i n g or t w o — not in y o u r wr i t i ng bu t in his dea l ings wi th you , wh ich are a lways less t han s t ra igh t . For e x a m p l e , w h e n y o u a re w o r k i n g on a p iece of wr i t i ng a n d the Cr i t i c b e l e a g u e r s you wi th , " W h a t took you so l o n g ? " o r " Y o u k n o w you ' l l neve r a m o u n t to a n y t h i n g " o r " T h i s will never f ly" o r " Y o u ' r e g o n n a be shot d o w n " o r whatever , r e m i n d h i m that all o f these compla in t s a r e i r re levan t to the task a t h a n d and , ult imately, i r re levan t to the qua l i ty o f the w r i t i n g you a re present ly doing . A n y tr icks y o u l e a r n in d e a l i n g wi th y o u r k ids ' i l logic or y o u r o w n can se rve you well in pu t t i ng the Cr i t ic b a c k in p lace .

C. S . L e w i s once said that w r i t i n g was like " d r i v i n g sheep d o w n a r o a d . I f there is any ga te to the left or r igh t , the readers will most ce r t a in ly go in to it." K e e p on the s t ra igh t and na r row in y o u r t h ink ing , a n d y o u r wr i t i ng wil l follow the same d i rec t pa th .

C H A P T E R 9

G o i n g to the Movies : Creative Visualization and Writing

I learned. . . that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.

— B R E N D A U E L A N D , IF YOU WANT TO WRITE

T h e Five R's o f who le -b r a ined wr i t ing will make y o u r task more rel a x e d a n d m o r e prof i table . T h e tips and t echn iques o f ed i t i ng will m a k e y o u r f inished p iece m o r e po l i shed . B u t d idn ' t I p romise I wou ld a lso m a k e wr i t i ng fun , a g lo r ious adven tu re , a m i n d - e x p a n d i n g e x p e r i ence? T h a t is w h a t this chap t e r is all about .

C R E A T I V E V I S U A L I Z A T I O N

C r e a t i v e v isua l iza t ion i s the t echn ique of us ing y o u r imag ina t ion to c r ea t e i m a g e s and feel ings ins ide y o u r head ; i t is a power fu l way to t ap in to the message cen te r o f the r i gh t bra in . C rea t i ve visual iza t ion i s l ike g o i n g to the movies inside y o u r o w n head . In today 's wor ld of h i g h - p r i c e d en te r t a inment , i t is a handy talent to cul t ivate . V i sua l i z a t ion is no longe r an esoter ic pract ice , r e se rved for B u d d h i s t m o n k s a n d C a l i f o r n i a psychics . N o w i t is in the m a i n s t r e a m to see p ic tures in y o u r head . It's even in Time m a g a z i n e .

W h e n the A m e r i c a n s w h o were held capt ive in I ran were re lased , they to ld o f o v e r c o m i n g the stress o f 444 days in capt ivi ty t h r o u g h va r ious s t ra teg ies . O n e hos tage mental ly r e m o d e l e d a whole house , nai l by nai l , b o a r d by b o a r d ; ano the r went , in his mind 's eye, on the O r i e n t E x p r e s s and r e c o r d e d mental ly every detai l d o w n to the m e n u . A c c o r d i n g to Time, the State D e p a r t m e n t doc tors a t W i e s b a d e n , G e r many, ca l led these su rv iva l tactics " G o i n g to the Mov ies" and cons ide r e d them g o o d devices for " w a r d i n g of f the helplessness that comes wi th capt ivi ty." 1

N o t only capt ives in I r an need to wa rd o f f feel ings o f he lp lessness ,

GOING TO THE MOVIES / 1 1 9

and , fortunately, y o u don ' t have to be beh ind bars to get a f ree pass to this theater. In fact, you are c a r r y i n g a r o u n d in you r o w n head a ve ry r ich sou rce of en te r t a inmen t and inspira t ion, a h u g e 3-D sc reen to play ou t life's myster ies and messages .

T h i s c h a p t e r is a whets tone to make you keen and e a g e r to incorpo ra t e the skill of v isua l iza t ion into you r life and to show you how to app ly i t d i rec t ly to y o u r wr i t ing . U s i n g v isua l iza t ion , you can b r i n g the p e r f e c t wr i t i ng e n v i r o n m e n t to w h e r e v e r you are , p i c tu re you r success s cena r io , ge t ins ide the h e a d of the pe r son d r i v i n g the ca r in front o f y o u on the freeway. You c a n b e c o m e y o u r favorite au thor o r ask an au thor i ty for pe r sona l adv ice wi th edi t ing .

FROM SPORTS T O S C H O O L S T O SNEAKERS

I t is no sec re t that today's O l y m p i c con tenders not only have athletic c o a c h e s , they have mind coaches . A p o p u l a r b o o k like The Miracle of Sports Psychology, by James Pravi tz and James Benne t t , attests to the p o w e r of the m i n d in a c h i e v i n g spor ts goa ls . V i sua l i za t ion i s an acc e p t e d pa r t o f today 's spor ts wor ld . San Francisco outf ie lder J im Wohl -ford , s p e a k i n g o f baseba l l , pu t i t e loquent ly : "N ine ty pe rcen t o f this g a m e , " he said, "is h a l f menta l . " 2

Schoo l s a r e a lso d i scover ing , to the de l igh t o f s tudent and teacher a l ike , how the use o f re laxa t ion t echn iques and g u i d e d i m a g e r y improves c o m p r e h e n s i o n a n d raises g rades and se l f -es teem. S tud ies done by Dr. B e v e r l y - C o l l e e n e G a l y e a n (see her b o o k Mind Sight) show that s tuden t s t a u g h t their o ther subjects wi th v isual iza t ion improve academica l ly a n d a re less unruly , less t ruant , more mot iva ted , more sec u r e . No t only the s tudents bu t a lso the teachers f ind the c lass room a m o r e p leasan t p lace to b e : l e a r n i n g is easier, t each ing is easier, and b o t h a r e m o r e fun w h e n visual iza t ion o r g u i d e d i m a g e r y i s i n c o r p o ra ted in to the c u r r i c u l u m .

A n d i t i s h a p p e n i n g a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d . Paris Match, f o r e x a m p l e , quo tes Miche l ine Frank , a Par is ian teacher, w h o emphas izes t h a t r e l a x a t i o n a n d v i s u a l i z a t i o n a r e n o t " t h e c o r o l l a r y o f p a s s i v i t y . " O n t h e c o n t r a r y , s h e a s s e r t s , t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s m a k e poss ib le g r e a t e r concen t ra t ion o f at tent ion, a ler tness , and recept iv i ty to l ea rn ing .

V i sua l i za t i on i s even g o o d for y o u r hear t . Dr. G e o r g e S h e e h a n , the f a m o u s r u n n i n g g u r u , a f ter s p e n d i n g 195 pages o f his book , Dr. Sheehan on Running, e x t o l l i n g the v i r tues of j o g g i n g for the physically f i t , then tells o f this in te res t ing e x p e r i m e n t done in C a n a d a with hea r t pa t ien ts . T h e s tudy d iv ided ca rd iac pat ients into two g r o u p s for postope ra t i ve ca re . T h e one g r o u p t ra ined strenuously, r u n n i n g and exe rc i s ing eve ry day. T h o s e in the second g r o u p , u n d e r the g u i d a n c e o f a psychia t r is t , w e re put into a hypnot ic t rance , in w h i c h they p i c tu red themse lves r u n n i n g t h r o u g h a f ie ld , with the wind in their faces and


o x y g e n fi l l ing their lungs g o i n g s t ra igh t to their hear ts . A f t e r one year the resul t s in bo th g r o u p s were ident ical . W e i g h t d o w n , b l o o d p ressu re d o w n , less body fat, g r i p s t reng th inc reased to an ident ical d e g r e e . E K G r e a d i n g s showed the same improvemen t .

So v isua l iza t ion is he re to stay and can even cut d o w n on the cost of y o u r sneakers ! To visual ize , you don ' t need t ra in ing o f any k ind . You n e e d n ' t be an e x p e r t . Even i f you are skept ical , i t will still h a p p e n i f y o u let it. B e c a u s e i t is there a l ready inside of you .

P A R T OF YOU KNOWS T H E ANSWER

D i d y o u ever walk over, say, to a c u p b o a r d or a d rawer and forget w h a t you went there for as you s tood in front of it? T h e inter ior m o n o l o g u e a t such t imes usual ly goes s o m e t h i n g like this:

" D u m b me! W h a t d id I c o m e over he re for? I must be los ing my m i n d . H o w d u m b ! "

W h e n that h a p p e n s to me now, I say ins tead, "Wow. W h a t smar t feet I have . T h e y k n e w to come this way even t h o u g h I can no longer a r t icu la te why I am here ."

T h e n I take a d e e p brea th , c lose my eyes in a satisfied way, and let the i m a g e of wha t I c a m e to ge t cross back over my co rpus c a l l o s u m into words .

W h e n we sit d o w n to wri te , we are of ten a t the s tage of " k n o w i n g bu t not k n o w i n g , " as Perl and E g e n d o r f n a m e i t in their s tudy of the p r o c e s s o f crea t ive d i scovery . 3

" K n o w i n g bu t not k n o w i n g " is that sense that you k n o w wha t to say bu t do not know how to say it. Your feet were smar t e n o u g h to get y o u to the desk . You k n e w e n o u g h to pul l out the p a p e r and pick up the p e n . Now y o u must somehow, as the c o m p u t e r p e o p l e say, " acces s " the nonve rba l in fo rmat ion that will tell y o u wha t to wri te and how to wr i te it.

Listen to what I am saying here! It is very important. We have a l r eady seen in c h a p t e r 5 that a t t end ing to your nonverbal side, qu ie t ing d o w n the static and l i s ten ing to y o u r inner self, will he lp you get in touch wi th y o u r feel ings about a pa r t i cu la r wr i t i ng projec t and wha t may be b l o c k i n g you . W h a t I am s u g g e s t i n g he re i s even more radica l , m o r e p o w e r f u l . I am s u g g e s t i n g that the t h o u g h t i tself (in nonverba l fo rm) , the s h a p e and d i rec t ion , the whole p iece that you know but do not know, the content as well as the context , can be d i scovered by this s a m e pathway. A n d that is wha t this chap t e r is about .

T h e r i gh t b ra in sends messages in terms o f p ic tures and fee l ings . Attend to those i m a g e s and you will be r e w a r d e d with k n o w l e d g e .

L E T Y O U R BRAIN WAVES D O T H E WALKING

In the past , w h e n I mis la id some object , I wou ld frantically sea rch e v e r y log ica l p lace for the miss ing i tem. I have b e e n k n o w n to waste an h o u r or more in thank less r u m m a g e . Now, I take a d e e p brea th , sit

GOING TO THE MOVIES / 121

still, and say calmly, " T h e r igh t side of my bra in knows w h e r e i t is." O f t e n the place p o p s r igh t into m i n d . I f not, I mental ly go t h r o u g h each r o o m of the house , each nook and c r anny a t the office. W h e n I i nward ly ar r ive at the r igh t corner , I ac tual ly see the i tem there or feel a sensat ion inside me. Somet imes there is a hea t r ad ia t ing f rom that spot ( r e m e m b e r the g a m e " H o t o r C o l d " we played as ch i ld ren? ) . Somet imes the space seems to glow, or shout , or vibrate . W h a t e v e r the s igna l , the sense of i t is s t rong and defini te .

T h e n I o p e n my eyes , get u p , and go for it. A n d there i t is.

In p r e p a r i n g to wri te this chapter , I loca ted a m a g a z i n e ar t icle that had b e e n miss ing for four years , u s ing the same a p p r o a c h . I found the art icle in a crawl space u n d e r the stairs, in an a b a n d o n e d desk rack, in wi th o ld rec ipes , r epor t ca rds , a s u m m e r aerobics s chedu le , an old tape of Bee thoven ' s Eroica, an o p e r a p r o g r a m , an i m m u n i z a t i o n form, and a personal i ty profi le test, f i l led ou t and never sent in for scor ing. In o ther words , in with th ings that had no connec t ion at all with the ar t icle I was s e a r c h i n g for, in a p lace it had no r igh t be ing. Yet the movies of my mind led me di rec t ly to it.

W h e n you incorpora te the movies o f you r m i n d into your wr i t ing , i t not only gives you a heal thy and playful a t t i tude towards words and ideas; i t also of ten suppl ies the miss ing l inks . Be low are several exer cises that tap into this reserve . Use you r o w n imag ina t ion to c o m e up wi th o thers .

SET UP T H E SCREEN, T U R N ON T H E PROJECTOR

You don ' t need any fancy e q u i p m e n t for crea t ive v isual iza t ion . In

fact, you a l ready o w n the pro jec tor and some pret ty sophis t ica ted

c a m e r a e q u i p m e n t . You even have some foo tage in there a l ready that

i s wa i t ing to be un ro l l ed . A l l you n e e d to do is qu ie t d o w n inside and

let i t h a p p e n . T h e let is in tegra l to the p rocess . Do not force the i m a g e

o r c o m e ready with e x p e c t e d r e sponses . Be mindfu l not to re ject

wha teve r comes , even i f its usefulness is not immedia te ly appa ren t to

you . Let i t h a p p e n . Let the sense unfo ld , the " o p e n i n g u p " come

fo rward ; let the m e a n i n g " p o p " f rom the i m a g e . 4

You m i g h t want to r ead some of the exerc ises below slowly into a

t ape r e c o r d e r in a mono tone voice, then play the tape back with y o u r

eyes c losed and the l ights low. Or have a f r iend r ead a sect ion to you

in a soo th ing voice , or j u s t c lose y o u r eyes , re lax , and trust y o u r s e l f

to r e m e m b e r wha teve r par t is impor tan t to you . I e n c o u r a g e you to

p r e p a r e y o u r o w n scripts based on these sugges t ions .

E X E R C I S E 16: C H A R A C T E R F O R M A T I O N

I f you are wr i t i ng f i c t ion o r d o i n g cha rac te r sketches o f any k ind ,

l e a rn ing to see the wor ld f rom beh ind another ' s eyes is inva luab le . B u t

even for those of you w h o a re wr i t ing nonfict ion business letters,


repor t s , or p roposa l s , this exerc ise is a fun way to k e e p you r movie

appa ra tus in gear , to k e e p all that mi l l ion-dol la r e q u i p m e n t in g o o d

w o r k i n g order . As we will see below, i t wil l a lso s h a r p e n y o u r wits in

p r epa ra t i on for u s ing a power fu l ed i t ing too l : ge t t ing inside the h e a d

of the pe r son w h o will r e ad you r stuff.

You cou ld be si t t ing on a pa rk bench or d r i v i n g in the car. Pick a

p e r s o n in front of you and imag ine wha t i t m i g h t be like to e x p e r i e n c e

the wor ld f rom his o r he r perspec t ive . W h e r e d id he j u s t c o m e f rom?

W h e r e is she g o i n g next? Tune into her m i n d : tu rn up the vo lume a

bit so you can hea r the c o n c e r n s and worr ies , the mut te r ings . Sit d o w n

in the movie theater of his m i n d for a m o m e n t and watch the p ic tu res

on his sc reen . Do not force any th ing , j u s t let the images and sounds

c o m e .

Here 's an e x a m p l e o f how i t works . W h i l e d r i v i n g t h r o u g h m o r n i n g

traffic d o w n a busy c o m m e r c i a l s t reet in town, I saw two th ings a lmos t

s imul taneously . O n e was a s ign in front of a gas station. In l a rge

letters i t read , " R E D E Y E I S B A C K ! " A t the same momen t , m y eye

c a u g h t a m a n s tand ing at a bus s top, wi th his shou lders ben t and his

head d o w n . He was w e a r i n g a bowle r (true!) and c a r r y i n g an umbre l l a ,

even t h o u g h i t was only overcas t , not ra ining. He l o o k e d de fea ted and

d i s c o u r a g e d , as t h o u g h he were fac ing yet ano the r d r e a r y day. B e f o r e

I knew w h a t was h a p p e n i n g , the two i m a g e s coa l e sced . I kep t on

d r iv ing , but inside my h e a d was a new voice , not my o w n . I t was husky

and d e p r e s s e d .

"I wish I were R e d Eye . Sure , he's got a foul mou th and d r i n k s t oo

m u c h , but e v e r y b o d y loves h i m . He can get away wi th murder . R o u g h -

h e w n , but d a m n g o o d . T h e y love h im . T h e y put up a b ig s ign w h e n

he comes back.

" H a ! N o b o d y cares whe the r I 'm a t work o r not. C a n you p ic tu re

t hem put t ing up a s ign for me?

" A n d M i l d r e d ! I f 1 have one more f ight wi th M i l d r e d g o i n g ou t the

door, I 'm not . . . "

M i l d r e d ! Tha t ' s w h e n I hi t the brakes . W h o let M i l d r e d in?

You get the idea . You see how easy i t is.

By the way, I do not necessar i ly r e c o m m e n d that you m a k e any

a t tempt to verify y o u r c inemat ic snooping . Severa l months af ter the

e x p e r i e n c e desc r ibed above , I was in that very gas station b u y i n g gas .

Said I , " I ' d like to mee t y o u r mechan ic , the one you call R e d Eye ."

T h e a t tendant looked a t me queerly.

I con t inued . "A few months back , y o u put up a b ig s ign w h e n he

r e t u r n e d . ' R e d Eye Is B a c k ' it said." I gave my shoulders a little self-

e f fac ing shrug . " I 'd j u s t like to mee t the guy."

"Lady. T h e r e ain ' t no g u y n a m e d R e d Eye . Red Eye i s the n a m e o f

an oil . We 've been ou t of i t for awhi le , and so we put up a s ign w h e n

we got i t back in s tock. S o r r y to d i sappo in t you . "


Ah well . B u t for all I know, the little m a n in the bowle r was fee l ing d o w n a n d did j u s t have a m o r n i n g spat wi th a wife n a m e d M i l d r e d .

E X E R C I S E 17: T H E SUCCESS S C E N A R I O

M a y b e you have hea rd about , o r even e x p e r i e n c e d , how v i sua l i z ing s o m e t h i n g y o u wan t c a n he lp m a k e i t h a p p e n . T h i s exerc ise i s pa r t o f that fine t radi t ion , wi th a twist. Here , you use the theater of you r m i n d to enjoy the p l ea su re of a wel l -wr i t ten p iece , a n d — e v e n more d r a m a t i c a l l y — t o he lp c rea te the p iece that b r ings such joy. 1 call this the success scena r io .

Q u i e t e n y o u r s e l f in wha t eve r way works bes t for you . In you r mind 's eye , p i c t u r e whatever , fo r y o u , w o u l d be the success scenar io o f the p i ece you a re cu r ren t ly w o r k i n g on . I f you a re a lawyer p r e p a r i n g a brief, i t m i g h t be h e a r i n g the op in ion of the cou r t and k n o w i n g that you won . A p l a y w r i g h t m i g h t p ic tu re the par ty a t Sardi 's with c h a m p a g n e a n d s t r eamers a n d e x c l a m a t o r y rev iews p o u r i n g in. A m a n a g e r w h o has b e e n h a v i n g t roub le wi th her staff m i g h t p ic tu re her ideas b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d and eve ryone f r iendly and smil ing. For myself , i t i s the a u t o g r a p h pa r ty wi th the l ines g o i n g ou t the door, all ages pat ient ly wa i t ing to have a m o m e n t to talk wi th me, maybe the Phi l D o n a h u e show, a wr i t e -up in Time m a g a z i n e . Success for you m i g h t be a b ig h o o p l a or a qu ie t thing. I t m i g h t inc lude c r o w d s of peop l e , lots o f noise , o r i t may be simply one p e r s o n you ca re abou t pa t t ing you on the back .

Lar ry , an at torney, wan ted to wri te an art icle for the New York Times.

He had a c o l l e a g u e at the f i rm w h o was a lways lo rd ing i t over h i m , a n d L a r r y k n e w that an ar t icle in the Times wou ld be a neat way to m a t c h wi ts . La r ry ' s scene o f success and its a c c o m p a n y i n g g o o d fee l ing was ve ry s imple . First he go t quie t , inside and out , s lowed his brea thing , r e l a x e d his musc le tension, and then he i m a g i n e d this same fellow c o m i n g over to his desk . "La r ry , I saw you r p i ece in this morn ing ' s Times." " I t was no th ing ," L a r r y answers wi th a sh rug .

So a success scena r io does not r equ i r e fanfare . T h e idea is to i m m e r s e y o u r s e l f t h o r o u g h l y in that scene. Be p layful . Have some fun . L e t the smi le cross y o u r face . L e t the h a p p y and satisfied fee l ing suffuse y o u r w h o l e body. L e t the g low of success start f rom y o u r toes a n d move r i g h t up to you r head . G e t g iddy f rom the rush o f it. Pay pa r t i cu l a r a t tent ion to wha t p e o p l e a re say ing , all the wonder fu l c o m ments abou t y o u r j o b well done . Le t you r ears b u r n . N o d and smile a n d soak i t u p . You 've worked h a r d for this momen t , a n d y o u dese rve to bask in it. R e a c h ou t and touch wha teve r is t ang ib l e—the desk, the chair , the h a n d to shake . B e c o m e pa r t of that scene, and enjoy i t for as l o n g as you want .

H e r e c o m e s the twist. A f t e r p lay ing wi th you r success scene for


awhi le , let the noise d ie d o w n , the c r o w d diss ipate , the c o l l e a g u e wa lk

away, the TV talk-show in terv iew e n d — n o t abrupt ly but in a p leasant ,

r e l a x e d k ind o f way. T h e p e o p l e a re gone , but the res idua l g o o d

feel ings of success a re still wi th you . You a re a lone now but fee l ing

f ine . Shake you r head in a ges tu re o f p leased wondermen t . A n d n o w —

this is the fun p a r t — t u r n you r at tent ion to the wr i t i ng that has b e e n

ge t t ing such pra ise and acco lades . Pick up the b r i e f o f f the c o u r t r o o m

table, o p e n the cover of y o u r new b o o k , look a t the m e m o on y o u r

desk that had exact ly the resul ts that you wan ted , and now, as you

r ead it for the first t ime, copy it d o w n .

Here 's an e x a m p l e of how i t worked for me. W h e n I f i rs t d e s i g n e d

the b r o c h u r e adver t i s ing my wr i t ing workshop , I wan ted i t to doub le

as a pos te r as well as a flier. T h a t way 1 wou ld be able not only to send

i t t h r o u g h the mai l bu t a lso to pos t i t a r o u n d town and ask var ious

c o m p a n i e s and o rgan iza t ions to tack i t up on their bul le t in b o a r d s .

I sat in a quie t l ibrary, away f rom dis t ract ions , and t r ied aga in and

a g a i n to wr i te the o p e n i n g copy. I t wou ldn ' t cl ick. I t go t worse . I

s tar ted to feel up t igh t , and I hea rd my Cr i t ic say, " T h i s is a fine kettle

of fish, O l l i e . You p lan to save o thers , and y o u r se l f you canno t save."

My ad rena l ine was r i s ing, my foot t app ing , my f ingers t i gh t en ing

a r o u n d the penci l . I k n e w it was t ime for a re laxa t ion b reak . S tay ing

at my chair , I pu t d o w n my penci l , c losed my eyes , and took a d e e p

b rea th . [ b e c a m e consc ious of my b rea th ing and t hough t that my

b rea th was like a p u m p , b rea th ing ou t any tension, b rea th ing in peace

and re laxa t ion . I said that very phrase several t imes to myself : " O u t

with tens ion; in with p e a c e and re laxa t ion . O u t wi th tension; in wi th

p e a c e and re laxat ion." S o o n the words ma tched the reality.

In my mind 's inner eye I found myse l f g o i n g up and d o w n the

avenue in the univers i ty sect ion of town, pos t ing my b r o c h u r e in

books to res , c a f e s , and on k iosks . I was in terac t ing wi th var ious peop le ,

a n d all o f t hem were very compl imen ta ry about my b r o c h u r e and my

workshop .

" M a y I pos t this in y o u r w i n d o w ? "

"Cer ta in ly . Sounds like an in teres t ing workshop . I 'd l ike to go my

self. W h e n is i t?"

S o o n , peop le were fo l lowing me d o w n the s t ree t—I was like the

P ied P i p e r — s t o p p i n g to r ead wha t I had pos ted , and ask ing me

exc i ted ques t ions about my workshop and w h e r e they cou ld s ign u p . I

felt l ike a litt le k id at the z o o wi th a r ed ba l loon , s k i p p i n g and happy.

As I held the s tapler in my hand , I cou ld feel the r o u g h t ex tu re of

the k iosk and hear the sat isfying c lunk as the staple pene t r a t ed the

w o o d w h e r e many mil l ions o f staples before had s u n k their meta l

tee th . O t h e r pos ters v ied for visual a t tent ion, but my pos te r s tood out ,

a lmos t g lowed . I t b e c k o n e d and en t iced . T h e c r o w d s were j o s t l i n g

wi th each o the r in a f r iendly way, all wan t ing to read about this

wonder fu l workshop .


" W h e r e c a n I s ign u p ? "

" M a y I have ano the r copy of that b r o c h u r e for a f r i end?"

" T h i s i s d y n a m i t e . C o u n t me in."

"Just w h a t I 've b e e n wa i t ing for."

"Tel l y o u the t ru th , i t was y o u r o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h that c a u g h t my

eye . "

T h a t last c o m m e n t m a d e me cu r ious : How d id the w i n n i n g pa ra

g r a p h r e a d ? I res is ted the temptat ion to look at it; I wan ted to bask

some m o r e in the s t u n n i n g resu l t s . I was hav ing fun . A n y o n e l o o k i n g

over to me in my ca r r e l in the l ibrary would have seen a totally r e l a x e d

p e r s o n wi th a blissful smi le .

I wa i t ed unti l the c r o w d s d i spe r sed a bit and then quiet ly tacked my

last b r o c h u r e over the "Post No Not ices" stencil on a pos te r -covered

fence .

N o w I s tood back f rom it a moment , and this t ime I r ead it. I r ead

the words that were c r ea t i ng such a posi t ive response , r ead the o p e n

i n g h o o k that c a p t u r e d such at tent ion. As I read it, I wrote it down.

Professional writers call it writer's block, but panic before a blank page is not exclusive to writers who are professional. Writing anxiety can immobilize anyone: business executives behind in correspondence, students struggling over term papers, lawyers laboring over legal briefs, nurses or social workers dreading report deadlines. People with writing apprehension have been known to let it determine the paths of their lives, choosing majors in college, and later jobs, that have few writing demands. Some let it limit their earning and advancement potential. Or those who have been writing successfully for years suddenly find their creative juices run dry. Others have stories inside them that they want to tell, but they just can't get the words out. This workshop is for all of you.

Perhaps you've even taken some courses, or read some books that have given you hints and tips on breaking out of this syndrome. This workshop does more than give tips and strategies to fight the immediate problem—it arms you with tools to be your own best strategist from now on. Discover why you can't write on those days when the writing drags, and why you can write on those days when everything flows. Armed with that information, your writing will be productive for the rest of your life.

If you ever hesitate in writing, this workshop is for you.

I t was a lmos t cheat ing. T h e words were p r in ted there so c lear ly be fo re me . I cou ld ac tual ly see them, not handwr i t t en on a yel low p a d but p r in t ed on a p a g e wi th my twis ted-penci l l ogo b lown up on the s ide . I s imply sur rep t i t ious ly c o p i e d them d o w n .

T h i s a p p r o a c h is a w o n d e r f u l catalyst, bu t do not th ink that j u s t b e c a u s e you 've seen i t in pr int i t does not need improvement . I n e e d e d to e m e n d my b r o c h u r e copy : a d a n g l i n g par t ic ip le , the e n e m y of the p e o p l e , h a d c r e p t into the last l ine of the second p a r a g r a p h , and that l ine n e e d e d to be ruthless ly r e a r r a n g e d . I c h a n g e d i t to " A r m e d wi th that i n fo rma t ion , you can be a p roduc t ive wr i te r for the rest of y o u r


l i fe." T h e n I took ou t the m i x e d me taphor o f " a r m s you wi th too l s ; " in do ing that, corrected as well the redundancy of "arms" and "armed."

So y o u r menta l m a n u s c r i p t starts ou t wi th a burs t o f e n e r g y and p layfu lness , but l ike e v e r y t h i n g else you wri te , i t u n d e r g o e s the same sc ru t iny of the Five R's of who le -b ra ined wri t ing. Visua l i za t ion is actua l ly j u s t ano the r way o f d o i n g S tep 1 .

T h e r e a r e many o the r d rama t i c e x a m p l e s o f this creat ive cons t ruct ion. C h u c k L o c h , in an ar t icle ca l led " H o w to Feed Y o u r B r a i n and D e v e l o p Y o u r Crea t iv i ty , " 5 tells of a songwr i t e r w h o " u s e d to see the titles of his unwr i t t en songs listed on a menta l j u k e b o x . In his mind , he w o u l d d r o p in a q u a r t e r a n d sit back and listen to his song, c o p y i n g i t d o w n as he h e a r d i t p layed ."

Or take the e x a m p l e o f the senior execu t ive o f a l a rge s h i p p i n g c o m p a n y w h o told me that he was h a v i n g a d r e a d f u l p rob l em wi th p h o n e e t ique t te in his f i rm. He had sent ou t many m e m o s , most o f t h e m c u r t and au thor i t a r i an in tone, but they d id not ge t the k ind of r e s p o n s e he w a n t e d . In fact , they m a d e th ings even worse . Most of his m e m o s b e g a n wi th phrases l ike "I t has come to my at tent ion. . . " and "Unfor tuna te ly , i t i s o n c e a g a i n necessa ry t o in fo rm y o u that. . . . "

No t only d i d the phone p r o b l e m persist , bu t he had c rea ted a tension a m o n g his e m p l o y e e s that ran c o u n t e r to his usua l m a n a g e m e n t style a n d d i s t u r b e d the a t m o s p h e r e he l iked to main ta in in his company.

W h i l e t ak ing my w o r k s h o p , he p layed a r o u n d wi th the success scen a r i o of the pe r fec t m e m o . He felt h i m s e l f back in his office, even no t i ced wha t he was w e a r i n g and saw the i tems and p a p e r s on his desk . Mostly, t h o u g h , he was consc ious of a fee l ing of we l l -be ing , a sense of con ten tmen t a r o u n d the office that he had missed . People w e r e c o u r t e o u s w i thou t b e i n g stiff; there was a g e n u i n e fee l ing of c a m a r a d e r i e and g o o d w i l l . I t was a nice p lace to be . T h e r e was a lmos t a pe r cep t i b l e h u m in the office of p e o p l e w o r k i n g together . In his mind ' s eye he stayed wi th that fee l ing of satisfaction and went abou t his o w n work eager ly , k n o w i n g that all the p e o p l e a r o u n d h i m were w o r k i n g h a r d and happily. He told me later that i t r e s embled the u n e x p r e s s e d sense of h a r m o n y you feel w h e n the whole family i s w o r k i n g on pro jec ts in d i f fe rent co rners o f the house . He still d idn ' t k n o w how i t h a d h a p p e n e d , a n d in some ways i t d idn ' t matter. He was j u s t en joy ing the a f t e rma th .

T h e n his eye s t rayed to a copy of the m o r n i n g m e m o on his desk . H e r e a d :

We are all part of a family here, and as any growing family knows, there are times when we need to pitch in together to make changes necessary for the betterment of the whole.

As he r ead it, i t p l ea sed h im . He wro te i t d o w n . He c o u l d ha rd ly wa i t to ge t back to his office and make that m e m o


a reality. He m a d e a few minor c h a n g e s in wha t he had c o p i e d f rom his mind ' s m e m o and sent i t ou t to the p e o p l e in his c o m p a n y the nex t day. G u e s s what? T h e resul ts were a lmos t exact ly as he had env i s ioned t hem. O n c e aga in , his c o m p a n y was a p leasant p lace to work , and an a lmos t t ang ib le t eam spir i t p reva i l ed .

E X E R C I S E 18: C A R R Y Y O U R P E R F E C T W R I T I N G E N V I R O N M E N T W H E R E V E R Y O U G O

How m a n y t imes have you said, "1 cou ld wri te if only. . . ?" If only I w e r e somep lace else, f ree f rom dis t ract ions. If only I cou ld be in a r o o m wi thout clutter, w i thou t f ingerpr ints . Or are you like the boss w h o tells me that she a lways b r ings her w r i t i n g home , even t h o u g h i t i r r i ta tes he r husband , b e c a u s e she does her best wr i t i ng outs ide the office? Save y o u r m a r r i a g e — a n d y o u r sanity!

I r e m e m b e r a t ime in N e w p o r t w h e n I wro t e so fluently, so m u c h , that I c o u l d n ' t s top w r i t i n g — i t was a suppor t ive a tmosphere , f ree f rom dis t rac t ions , f ree f rom p re s su re and responsibil i ty. I wro t e a n d w r o t e a n d wro te . I wro te so m u c h that I e v e n took the p a d into the b a t h r o o m wi th me . I go t up in the midd l e of the n igh t and s tar ted wr i t ing . I was all c h a r g e d up wi th a " H e r e - w e - g o ! Don ' t - s top -now!" k ind o f e n e r g y and exc i tement . A h ! W h e r e d id that e n e r g y c o m e f rom? It c a m e f rom inside me! So I can re -crea te i t a n y w h e r e , b r i n g that space and that e n e r g y to my compu te r r o o m , to my office, to my d i n i n g r o o m table.

In Sadhana A n t h o n y de Mel lo speaks of the mystic's abili ty to b r ing the pas t in to the p resen t by g o i n g in and ou t of the e x p e r i e n c e , each t ime no t ing w h a t c h a n g e s occur . Let 's say that you d id you r best w r i t i n g on the beach in At lan t ic C i ty or that t ime you were vis i t ing the p e o p l e wi th no c h i l d r e n in D e n v e r and the walls were whi te and had no h a n d p r i n t s . T h a t energy , that ability to wr i te c a m e f rom inside Y O U ! A n d i t i s yours for the a sk ing to r e c a p t u r e it. Here ' s how.

First , r e l ax . G e t into a comfor tab le posi t ion. C l o s e you r eyes . Take a d e e p b rea th . Star t wi th the top of y o u r h e a d and gently r e l ax eve ry musc le , w o r k i n g y o u r way d o w n to the very soles o f you r feet. O n c e y o u r b o d y i s r e l a x e d , go in y o u r mind 's eye to you r per fec t wr i t i ng e n v i r o n m e n t . In that qu ie t center, see y o u r s e l f wr i t ing and wr i t ing , the e n e r g y and hea t c o m i n g o f f the very page , b u r n i n g a hole in the paper . I t is wonde r fu l to wr i te l ike that. I t is e n e r g i z i n g and exci t ing. A n d the wr i t i ng i s g o o d — c l e a r and lucid, and so h u m a n . K e e p on wr i t ing . W h a t does i t feel l ike to be wr i t i ng like that? How does i t feel ins ide o f y o u , in y o u r gu t , in the cen te r o f y o u r be ing? How does y o u r h a n d fee l , w h a t is y o u r head l ike? C a n you locate the fee l ing in a pa r t of y o u r b o d y ? C a n you taste it, smell it, touch it?

Now, r e t u r n to the r o o m you are in, bu t not abrupt ly or fully. How


d o e s i t feel to c o m e back to this r o o m ? A r e you co ld? Do you have less e n e r g y ? I s i t demora l i z ing , d r a in ing , s app ing y o u r vi tal i ty? Do you not ice e v e n a s l ight ca r ryove r f rom y o u r per fec t wr i t i ng state? Stay wi th that fee l ing for a moment . T h e n r e tu rn to the fullness of y o u r pe r f ec t e n v i r o n m e n t . Play wi th it, move back and for th , unti l you sense a s t r o n g t r ans fe rence of the v ibes of the past scene into the present .

E X E R C I S E 19: B E C O M E T H E A U D I E N C E

Frangois R o c h a i x , a s tage di rector , says that the last t h ing he d o e s

be fo re the f ina l p r o d u c t i o n of an o p e r a i s b e c o m e like the a u d i e n c e to

test his d e s i g n :

I do all I can to prepare for a production ahead of time, with reading and thinking and working with designers. But once the rehearsals begin 1 have to turn into someone else too. Without forgetting what it is I set out to do, I must become like a member of the audience, see it all as they will see it, so that I can help the singers know what is the effect that we make. What they bring to it now is what matters most, because it is only that which makes it all come together and come to life. 6

Even t h o u g h e d i t i n g is basical ly a lef t -brained task, the r i gh t can con t r i bu t e in its s t reng th to m a k e the task easier, more pleasant , more f u n — a n d more effect ive. R e m e m b e r the goa l in wr i t i ng on both sides of the bra in i s to ge t that c o r p u s ca l lo sum c rack l ing , and this exerc i se i s o n e s u r e way to m a k e that h a p p e n .

In c h a p t e r 8 I to ld you to b e c o m e the aud i ence before ed i t i ng and r e a d y o u r p i ece as t h o u g h y o u w e r e s ee ing i t for the first t ime. C rea t i ve v i sua l i za t ion bui lds a u d i e n c e awareness in a p r o f o u n d way. I s u g g e s t that you have a little fun wi th this. U s i n g the a p p r o a c h ou t l ined in Exe rc i s e 1 6 , ge t inside the m i n d o f you r in tended reader . You m i g h t k n o w specif ical ly w h o that pe r son wil l be (such as a diff icul t pe r son to w h o m y o u have d ra f t ed a tac t ful let ter) , or i t m i g h t j u s t be a gener ic t ype .

So qu ie t d o w n ins ide . T a k e a d e e p brea th . ("Your b r ea th ing i s y o u r g rea te s t f r iend," says de Mel lo , q u o t i n g a T i b e t a n sage . " R e t u r n to i t in al l y o u r t roubles , a n d you will f ind comfor t and gu idance . " ) C l o s e y o u r eyes , r e lax , a n d b r i n g to mind the pe r son w h o will be r e a d i n g y o u r p i ece .

T h i n k o f w h e r e he m i g h t be w h e n he receives this letter, wha t she m i g h t be d o i n g r i gh t before this m e m o crosses he r desk . I s the j u d g e r e a d i n g y o u r b r i e f in his c h a m b e r s ; has you r boss gone t h r o u g h a s tack o f in fu r i a t ing p a p e r s a n d f ina l ly worked her way d o w n to you r p r o p o s a l ; i s the ed i to r up to he re with quer ies and now o p e n i n g up yours?

N o t i c e the b o d y p o s t u r e and the express ion on the face. W h a t


ins ights do these c lues g ive you into how that pe r son feels? W h a t c o n c e r n s o c c u p y he r thoughts? Is the phone r i n g i n g o f f the hook , has she j u s t had ano ther c u p o f coffee o r an upse t t ing e n c o u n t e r wi th ano the r employee? W h a t k ind o f effect a re you g o i n g for? G e t a s m u c h into the mind and the env i ronmen t of that pe r son (your r eader ) as possible . Put the r e a d i n g of you r p iece in c o n t e x t — i n the same con tex t i t will be rece ived in. D o e s the r eade r s e e m host i le to you r subject? I f so , i t is even more impor tan t to play with this pro jec t ion for awhi le . B e c o m e the aud i ence . W h a t is i t l ike to be h im? W h a t is i t l ike to be her? Stay with that i m a g e , us ing all of y o u r senses : see , hear, taste, smel l , and touch the wor ld wi th you r reader ' s eyes , ea rs , nose, mou th , a n d f ingers . Now, inside his head , not you r o w n , p ick up you r w r i t i n g wi th his hands , r ead i t t h r o u g h with he r eyes , feel their visceral r e sponse to it.

Is it " O h , here 's . I a lways like to r ead her byl ine"? Or is it

" I 'm mad already jus t seeing the re turn address" or perhaps "Wouldn ' t you know, another let ter f rom the boss f inding fault wi th me a g a i n — brace yourse l f "?

Now read you r p iece . W h a t h a p p e n s ? A r e you impressed? A r e you en te r t a ined? A r e you insu l ted , o r p leased? O r confused? D o e s the wr i t i ng k e e p you m o v i n g a long in a p leasant pace , or a re you b o r e d and t empted to put i t as ide and c o m e back to i t later? A r e you con fused , angry, upse t? D o e s a word str ike you as harsh? M a r k in the m a r g i n all the places whe re i t p ings .

Move on to Steps 4 and 5 of the Five R's of who le -b ra ined wr i t ing , and f in ish you r ed i t ing us ing some of the tips f rom chap te r 8 .

E X E R C I S E 20: C O N F E R W I T H E X P E R T

O n c e you lea rn , us ing any o f the forms above, to t ap into y o u r

crea t ive center, ask for a g u i d e to mee t you there . T h i s g u i d e m i g h t

a r r ive in the form of a fr iend or an an ima l or someone famous in

you r f ield. I like to invi te John Fowles, G e o f f r e y Chauce r , or Jane

A u s t e n to he lp me edi t . Jane A u s t e n , in par t icular , was a g r e a t f r iend

to me d u r i n g the ed i t ing stages of this book . At one point , w h e n I was

fee l ing o v e r w h e l m e d by the sheer a m o u n t of work a h e a d of me, I took

a breather . I moved to a comfor tab le cha i r (my R u m i n a t i n g Cha i r , in

fact) . W h a t would Jane A u s t e n do? I w o n d e r e d . I know she r eworked

her novels met iculous ly r igh t up to her dea th . I s lowed my b rea th ing ,

le t t ing re laxa t ion f low over me. In my imag ina t ion , I was w a l k i n g

a l o n g a fo r e s t p a t h , an a c t u a l s p o t t ha t i s a f avo r i t e c o m f o r t i n g

p l a c e . T h e r e a r e m a j e s t i c e v e r g r e e n s a l l a r o u n d , b u t i t i s no t a

c losed or conf ined place , nor i s i t d a r k and forbidding. T h e trees

line a pa th that beckons fo rward to an expans ive vista. T h e sun

w a s s t r e a m i n g a l o n g tha t p a t h i n an i n v i t a t i o n a l way, a n d i t w a s


f r o m this c l ea r ing that Jane A u s t e n c a m e fo rward to g r e e t me . She ha i l ed me warmly . She was d r e s s e d in an E m p i r e g o w n o f an t ique ivory hue , wi th an u m b e r sash benea th the bod ice . She was businessl ike but k ind .

She took me by the e lbow and , demons t r a t ing for me even as she l ed me to follow, she said, "Henr ie t t e . L ike this. L o o k a t y o u r feet. O n e s tep . G o o d . N o w the next s tep . G o o d . Now another. S tep by s tep . You can do it. O n e step a t a t ime. C o m e o n — " (still u r g i n g me on by my e l b o w ) " — I ' m wi th you now. S tep by step."

I went back to my work r e n e w e d , a n d ins tead of k e e p i n g the g ian t mass o f raw u n w o r k e d p a g e s o f the comple te manusc r ip t on my desk , I pu t the bu lk of i t as ide and took one chap te r at a t ime, one p a g e at a t ime. W h e n e v e r I fa l te red , I said, " L o o k at you r feet, not a h e a d . O n e foot af ter the other. C o m e on, one foot—that ' s i t—af te r the other." I t was g o o d .advice . I am gra tefu l to Jane A u s t e n for pass ing it o n .

A n o t h e r t ime, I invi ted John Fowles to mee t me in the l ibrary of my m i n d , a n d w h e n he showed u p , he had b r o u g h t a f r iend, Tony B u z a n . Tony was exac t ly the fel low I n e e d e d to talk to then, so I was flabberg a s t e d a n d d e l i g h t e d that John had b r o u g h t h im along.

M a u r e e n M u r d o c h , in he r b o o k Spinning Inward, tells of us ing a t e c h n i q u e wi th c h i l d r e n that she calls "Ski l l Rehea r sa l wi th a Mas te r Teacher . " T h e resul ts a re as tonishing. " C h i l d r e n r epo r t invok ing Pele to improve socce r k icks , H a y d n to tutor p i ano , and M a r k Twain to put s o m e h u m o r into their wr i t ing ," she re la tes . 7

Invi te me , i f you don ' t m i n d you r work be ing a bit caval ier in spots . I 'll be g l ad to he lp you in any way I can .

C h u c k L o c h , in an ar t icle men t ioned earl ier , sugges ts an i n t r i gu ing var ia t ion of this exerc i se . His idea i s to " i m a g i n e your se l f g o i n g back in t ime, b a c k to ano the r l i fet ime w h e n y o u were a f amous wr i te r of the past ," T h e more v iv id you c a n make the scene, the better. "Feel y o u r s e l f in that wri ter 's study, s i t t ing at that writer 's desk, t ak ing pen in h a n d , wr i t i ng a ' lost ' manuscr ip t . " T h e n all you need to do is wr i te the words a long wi th the ce leb ra ted au thor and p r o d u c e y o u r o w n m a s t e r p i ec e . L o c h gives several e x a m p l e s o f s tudents w h o had successfully e m p l o y e d this p layful t echn ique , and he once told me that he uses i t in his o w n wr i t ing .

T h e s e ideas , a n d o thers l ike them, work, a c c o r d i n g to L o c h , b e c a u s e they "gene ra t e s t rong s y n c h r o n i z e d bra in waves ," w h i c h emula te the pa t t e rn , con f i rmed by r e sea rch , of the electr ic wave activity in the b ra in d u r i n g p e a k momen t s o f creat ive inspi ra t ion . Such exerc ises " rees tab l i sh the ba l ance b e t w e e n bo th sides o f the bra in . T h e y rec rea te the b ra in wave pa t te rn for crea t ive inspira t ion in w h i c h all par ts work toge ther . " 8

In o the r words , you a re wr i t i ng on bo th sides of your bra in .

GOING TO THE MOVIES / 1 3 1

A P A R T I N G W O R D

We have a p a r t i n g express ion in o u r family that I would like to sha re wi th you . W h e n o u r c h i l d r e n have s tud ied h a r d for a test, or w o r k e d long hours on a d rama t i c reci tal , or p r e p a r e d carefu l ly for a p resen ta t ion o f any sort , we do not send them o f f with the usua l " G o o d luck!" T h e y have worked h a r d for wha teve r t r iumph awaits t hem, a n d their work needs to be a c k n o w l e d g e d and va l ida ted . T h e y have u sed pa r t o f their b ra in that was theirs to c la im. L u c k has no th ing to do wi th it.

W o r k i n g t h r o u g h the exerc ises in this b o o k took ded ica t ion and c o m m i t m e n t on y o u r par t , and wha teve r was r evea led was talent you h a d i n you all a long. T h e wor ld o f f l uen t , p roduc t ive , on- t ime wr i t ing is at y o u r c o m m a n d . It's a l ready your s . It's a l r eady there .

T h e h u m a n m i n d has all k inds o f sof tware we a re not us ing , s imply b e c a u s e no one ever showed us how. Rec l a im y o u r b i r th r igh t ! A n d w h e n you d o , g ive y o u r s e l f t r emendous c red i t . G ive you r se l f a b ig pa t on the back . S e n d y o u r s e l f o f f wi th a b i g smile on y o u r face and a s p r i n g in y o u r s tep. You a re wonder fu l . Q u i t e bri l l iant . G e n i u s class. A n d i t was there all a long. W h a t a marve l you are!

S e n d y o u r s e l f o f f wi th these words o f praise a n d a c k n o w l e d g m e n t r i n g i n g in y o u r ears . B e f o r e you b e g a n r e a d i n g this book , you h a d e n o r m o u s talent that you b r o u g h t to the work . Now you know how to ge t at it. I t is only the b e g i n n i n g . A t ime capsu le of in terna l combus t ion is p l an t ed inside you . Go for it, 100 percen t !

G o o d skil l!

A P P E N D I X 1

Whole-Brained Spelling

I have a f r iend w h o has t a u g h t spe l l ing in h i g h school for twenty yea r s . He b e g i n s each semes te r by saying, " S p e l l i n g is a very impor t an t indicator . I f you consistently, assured ly spel l cor rec t ly 100 pe rcen t of the t ime, i t i s an indica t ion that you a re an excel lent speller. On the o the r h a n d , i f y o u consis tent ly misspel l words , o r do not t rus t y o u r spe l l ing , i t is an indica t ion that you a re not an excel lent speller."

In o the r words , g o o d spe l l ing has no th ing to do wi th b e i n g " smar t " o r " d u m b " ; in fact, m a n y g r e a t th inkers have b e e n ter r ib le spel lers . So f i r s t ge t r id o f any mora l j u d g m e n t s you m i g h t have abou t y o u r se l f i f you a re a p o o r or fair- to- m i d d l i n g speller. G o o d spe l l ing simply has to do wi th y o u r visual m e m o r y and how br ight ly y o u can tune i t u p , and that is a skill that eve ryone can master. You are not d o o m e d , you a r e not " d u m b . " You need not r e s ign y o u r s e l f to y o u r fate o r waste t ime l o o k i n g up words . A n d you do not have to go back to school all ove r aga in a n d get ready for weekly spe l l ing tests.

W h y improve? First , for conf idence and se l f -es teem, and for the t ime saved f rom l o o k i n g words u p . A l s o , an imp ro v ed visual m e m o r y is use fu l for o the r th ings as wel l . I f you get in s h a p e for r u n n i n g , the i n c r e a s e d l e g s t r eng th will h e l p you in bicycl ing, too . V i s u a l spe l l ing ra ises y o u r awareness o f the i m p o r t a n c e and effect iveness o f v isua l memory .

T H E R I G H T B R A I N C A N H E L P T H E L E F T B R A I N T O S P E L L

C o n t r a r y to w h a t we may have l ea rned in school , " s o u n d i n g o u t " words is the wors t way to lea rn spe l l ing , because words in the Engl i sh l a n g u a g e a re of ten not spe l led the way they sound . Neuro l ingu i s t i c p r o g r a m m i n g ( N L P ) re sea rche r s con tend that spe l l ing i s best l e a rned by u s i n g o u r v isual m e m o r y ra ther than by the more t radi t ional aud i tory a p p r o a c h . T h e be t te r y o u r visual memory , the b r i gh t e r y o u r i m a g e s w h e n you p i c tu re a w o r d , and the be t te r the spel ler y o u wil l be .

APPENDIX 1 / 133

A "k ines the t i c" r e sponse of ten goes a long wi th a g o o d spel ler 's v i sua l m e m o r y — y o u feel a " p u n c h " in the s tomach or a t ightness in the j a w w h e n a word is misspe l l ed . A misspe l l ed word will jar , even p a i n , a g o o d speller , w h i c h is why some of us have b e e n k n o w n to c o r r e c t s igns in publ ic p laces : a store a n n o u n c i n g in w i n d o w - w i d e le t ters that " sepe ra t e s " a re on sale; a smal l s ign by the reg is te r that w a r n s " rec iep ts a re neces sa ry" for r e tu rn o f i tems. C o r r e c t i n g such e r ro r s , o r po in t ing them out to sa lespeople , a l leviates the pa in , a n d that i s w h y we do it. We a re not t r y ing to be obnox ious or self-r i g h t e o u s ; we simply do not feel comfor tab le when we see a misspe l l ed w o r d , a n d we need to readjus t o u r comfor t level .

V I S U A L MEMORY

A c c o r d i n g t o N L P re sea rch , the "v i sua l m e m o r y b o x " i s ind ica ted by eye movemen t s that, for most peop le , move up and to the left. To con f i rm that , y o u c a n wa tch the eye movements o f someone reca l l ing some th ing . In fact , N L P e n c o u r a g e s teachers to put any in format ion that they wan t s tudents to l ea rn in the u p p e r left co rne r of the b o a r d , or the major i ty of s tudents will not even see it. I f this i s t rue for you , p l a c e the spe l l ing word you wan t to remember , o r a re t i red o f l o o k i n g u p , on the wall to you r u p p e r left. L o o k a t i t l o n g and ha rd . Not ice the c u r v e s and the s t ra igh t par t s . Not ice par t icu la r ly the f i r s t and last le t ters , and any smal l words wi th in the word . T a k e a menta l snapsho t of it; b l ink y o u r eyes like the shut ter of a camera , ho ld y o u r eyes c lo sed for severa l seconds , and then read the word o f f the ins ide of y o u r eye l ids .

I f y o u h e a r y o u r s e l f spe l l ing ou t the word internal ly (in o the r words , e x e r c i s i n g y o u r aud i to ry skil ls) , then s top and concent ra te ins tead on t a k i n g a p i c tu re o f the full word or s egmen t s o f syl lables . Le t y o u r eyes t race up and d o w n the out l ine o f each let ter silently.

W h e n you feel ready, cover the word wi th a whi te s t r ip of b o a r d the s a m e size as y o u r word s t r ip , and , whi le l o o k i n g a t the same space , " r e a d " the word ou t l oud o f f y o u r visual m e m o r y sc reen . D o e s i t feel r igh t? Tes t y o u r s e l f by wr i t i ng i t out on paper . N o w take d o w n the cover b o a r d a n d check it. I f you were mis taken in a let ter or i f you felt u n s u r e abou t a syl lable, mental ly e x a g g e r a t e or co lor that let ter or syl lable this t ime, or m a k e i t v ibrate . C l i ck . C l i ck . T a k e more p ic tures . C o v e r the word aga in . N o w spel l i t b a c k w a r d s and fo rwards (that's easy i f y o u a re " r e a d i n g " it, r ight?) C h e c k it. A n y let ters incor rec t o r ou t o f o rde r?

K e e p d o i n g this unti l you " s e e " the word on the b lank whi te b o a r d .

K I N E S T H E T I C MEMORY

To implan t the spe l l ing in y o u r kinesthet ic memory , wr i te i t in the

air, u s i n g y o u r who le a r m , wi th two f ingers e x t e n d e d . Write i t on the


p a l m o f y o u r h a n d , u s i n g one f i n g e r . W h i l e you d o you r m o r n i n g exe rc i ses , reci te the word in r h y t h m to the bea t o f you r j u m p i n g j a c k s or p u s h u p s . S i n g a song , a tune you like, and in p lace of the lyrics , spel l ou t y o u r word . S ing i t ou t loud in the shower or whi le d r i v i n g the car.

Now the word is solidly yours , forever, and you can re t r ieve i t instantly by p i c t u r i n g its v ib ra t ing letters on the wal l , fee l ing i t on yor a r m , s i n g i n g i t a l ong wi th a favorite song.

You c a n use any of these a p p r o a c h e s by i tself o r all o f t hem in con junc t ion to d ramat ica l ly improve you r spe l l ing prowess .

T h e beau ty of who le -b ra ined spe l l ing is that af ter a short whi le , i t b e c o m e s a pa r t o f y o u , and you wil l f ind all o f you r spe l l ing improv ing . By t a k i n g the t ime to work wi th only a few bo the r some words , you b e c o m e a t t uned to o the r words that you have not sub jec ted to this m e t h o d .

W O R D S T O W A T C H O U T F O R

If spe l l ing is a crisis p r o b l e m for you or one of your ch i ld ren , you may be p l eased to k n o w abou t an i n t r i g u i n g book , The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists,1 w h i c h p rov ides , a m o n g o ther lists, compu te r words , sc ience words , and the "1 ,000 Most C o m m o n Words in the Engl i sh L a n g u a g e . " T h e au thors c la im that this last list makes up abou t 90 p e r c e n t o f all wr i t ten mater ia l .

The Book of Lists a lso conta ins a sect ion on " S p e l l i n g D e m o n s " ; words f requent ly misspe l l ed by s tudents . Of the 392 words l is ted, I have se lec ted 2 1 0 that also p l a g u e adul t s , and I have a d d e d a few more that s e e m to c r o p up of ten in the pape r s I rev iew for c o m p a n i e s . S k i p the ones that look c lear ly r i gh t to you . Put the others on strips of paper . Have s o m e o n e ho ld them and flash them for you , o r moun t them on the wal l a n d then follow the steps ou t l ined above to implan t t hem f i rmly in y o u r v isua l and kinesthet ic memory .

I t is g r e a t to ge t y o u r kids involved in this, because i t will he lp them wh i l e h e l p i n g you . Have them check the list themselves , and he lp them m a k e up their o w n str ips . T h e whole activity will be less t h r ea t en ing i f you a r e also d o i n g it.

APPENDIX 1 / 135

M O S T C O M M O N L Y M I S S P E L L E D W O R D S

absence concede forty occurred saucer

acceptable fourth occurrence seize

a c c o m m o d a t e conceive occurr ing sense

accustom condemn gaiety opinion separate

ache congratulations g a u g e opportuni ty sergeant

achievement conscience g r a m m a r shining

acquire conscientious guarantee paid similar

across gu idance parallel sincerely

adolescent conscious paralyzed

advantageous controversial height particular sophomore

advertisement controversy heroes performance stationary

council hypocrite personal studying

advice criticize personnel substantial

against incredible pleasant subtle

aisle definitely interest politician succeed

a lot definition interrupt portrayed succession

all r ight descendant intersperse possession supersede

alphabet ize describe irrelevant surprise

amateur description its possible susceptible

analyze desert practical

annual ly jealousy practice technique

anticipated d i l emma j u d g m e n t precedent their

apparent di l igence preferred there

apprec iate d in ing led prejudice thorough

arctic disastrous leisurely prepare though

a r g u i n g discipline license prescription thought

disease l ieutenant prestige through

a r g u m e n t disperse listener tragedy

arrangement dissatisfied lose prevalent transferred

athlete luxury principal tremendous

endeavor principle

barga in effect magnif icent privilege unnecessary

belief embarrass maneuver probably

beneficial emigrate marriage procedure vacuum

benefited e n o u g h mathematics proceed valuable

breathe environment medicine profession vegetable

Britain especially mere professor vengeance

bury exaggerate miniature prominent villain

business exceed miscellaneous pursue visible

except mischief

ca lendar exercise moral quiet waive

category exhausted muscle weather

cemetery existence mysterious receipt woman

certainly exper ience receive wrench

chocolate explanat ion necessary recommend write

choose niece referring writing

cite fascinate noticeable renowned

c o m m i t m e n t fierce numerous repetition yacht

comparat ive formerly restaurant your

occasion rhythm you're


Even more effective than consu l t i ng r ead y -mad e lists i s gene ra t ing y o u r o w n pe r sona l list of spe l l ing demons . S ince they are demons , I call my list the Spe l lho le .

I k e e p a r u n n i n g tally in the back of my Progress Log . (I cou ld neve r r e m e m b e r whe the r occurred had two c's and two r's or one c and one r, a n d fascinate a lways looked funny.) I j o t d o w n any words that a n n o y me, especia l ly the ones that I look up in the d ic t ionary because they do not " look r i g h t " arid then f ind to my frustrat ion that I spe l led r i g h t in the first p lace . I k e e p a stack of p a p e r str ips, 8V2 X 2V4" (a s t anda rd 8V2 X 1 1 " sheet cu t in to quar te r s ) , and a whi te c a r d b o a r d "cover ," the same s ize , in my top desk drawer. O n c e a week , I take the list f rom my log , pr in t each word on a separa te s t r ip , and go t h r o u g h the s teps ou t l ined ea r l i e r unti l the word is solidly at home in my visual memory .

A f t e r a wh i l e , j u s t to show off, you will want to test you r new- found acu i ty a n d f lex y o u r menta l musc les . So throw in a few of wha t the Book of Lists au thors call "wise g u y s " words , like these:

pneumonultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis ( lung d isease c a u s e d by

i n h a l i n g silica dus t )

f locc inaucin ihUipi l i f i ca t ion (action of es t imat ing as wor th less ) 2

O r , two o f my favori tes: triskaidecaphobia (fear of the n u m b e r th i r teen) pachycephalosaurus ( thick-headed dinosaur with a minute brain; hence,

a l a rge , d im-wi t t ed pe r son) .

You wil l be de l i gh t ed to f ind that, once pu t in y o u r v isual memory ,

these w o r d s a re as easy to recal l as is, for e x a m p l e , k n o w i n g for all

t ime that occurred ha s two r's and two c 's. 3

A P P E N D I X 2

Writing on Both Sides of the Brain with a Word Processor

Wri t i ng wi th a word p rocesso r is a who le -b ra ined e x p e r i e n c e . In the b e g i n n i n g , w h e n you f i rs t get y o u r computer , you need to take a left-b r a i n e d , logica l a p p r o a c h and follow the s equence of s teps. Bu t the l onge r y o u con t inue to a p p r o a c h it as a lef t -bra ined task (the way the c o m p u t e r m a n u a l s want you to), the more f rus t ra t ing i t b e c o m e s . Finally, you let go and r e c o g n i z e the c o m p u t e r for the t ruly r ight -b r a i n e d , spon taneous , and playful tool that i t is. You b u r n the m a n u a l , or you at least dec ide that r e a d i n g i t sequent ia l ly thwarts y o u r efforts to be f r iends with y o u r mach ine .

T h e c o m p u t e r i s very l i teral , but any successful h a n d l i n g of i t needs to be intui t ive . K n o w i n g this has h e l p e d me ou t o f m a n y a snag. W h e n th ings go awry, I say, " W h a t does the c o m p u t e r th ink I asked it to d o ? " a n d the answer gets me di rec t ly to the hear t o f it.

M a n y p e o p l e exc l a im new f luency w h e n they use a w o r d - p r o c e s s i n g p r o g r a m , a n d then g ive the c o m p u t e r the c red i t for their prolific ou tpu t . When it comes to words, it's a matter of who's to be master, that's all. T h e s a m e r u l e appl ies to compu te r -gene ra t ed words . You are the one t h i n k i n g up the words . So the ques t ion is, wha t can y o u r new f luency wi th a c o m p u t e r tell you about the way y o u r bra in funct ions? W h a t can you l ea rn abou t y o u r s e l f and how you ope ra t e that will t ransfer over to w r i t i n g away f rom the compu te r ? (Hint : i t has to do wi th the Cr i t ic . )

M a y b e i t i s as s imple as the f r eedom of s u s p e n d i n g j u d g m e n t , e i ther b e c a u s e o f y o u r computer ' s dele te funct ion, wh ich gives you the f reed o m to wr i te j u n q u e , o r p e r h a p s its ability to move b locks of text a r o u n d , w h i c h gives you pe rmiss ion to wr i te nonsequent ia l ly . Maybe i t is the sense of prol i fera t ion you get as you watch a h i g h - s p e e d pr in te r ree l ou t p a g e af ter p a g e of copy. T h e r e ' s a heal thy sense of a b u n d a n c e he re , a s e c u r e " the re ' s -more -where - tha t -came- f rom" fee l ing that he lps i m m e a s u r a b l y in edi t ing .


T h e s e a re usefu l points to know about yo u r se l f and w h a t works bes t for y o u . W i l l i a m Zinsser, in Writing with a Word Processor, reveals that his p roces s of wr i t ing , even wi th a computer , still inc ludes ed i t i ng as he goes a long , so that's w h a t works bes t for h im . His style is smoo th and invi ta t ional ; I envy his resul ts , i f not his a p p r o a c h .

C o m p a r i n g Zinsser ' s p rocess to that of D o n a l d Murray is a lesson in d i f f e rences . Personally, I am of the D o n a l d Mur ray school . I love his c o n c e p t o f wr i t i ng as the' " m o m e n t o f su rp r i s e" that needs to be ce l eb ra t ed a n d an t ic ipa ted . T h a t i s the m o m e n t a t w h i c h the wr i t e r l e a rn s w h a t he d i d not e v e n know he had to lea rn . "Wri te rs are , l ike all ar t is ts , ra t ional izers of accident ," says Murray. " T h e y f ind ou t wha t they a r e d o i n g af ter they have done it." Mur ray sugges t s that wr i t i ng is bes t a ccompl i shed w h e n we go a t i t wi th "this p u r p o s e f u l u n k n o w ing , for w r i t i n g i s not the r e p o r t i n g of wha t was d i scovered , but the act o f exp lo ra t ion itself." 1 T h e f r eedom o f the word p rocesso r lends i tse l f br i l l iant ly to this p l easu rab le discovery, this p layful p l a n n e d spontanei ty .

Dr . Peter S c h a r f raises the provocat ive ques t ion "Wi l l wr i t i ng on a

w o r d p r o c e s s o r c h a n g e the aura of books , c h a n g e the smell of a g o o d

b o o k ? " I th ink not, as l o n g as we r e m e m b e r w h o is in c h a r g e . T h e

humani ty that comes th rough in any g o o d wri t ing will be there whether

i t p o u r s forth f rom an Ol ive t t i o r an A p p l e .

U S I N G T H E I D E A S I N T H I S B O O K W I T H A W O R D

P R O C E S S O R

M a n y of the ideas in this b o o k a d a p t easily to word process ing .

• R a p i d w r i t i n g , of cou r se (especial ly i f you r sof tware a l lows easy de le t ion) , a n d an e lec t ronic P rog re s s L o g are two o f the more obvious app l ica t ions . To dup l i ca te the " Invis ib le I n k " exerc i se o f chap t e r 2 , t u r n of f the sc reen be fo re you enter ideas into y o u r computer . I t will b r i n g h o m e to you exac t ly how m u c h y o u let the ed i t voice p r e m a t u r e l y in te r fe re wi th y o u r copy, because the tempta t ion will be so s t rong to t u r n the sc reen back on and b r ing the little g r e e n or a m b e r charac te r s back so you can d icker wi th them. Resist the impulse , and we lcome ins tead the power fu l e x p e r i e n c e o f exp re s s ing y o u r se l f wi thou t p re j u d g m e n t . I f y o u r Cr i t i c i s par t i cu la r ly s t rong a t any g iven t ime, this i s a t r ick you can pul l ou t of y o u r b a g of t hem to instantly t u rn the p roverb ia l "b l ank p a g e " into y o u r ally. You can o f cou r se go on like this indefinitely, bu t I r e c o m m e n d a m i n i m u m of ten minutes for all the r easons a d d r e s s e d in chap te r 2 . W h e n you have f in i shed this p layfu l inpu t , t u rn on the screen with a j o l t of p l easu re f rom h a v i n g such a p le thora of words mag ica l ly and instantly a p p e a r before you , r eady to ed i t . (By the way, I c o m p o s e d this p a r a g r a p h us ing the b l ank sc reen app roach . )

APPENDIX 2 / 1 3 9

• I t is a lso poss ib le to k e e p on e a c h d i sk such handy f i les as B 4 P R O ( B e f o r e Procras t ina t ion) , w h i c h a l ready lists for you the ques t ions s u g g e s t e d in c h a p t e r 6 for the BP entry. T h e n , i f y o u f ind y o u r s e l f p roc ra s t i na t i ng , call up the f i l e r igh t into the midd l e o f y o u r text , a n s w e r the ques t ions , and c a r r y on .

• You m i g h t wan t a lso to set up a fi le that keeps a r u n n i n g tally of w o r d s y o u n e e d to be r e m i n d e d to incorpora te into you r wri t ing. In my case , I cal l the f i le Aud i to ry , s ince I n e e d to r e m i n d myse l f to use m o r e a u d i t o r y vocabulary . Periodically, I add new words to this f i le , e spec ia l ly i f I c o m e across usefu l addi t ions in my r e a d i n g of aud i to ry au tho r s . W h e n I c o m e to final e d i t i n g of a p iece , I call up this fi le to p r o v i d e sugges t ions for subst i tu t ions . I f you a re an aud i to ry learner , y o u m i g h t wan t to c rea te a V i s u a l or Ac t ive word f i le .

• I have also c r ea t ed a spe l l ing file, wh ich I use to flag any words I n e e d to verify. If I have any d o u b t of a word , I add that word to my list of spe l l ing d e m o n s . I da te my Waterloo words and , once a week , p r in t the f i le and c o p y e a c h word onto str ips for v isual iza t ion , as de ta i l ed in a p p e n d i x 1 . T h e n I can erase the f i le and start anew each w e e k or, for my o w n sat isfact ion, c rea te a b a c k - u p f i le that retains all the o n c e - p r o b l e m words , so I c a n note how far I have come . I keep a f resh file for my week ly words .

• M o r e sophis t ica ted p r o g r a m s a re avai lable that will he lp you d iag r a m in a free-flow pa t t e rn s imi lar to b r anch ing , a n d there a re p ro g r a m s that wil l h e l p y o u edi t , a l e r t ing you to passive voice and c lu t ter in y o u r p rose . T h e r e a re even p r o g r a m s that will e lec t ronica l ly check y o u r Fog I n d e x and g ive you the g r a d e level o f y o u r a u d i e n c e . 2

A n d , o f cou r se , any o f the exerc ises i n this b o o k cou ld easily be u s e d in conjunction with a word processor . B r a n c h i n g and compute r s , for e x a m p l e , work h a n d in h a n d . B r a n c h ou t all the points you wan t to cove r on a sheet of p a p e r before y o u start, and simply k e e p that b r a n c h e d ou t l ine nex t to y o u r moni to r as you work. M a n y s tudents tell me that p r e p a r i n g that s ingle sheet before b e g i n n i n g work on the w o r d p r o c e s s o r has e x p e d i t e d their wr i t i ng considerably. B r a n c h i n g d o e s some of the "cu t - and-pas t e" work for you in advance by establ ishing a pa t t e rn for y o u r r a n d o m though t s .

No mat t e r how m a n y fancy p r o g r a m s you f ind , no mat te r how w o n d e r f u l you bel ieve y o u r c o m p u t e r to be , never lose s igh t o f the fact that the func t ion of the c o m p u t e r i s to he lp you do faster w h a t you a l r eady d o wel l . W h e n you rumina t e , w h e n you rap idwr i te , w h e n you r e v i s e — w h e t h e r wi th p a p e r and pen or a t a k e y b o a r d — y o u a re busy p r o c e s s i n g words in the u l t imate and best word p rocessor of al l , the h u m a n m i n d .

Notes

CHAPTER 1: FROM PANIC TO POWER: MASTERY OVER THE WRITTEN WORD

1. Carl Sagan, The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (New York: Random House, 1977), 16.

CHAPTER 2: THE HAIR OF THE DOG THAT BIT YOU

1. Thanks to Donald Murray, professor at New Hampshire University, for telling me of Pliny's words. For Prof. Murray's own line about the unexpected, or, as he calls it, the "moment of surprise," see Appendix 2.

CHAPTER 3: RIGHT BRAIN/LEFT BRAIN: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

1. To my mind, one of the best of these books is an unbiased compilation of the research called Left Brain, Right Brain, by Sally P. Springer and Georg Deutsch (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1981). I leave it to those two neurophysicians from Stony-brook to give the background, cite the studies, and record the exciting testimony, both pro and con, regarding the theory that each half of the brain makes a unique and special contribution to the way we think. Two of the best books on the practical application of the research are both by Tony Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1976) and Make the Most of Your Mind (New York: Linden Press/ Simon & Schuster, 1984.)

2. Sagan, Dragons of Eden, p. 161. 3. This comparison of daylight stars to our Western ignorance of the right hemisphere

is from Prof. Robert Ornstein of the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute in San Francisco. Prof. Ornstein has done an enormous amount of research on the thinking specialties of the hemispheres; it was he who first measured, through EEG's, the brain waves of students who were doing figures, composing letters, daydreaming, and so forth. Many of the ideas in this chapter are based on Ornstein's findings.

4. Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1979), 55.

CHAPTER 5: BRANCHING: THE WHOLE-BRAINED WAY TO ORGANIZE YOUR MATERIAL

1. I refer you to Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain, especially the chapter "Brain Patterns—Advanced Methods and Uses," pages 97 to 107.


CHAPTER 7: ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING: DEALING WITH THE CALIBAN CRITIC

1. Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976), 98.

2. Willis Harman, Ph.D., and Howard Rheingold, Higher Creativity: Liberating the Unconsciousness for Breakthrough Insights (Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1984), 98.

CHAPTER 8: RE-VISION: CALIBAN RETURNS, AT YOUR INVITATION

1. Quoted in the Writer's Digest Diary (Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1981), 12. 2. Quoted in innumerable sources, including Time, May 12, 1986, 39. 3. The example is from Plain English for Lawyers, by Richard C. Wydick (Durham, N.C.:

Carolina Academic Press, 1979), 10. Wydick is himself an attorney, so he is sensitive to the exactness of language required by the law, as well as the debt to clarity. Every lawyer should have a copy of this excellent book within easy grab.

4. William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White, Elements of Style, 3rd ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1979), 73.

5. Fog Index is a service mark of Gunning-Mueller Clear Writing Institute, Inc., Santa Barbara, California. The Fog Index instructions have been adapted from "How to Take the Fog Out of Writing," by Robert Gunning and Douglas Mueller, © 1985 by Gunning-Mueller Clear Writing Institute, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA 93110.

6. Apple II Reference Manual (Cupertino, Calif: Apple Computer, 1979), 92. Written by Christopher Espinosa.

7. See Influencing with Integrity: Management Skills for Communication and Negotiation, by Genie Z. Laborde (Palo Alto, Calif: Syntony, 1984). Matching verbs and other language is only one part of the NLP communication model.

8. San Diego Performing Arts Magazine, October 1984. 9. Lee Iacocca, with William Novak, lacocca: An Autobiography (New York: Bantam,

1984), 229.

CHAPTER 9: GOING TO THE MOVIES: CREATIVE VISUALIZATION AND WRITING

1. John Leo, "How the Hostages Came Through," Time, February 9, 1981, 52. 2. It sounds more like something Yogi Berra might say, but, according to Time, August

15, 1983, the remark belongs to Wohlfbrd. 3. Sondra Perl and Arthur Egendorf, "The Process of Creative Discovery: Theory,

Research, and Implications for Teaching," in Donald McQuade, ed., Linguistics, Stylistics, and the Teaching of Composition, Studies in Contemporary Language, No. 2, University of Akron, Department of English, 1979, 118-34. The underlying thesis of their research is that you have the answer inside your own head without knowing (yet) how to articulate it. Perl and Egendorf point out that "many thinkers since Kant have claimed that all valid thought and expression are rooted in the wider realm of pre-representational experience." Yet, "for all their concern with the realm beyond, even such powerful thinkers as Wittgenstein and Heidegger have not made clear how we have this realm available to us."

4. Eugene T. Gendlin and Linda Olsen, "The Use of Imagery in Experiential Focusing," Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (Winter 1970): 221-23.

5. Chuck Loch, "How to Feed Your Brain and Develop Your Creativity," Writer's Digest, vol. 61, no. 2, (February 1981), 20-25.

6. Francois Rochaix, the stage director of the Seattle Opera's production of Die Walkiire, quoted one week before opening night in the Weekly, July 17-23, 1985, 35.

7. These were some of the responses from a group of third-graders: "I was with Haydn again today. He told me 1 must practice more to get better. He said that I must look

-***-" " NOTES / 143

at the notes and then I would get a new book." "As I breathed in I felt like I was going down the steps. Then I found myself going into the sea and Neptune taught me how to swim." "I wanted to practice running and my teacher was Bruce Jenner. He said, 'Keep your pace and keep running.' " Reprinted with permission from Maureen Murdoch, M.A., M.F.C.C.; Spinning Inward, p. 79; 121 Wavecrest Avenue, Venice, CA 90291.

8. Loch, "How to Feed Your Brain," 25.

APPENDIX 1: SPELLING THROUGH VISUALIZATION

1. Edward Bernard Fry, Jacqueline K. Polk, and Dona Fountoukidis, The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984).

2. Fry, et. al., Lists, p. 57. 3. See Linda Verlee Williams, Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:

Prentice-Hall, 1983), and Barbara Meister Vitale, Unicorns Are Real: A Right-Brained Approach to Learning (Rolling Hills: Jalmar Press, 1984), for more information.

APPENDIX 2: WRITING ON B O T H SIDES OF THE BRAIN WITH A WORD PROCESSOR

1. Donald Murray, "Writing and Teaching for Surprise," College English 46 (January 1984), 1.

2. For example, see such "outline processors" as KAMAS, Thoughtline, and Idea! and the prose check, Rightwriter, which analyzes text for errors in grammar, usage, punctuation, style, and spelling. Rightwriter marks cliches, slang, jargon, and the passive voice, and it also calculates a readability index similar to the Fog Index.

writing on both sides of the brain

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