Sifting Through Difficult Texts

I don’t think this is a topic that ever ceases to be a concern. No matter how much you read, how well-educated you are, or how much you think you know about the world, there will always be texts that are difficult to wade through. Often times when reading something difficult people begin to skim and just skip words or phrases they don’t understand altogether. This is a problem because these denser parts of text could (and often do) contain essential information.

Think about it. Let’s say you’re reading a lease agreement on a new apartment and you come to a passage you don’t completely understand. If you sign your name to that document, you could be authorizing the landlord to keep goats in the bathtub for all you know. That’s something to avoid.

In the spirit of helping you call keep goats out of your bathtub, I’ve come up with three guidelines to follow when reading difficult passages (or texts that are even longer!).

1. 1. Make the fuzzy crystal clear.

This is a personal peeve of mine. In a given context it’s pretty easy to understand what a certain phrase means. Often times, your gut reaction (if you’re a native speaker) is right on. But this isn’t always the case. English is a complex language and can therefore throw you for a loop every now and then. So keep on your toes.

Here’s an example of what I mean: Today I saw a mother get on the subway with her two kids. One was about 7 or 8, the other 10 or 11.

The smaller kid says to his mother: “Wow, after all that walking I’m hungry!”

Older brother exclaims: “He’s hungry again!”

Mother replies: “Well we have been walking a lot. He built up an appetite.”

Older brother notes: “Well, at least we made the train!”

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “he’s just a kid, give him a break!” Yeah, this is true. But the kid said “At least we made train.” There’s no counter point wherein making the train causes the situation to require a silver lining. His parents are probably to blame for not explaining the finer points of the phrase "at least." But I digress.

I don’t bring this up to be fussy or to make the kid feel bad (sorry, kid). I bring it up to provide an example of what can happen if people take what they think something means, and run on without making sure. When I read, if I come across a word or phrase that I’m not sure about, I check my gut by looking in the dictionary. It makes a difference.

The dictionary method works with words you have no idea about, too, by the way. I recommend it because this is not a difficult step to take, and it ensures that you’re not ill-informed or the subject of a Laundromat blog post. Plus, if your lease reads "The bathtub shall at all times house Capra aegagrus hircus" it would be a good idea to double-check what the crazy Latin is referring to. And, no, it doesn't mean "shower curtain."

2. 2. Keep a Journal

One thing that I love to do, but honestly have a little trouble keeping up with, is keeping a word and phrase journal. I used to tell my ELL students to do this, and it worked out nicely because we got to spend the first fifteen or so minutes of each class clarifying and talking about funny quirks in the English language. It helped them very much, and opened my eyes to a lot of absurdities as well.

Since English is so complicated, the crazy words don’t stop once you’re fluent. Try keeping a list of cool, tough, random, or funny words and their definitions (and maybe a sample sentence using it), and reference that list when you write. It’ll make you sound snazzy, but also drill in phrases you're naturally unsure about, thus helping you keep the goats out of your bathtub.

3. 3. Go Slow and Write a Summary

Taking your time is essential when reading a legal document, a French philosopher, Kenneth Burke, and maybe even an email from your Uncle Mortimore. If you go too fast, you will miss things. To avoid this, try taking your time, circling words you don’t understand, and keeping track of their definitions. Then, at the end of each paragraph (or sentence if need be), try writing a summary of what you just read in plain language. That way you won’t have to return to the piece later and decode it all over again. This is especially handy if you’re a student and you don’t want to lose those reading epiphanies you had while doing your homework.

Sadly, I don't have a goat joke for this one.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. What strategies do you use when reading a difficult text?

Also, what kind of topics would you like the Laundromat to cover in the future?

Writing a Novel

I recently finished reading a novel for someone who is hoping to whip the pages in to publishable condition. While I don’t often write about fiction here, I thought I’d offer a little advice for those of you who have a rough manuscript or outline sitting in your desk drawer. There is a lot to writing a novel, so please don’t expect this to be the seminal “How To” work on novel writing. The following, however, should be enough to get you started.

The Truth

Writing a novel is difficult: Anyone who’s ever been to a garage sale has seen dozens of really bad novels piled in a corner, the owner of which are desperate to get the things out of their home to free up space. But just because the world is overflowing with poorly written books (and extremely well-written ones, for that matter), publishing a novel is still difficult. In fact, most of those grocery store numbers you see with Fabio on the cover weren’t written by a shoe salesman from Nashua who always wanted to write a book. No, they’re usually written by a team of people whose job it is to crank those babies out. In many cases, the author is little more than a brand, and the book itself is akin to your Nikes (put together by a bunch of different people who are often underpaid for their work).
You’ve usually got to know somebody. Or have an agent: Because there are teams of people writing books like it’s their job (well…okay, it actually is their job), the market is pretty well saturated, so it’s tough to get in. But not impossible. There’s a book you can get at most any major library called The Writer’s Market. It’s published every year and lists just about every publishing house in the country – large or small – and provides a brief description of what kind of books each publisher is looking to work on over the coming year or two. It will also tell you whether or not the publisher is willing to accept an unsolicited manuscript from the shoe salesman in Nashua. It’s probably 50/50 as to whether or not a publisher will accept unsolicited manuscripts, but a whole other conversation as to whether or it will end up anywhere but the trash can. Here’s a tip, though: smaller publishers will typically read each submission, so don’t send your firs work off to Penguin because that’s a waste of 44 cents if you get my meaning.
You need to know how to write: I’ve met a lot of people who have great stories to tell. But I’ve also read manuscripts from those individuals that are confusing, poorly organized, and generally not entertaining. Writing well takes practice. Even if you got an A in English 101 and your prof loved your work, it’s a good bet you’re not ready to take on a novel. Writing takes a lot of work and time, but it also requires developing of a skill. Being a “good writer” is no easy thing. The following section provides a few tips on this – but be prepared to put the work in. Or, if you’re really impatient, find a friend who is a good writer, and ask them to co-write or ghostwrite the thing.

How do I make this pile of paper in to a good book?

Organize: The most annoying thing to me is reading a story that has clearly not been thoughtfully organized. Just as you would be told to write an outline for an essay, do this for your novel in order to get a macro view of whether or not the flow of the story makes sense and represents a natural progression.
Read: Another great idea is to steal ideas from– I mean read – books that are similar to the one you want to write. Look at the way chapters are organized. For example, do they jump from one character’s perspective to another? Do they jump timeslines? Do they provide much background knowledge on the fictional society you’re inventing? Certainly don’t copy another author’s work, but you can adapt, adjust, or just get your brainstorming jumpstarted by reading an accomplished writer’s work.
Do Research: To provide vivid details or to incorporate believable dialogue, do some research. There’s nothing worse than a book that doesn’t paint a picture in your head, or features page after page of dialogue that makes the character feel like a character from Family Matters or Step By Step. This means eavesdropping in the coffee shop for a while, or if you’re writing a passage on someone who is running through the woods, lace up the sneakers and take a jog. Imagine your novel describing “John’s footballs dully tapping the dirt trail, and the newly arrived Spring sun warming his face as he closed his eyes and felt his body glide through the wood” as opposed to “It was April and John ran in the woods.” Details and avoiding vague language make a big difference. Research is the way to make your details sound natural. (Just don’t go jumping off the top of a building or something in the name of art, okay?)

As I mentioned above, writing a novel is great, but it also takes a lot of work. The tips mentioned above are by no means a complete guide to novel writing, but it’s my hope that they can help you get started. Once you get in to the writing, planning, and researching groove, you’ll come up with some tricks that work for you specifically. But rest assured, there are a few things you can do to get past the initial terror of wondering how to begin.

Happy writing!