…but I Digress

One of the curses of the writing life is starting a paragraph (let’s say) about chickens and running on about cheese by the end.

You’ll be happy to know that you do it because you are intelligent and have an inquiring mind. Great thinkers always ramble about from one thing to another. You’ve probably had this experience when you set out to do research for an article or story—let one interesting side bit turn up and the next thing you know, you’re down the rabbit hole.

One of the ways I get caught up in digression is at the sentence level. I start my sentence, have a related thought, and insert a dash. That thought expands and grows its own crop. I’ve learned to just let it flow and disentangle it once I’ve done. I’m not, of course, advocating that anyone avoid compound or complex sentences, just be cautious that every part contributes to the single idea of the whole.

As for falling down that research rabbit hole…well, I’m starting to suspect that I spent a year on research for my current book that I ought to have stopped around the three month mark.

Ouch.