Hayseed Huck
04-15-2010, 03:03 PM
... have decided the reason is
my writing has no gist.
Some people believe an essay's gist, its point, is
the most important thing to look for.
These readers believe more attention ought be giv-
ven to 'gist' and less attention to something else.
Readers want gist. They must have it. They will not
wait-- without gist, they believe, they have nothing
on their plate.
If there is no gist, these readers believe, one is
presented only with persiflage-- a kind of 'talk,'
more proper to the business of sharing a cab and,
on the way to the airport, commenting from the point
of view of a lonely boy who collects insects, raises
night crawlers, and in tanks keeps minnows to sell
as bait.
"Do you know that a centipede who can think on his
feet is a genius, or insane-- and the same applies
to fish or to worms, for that matter?"
If the trip to the airport is delayed by heavy traf-
fic, your sudden blurt-out above is answered by--
"What of those centipedes that cannot think 'on'
their feet. What do they think on?"
Then, discussion for a mile or two on the ambiguity
of 'on' provides a certain calm to an otherwise hec-
tic afternoon-- but an ease that still leaves your
fellow passenger in a state of disequilibrium.
At the ticket counter, your taxi mate might suddenly
turn, grab up his bags, and follow you to the coffee
shop. He might tug your sleeve you as you reach for
the creamer.
"You can't fool me. All that 'pointless' talk about
worms, bugs and fish was not just a way to pass time
on the way to the airport. You meant something, you
rascal.
You MEANT something!
The gist! Give me the GIST!"
This is how my readers feel, when they feel they have
not been given enough gist, or no gist at all. These
readers feel betrayed and are quite upset.
Maybe some writers don't write gisty. Maybe their writ-
ings are gistless -- being about matters that have given
raise to no significant gist in the last 50 years. Maybe
these writers think they have made good gist, but they
haven't.
On the other hand, some writers try too hard for gist--
and what they think is gist is only suds and froth of
the most ordinary and indiscriminate kind. By straining
for gist, they have no gist worth mentioning.
Maybe these straining writers say, "I'll have gist or
I'll be cursed upon, and I'll demand gist from others,
and if I don't get the gist I think is the gist, I'll
hint that the essay has no gist."
But that's what they say.
I want to be a pal, so I'll avoid all reference to gist
and cast about for something nice to say-- like,
"Your essay has good flow."
HH
my writing has no gist.
Some people believe an essay's gist, its point, is
the most important thing to look for.
These readers believe more attention ought be giv-
ven to 'gist' and less attention to something else.
Readers want gist. They must have it. They will not
wait-- without gist, they believe, they have nothing
on their plate.
If there is no gist, these readers believe, one is
presented only with persiflage-- a kind of 'talk,'
more proper to the business of sharing a cab and,
on the way to the airport, commenting from the point
of view of a lonely boy who collects insects, raises
night crawlers, and in tanks keeps minnows to sell
as bait.
"Do you know that a centipede who can think on his
feet is a genius, or insane-- and the same applies
to fish or to worms, for that matter?"
If the trip to the airport is delayed by heavy traf-
fic, your sudden blurt-out above is answered by--
"What of those centipedes that cannot think 'on'
their feet. What do they think on?"
Then, discussion for a mile or two on the ambiguity
of 'on' provides a certain calm to an otherwise hec-
tic afternoon-- but an ease that still leaves your
fellow passenger in a state of disequilibrium.
At the ticket counter, your taxi mate might suddenly
turn, grab up his bags, and follow you to the coffee
shop. He might tug your sleeve you as you reach for
the creamer.
"You can't fool me. All that 'pointless' talk about
worms, bugs and fish was not just a way to pass time
on the way to the airport. You meant something, you
rascal.
You MEANT something!
The gist! Give me the GIST!"
This is how my readers feel, when they feel they have
not been given enough gist, or no gist at all. These
readers feel betrayed and are quite upset.
Maybe some writers don't write gisty. Maybe their writ-
ings are gistless -- being about matters that have given
raise to no significant gist in the last 50 years. Maybe
these writers think they have made good gist, but they
haven't.
On the other hand, some writers try too hard for gist--
and what they think is gist is only suds and froth of
the most ordinary and indiscriminate kind. By straining
for gist, they have no gist worth mentioning.
Maybe these straining writers say, "I'll have gist or
I'll be cursed upon, and I'll demand gist from others,
and if I don't get the gist I think is the gist, I'll
hint that the essay has no gist."
But that's what they say.
I want to be a pal, so I'll avoid all reference to gist
and cast about for something nice to say-- like,
"Your essay has good flow."
HH