There’s a dude on stage.
Talking, waving his arms, making faces.
He came here for the attention and praise, and he’s getting it.
Fans cheer. Clappity clap. Whoop whoop.
Delete the visuals, emotional bullshit, and style.
Transcribe it.
Ah, much easier to analyze without the distraction of show business!
What is the subject and predicate?
Does one idea logically… and causally connect to the next?
Is there a coherent structure?
Or is it full of puffery, fallacies, and totally subjective opinions?
When you reduce it, is there anything valuable left?
“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”
–David McCullough
Notes:
- This post was inspired by hearing Matthew McConaughey and Eric Weinstein moving their mouths.
- The thumbnail for this post is from a NoMeansNo shirt, which is a parody of a Henry Rollins shirt.