Well timed piece, Matt, since I managed to manufacture a drag post quite recently! One thing good about Substack is that you can have another shot, if you're resilient. And, the community generally forgives the occasional boo-boo slip.
There is ALWAYS another shot, and every shot you take is a learning experience. This is the life of the artist: ramming your head into a wall until, hopefully, you break through. Thanks for the anecdote, Mark. And thanks for reading.
I have always been guilty of skimming boring sections of books, trimming sentences, glancing over the minutiae, and so on. I feel like I am robbing myself of the experience if I don't read each word, or maybe even reread sections to make sure I milk every ounce of the book. Yet there are books that can be a struggle to get through, but part of me doesn't want to stop part way and put it back on the shelf, it seems sacrilegious... right?? I must have gotten this mindset from my Dad who also seems to finish whatever book he starts no matter the level of "draggy-ness" it may have. Recently, I have been guilty of applying all of these reading tactics to a book I'm struggling through right now, which has been the definition of "drag." But after reading this, and realizing there are other people who apply similar strategies to get through the fluff is somehow very comforting. So thanks for sharing!
This comment is so good, Chris. And it made me think of something I intended to include in this piece, but forgot about. One of the primary reasons I feel drag is because there is a primary storyline that DOESN'T drag, and so, I'm like, get me back to the good stuff: the love story, the interesting facts, how the thing works, etc. So, what you're saying make sense.
The book thing is more complex. I tend to vouch for putting the thing down if you're not loving it, because time is precious. But this isn't, and can't be, a hard rule: some of what reading is, I think, is pressing on even if you don't totally understand -- being comfortable being uncomfortable. Also, there's no telling if all the pieces might come together right at the end, so that's a hard one.
Anyway, thanks for reading and for your comment!!!
Nicely done once again Matt. Not a moment of drag throughout the whole of the thing. I like this topic and I especially like your association of it to efficiency. In an athlete or a dancer it is economy of motion, nothing decorative, nothing superfluous. Pure. Writing is a little slipperier. It's unavoidable that style makes itself known, it is, at least in part, the motor behind our efforts. So, efficiency in prose can have a hundred, a million different faces. But that's a good thing, we can enjoy multitudes of efficient writers making efficient works. Unless they happen to take us to places we have no interest in visiting. But that's part of the adventure you so beautifully describe. That beautiful, intangible dance between writer and reader. Art. Keep it coming . . .
i loved this! honestly I never viewed drag like this, I always saw it as a flaw in my reading or a flaw in the writer, but it really doesn’t have to be either. this is a refreshing take :)
Well timed piece, Matt, since I managed to manufacture a drag post quite recently! One thing good about Substack is that you can have another shot, if you're resilient. And, the community generally forgives the occasional boo-boo slip.
There is ALWAYS another shot, and every shot you take is a learning experience. This is the life of the artist: ramming your head into a wall until, hopefully, you break through. Thanks for the anecdote, Mark. And thanks for reading.
I have always been guilty of skimming boring sections of books, trimming sentences, glancing over the minutiae, and so on. I feel like I am robbing myself of the experience if I don't read each word, or maybe even reread sections to make sure I milk every ounce of the book. Yet there are books that can be a struggle to get through, but part of me doesn't want to stop part way and put it back on the shelf, it seems sacrilegious... right?? I must have gotten this mindset from my Dad who also seems to finish whatever book he starts no matter the level of "draggy-ness" it may have. Recently, I have been guilty of applying all of these reading tactics to a book I'm struggling through right now, which has been the definition of "drag." But after reading this, and realizing there are other people who apply similar strategies to get through the fluff is somehow very comforting. So thanks for sharing!
This comment is so good, Chris. And it made me think of something I intended to include in this piece, but forgot about. One of the primary reasons I feel drag is because there is a primary storyline that DOESN'T drag, and so, I'm like, get me back to the good stuff: the love story, the interesting facts, how the thing works, etc. So, what you're saying make sense.
The book thing is more complex. I tend to vouch for putting the thing down if you're not loving it, because time is precious. But this isn't, and can't be, a hard rule: some of what reading is, I think, is pressing on even if you don't totally understand -- being comfortable being uncomfortable. Also, there's no telling if all the pieces might come together right at the end, so that's a hard one.
Anyway, thanks for reading and for your comment!!!
Nicely done once again Matt. Not a moment of drag throughout the whole of the thing. I like this topic and I especially like your association of it to efficiency. In an athlete or a dancer it is economy of motion, nothing decorative, nothing superfluous. Pure. Writing is a little slipperier. It's unavoidable that style makes itself known, it is, at least in part, the motor behind our efforts. So, efficiency in prose can have a hundred, a million different faces. But that's a good thing, we can enjoy multitudes of efficient writers making efficient works. Unless they happen to take us to places we have no interest in visiting. But that's part of the adventure you so beautifully describe. That beautiful, intangible dance between writer and reader. Art. Keep it coming . . .
thanks for the excellent comment as always, fred. you put it beautifully. Trying my best to keep it coming... thanks for always being there when I do!
“the needle of my Satisfaction Gauge (SG) slowly creeps into the red zone...” lol SG
Always keep an eye on the SG ;)
Reminds of the concept of Occam’s razor, and how powerful simplicity can be.
simple = good, in my book :)
i loved this! honestly I never viewed drag like this, I always saw it as a flaw in my reading or a flaw in the writer, but it really doesn’t have to be either. this is a refreshing take :)
I'm glad this sparked a thought or two. It's all I can hope for. Thanks for reading, Kiera, and for your thoughtful comment!
This.
This, was a fun post.
Gonna doing more dragging.
Thanks for writing it :)
Thanks for reading it, Joshua :) and thanks for your thoughtful comment