Writing as a Tool for Thinking
I write, therefore I think
Recently, I came across the following Stephen King quote:
Writing is refined thinking.
Which got me thinking, and, consequentially, writing, which will make me think more. As cycles come, this one is not vicious, but inspiring.
How do we use writing as a thinking tool? The answer will, of course, differ between writers. There still are several ways in which writers of all stripes can wield writing as a way to wrestle with stubborn ideas. Here are four of the most common ones.
Exploration
The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.
— Samuel Johnson
Most writers tend to be voracious readers as well, united by — if nothing else — their love for ideas. The more you read (or listen in this age of audio books), the more ideas you are exposed to. Holding all those ideas in your head is not always a walk in the mental park. It’s already busy enough up there.
What can help in taming the multitude of ideas barreling through one’s mind, is to pluck one (or several) out of the swarm and put them onto the (virtual) page. There, you can explore them, turn them around, and see how they ‘fit’ with others.
In doing so, you can come across a new angle or unexplored connection. After all, truly new ideas are hard to come by, but a fresh view on an old idea or a link between previously disparate ideas can be just as valuable.
Articulation
The poet cannot invent new words every time, of course. He uses the words of the tribe. But the handling of the word, the accent, a new articulation, renew them.
— Eugene Ionesco
Writing is not just about having something to say/write, but also how you say/write it.
If your idea is complex and nuanced, how do you write it so that it is both clear and concise? At this point, there are several things we can do. A first one is to provide sufficient background. Frame your idea — and its complexity — within a more well-known set of related ideas and then explain how it differs and what this means.
A second option is to use a metaphor or other linguistic tools of analogy. Important here is to realize that no metaphor is perfect. Acknowledging those imperfections will not detract from your original idea.
Finally, think about the words you’re going to use. This does not mean restrict yourself to simple, single syllable words, but rather select words that are suited for the background knowledge of your intended readers.
Refinement
Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.
— Raymond Chandler
A third way in which writing can help you think is not in exploring or articulating ideas, but in refining them. Here, the well-known writing advice ‘kill your darlings’ comes into play.
Have you found and included everything that is relevant to buttress the idea? Vice versa, is everything you included actually relevant? Which parts of your idea are on firm footing and which parts are on shaky grounds?
Reread your own writing critically. When you find sections that are not convincing consider why that might be. Perhaps not enough is known about this specific aspect (which means you can use writing to further explore said aspect, see above ‘Exploration’), or perhaps your phrasing is not as clear as it could be (see the earlier ‘Articulation’). If neither of those is the case, maybe your arguments are less strong then you initially thought. Knowing this will allow you to refine your idea/argument.
Feedback
In a writer there must always be two people — the writer and the critic.
— Leo Tolstoy
The thinking activities above are mostly (but not necessarily!) solo endeavors. However, ideas and thoughts thrive on interaction and interrogation.
So, a final way in which writing can be a thinking tool is to — gasp! — share it with others. We all have our biases and blind spots, especially when it comes to things we have thought of and written ourselves. Another (or several other) pair(s) of eyes can hep us identify and possibly remedy these.
It’s not always fun and it can be daunting to release your carefully crafted writing onto the world, ready to be picked apart, and then hear: “I would have said it differently” or “there’s a big hole in your argument or plot”.
(Plot? Yes, plot. All of the ideas here are absolutely implementable in and through fiction. In fact, it is my opinion that fiction is one of the most powerful writing tools to explore, articulate, and refine ideas in many ways.)
Asking and receiving honest, well-intentioned, constructive feedback is not always easy. But it’s worthwhile.
So, what do you think?