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Tom Montag

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  • "does black or dark nail polish on a woman mean anything" - The Middlewesterner
  • "keeping warm in north dakota" - The Middlewesterner
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« FROM MORNING DRIVE JOURNAL DECEMBER 14, 2000 | Main | FROM MORNING DRIVE JOURNAL DECEMBER 15, 2000 »

December 14, 2006

THE THREE PARTS

There are three parts

to writing nonfiction prose of the kind I write, I think. There is, first, paying attention; one must see and see deeply, beyond the surface. Lastly, one must record what he has seen, and what it means. Both of these tasks are difficult and tiring, yet not so difficult and tiring as the step between them: coming to understand what has been seen, and what it means. We can teach ourselves to pay attention, I believe, and we can teach ouselves to record what we have seen. Yet how do we learn to understand? Understanding is not a skill, but is the product of a skill or set of skills. Which skill or skills, and how are they employed?

I see I must give some attention to understanding understanding, and must record what I find.

December 14, 2006 in A WRITER'S JOURNAL, The Writer's Craft |

Comments

Jean

Gosh, you can think this deeply even after such a long drive? :-)

Posted by: Jean | December 14, 2006 at 05:49 AM

Tom Montag

Hi, Jean. Fortunately, I've had a couple days to recover. A little sleep does wonders....

The really deep thinking - understanding understanding - is still to come, I'm afraid. More of that hard work....

Posted by: Tom Montag | December 14, 2006 at 05:58 AM

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