On Making a Point
In preparation for a writing project I am a part of, it was suggested that I read a monograph by author Doris Lessing on the subject of stories and folklore. The subject is one I am engrossed with, particularly within its subset of mythology, and so it seemed a perfect resource in my research of the field. The writing was excellent. I know she won a Nobel Prize for it and everything, but it struck me as extremely well-crafted after reading and coming to the realisation that not a moment was wasted. Every sentence, every word, chosen for a purpose and crucial to the balance of the piece. What impressed me more, though, and even sparked some jealousy, was the points she made.
It is clear that the subject is one about which she has researched and read, and through this monograph, one to which she contributes well-made and thoughtful ideas. Now, I’ve always enjoyed writing at some level because of the creation aspect – crafting something where there was previously nothing. Any idiot can string together words enough to make a paragraph or book (see anything I’ve written), but what I hold as a much more powerful skill is that of reasoning a coherent argument, even just having the idea that starts one.
It is a skill that I know comes easier to some, but come it will to anyone else who devotes time to a subject. More than that too, I find, understanding how to format and convey a ‘point’ is an equally significant piece of the puzzle. The latter is the stage at which I presently find myself, for two reasons. One, is that I am still building up an appreciation for topics, and much more work is needed on my part to learn enough about one or several, so that I can study them in depth. The second reason is that, through my philosophy course in my final two years of school, I became particularly captivated in the theoretical structures of arguments and hypotheses; what steps must be in place in order to reach a natural, convincing conclusion. This pure, outright logic appealed a great deal to me, and as a result it is where I am currently focusing my ‘point-making’ efforts.
Knowing how a point is made, and also when it may or may not be useful to do so is a welcome enough consolation prize for now. I do, though, look forward to when I have cultivated deep enough fascinations so as to warrant what I view as a significant contribution to a field. See you tomorrow.