Writing is simply using language to convey intended information, meaning and to persuade. Many activities in life contribute to this skill. Learning to effectively speak in public is a big contributor. While overcoming shyness, a serious problem for some of us, a person learns to put together language to persuade others of something.
One of the extracurricular activities in high school that paid off later in life was forensics. No, not crime scene investigation. In case the reader doesn’t know, high school forensics is competitive public speaking. A ‘speech team’, led by a communications or other teacher trains students in one of several categories like debate, drama, humor and extemp. I competed in extemp- extemporaneous speaking.
In a speech meet, the extemp competitors from several schools draw from the hat a current-event topic to argue for or against, then given 30 minutes to prepare. When the time is up, the competitors gather in a classroom and are called up one after another by a judge to make their case. The judge will rate the effectiveness of their ‘performances’ and rank them. The judge may or may not offer advice, or a post-mortem, to each student. To prepare we would scour the better magazines like US News & World Report for background on current events and create a card file for preparation.
In the speech meet my school hosted, the extemp competitors came up with a few ridiculous topics like- what will be the effect on American society of replacing the diamond with cubic zirconia in wedding rings? The kid who drew it nearly cried.
The effect of competitive speaking later in life for me was profound yet incomplete. In my college public speaking class I would more fully come out of my shell. In Air Force ROTC we were taught to give military-style briefings. Grad school required us to give two public seminars on topics of our own choosing. Then we had both a preliminary oral exam and a final oral exam in front of our graduate committee. The preliminary oral exam was defending an original research plan. My paper exercise was developing a novel asymmetric synthetic method and as proof of concept, dream up something interesting to do with it. I proposed the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched quercus lactone. Whiskey lovers would rejoice.
Still later, I was a founder of a local theater group and we began to produce theater performances. By the time I ‘retired’ from acting I had performed in 17 productions. In the end, my stage fright had evaporated.
An unanticipated consequence of losing my stage fright turned out to be that I can quickly switch on my actor’s countenance in public. In doing so, I’ve been known to take people to task in public when I’m faced with ridiculous situations. On one occasion, after waiting 40 minutes and giving 3 reminders to the server for the au jus for my now cold French dip sandwich, I marched into the kitchen and addressed the cooks shouting authoritatively ‘Order up! Au jus please’. Their surprised faces and the puzzled stare of the assistant manager were priceless. Before leaving the kitchen I explained the situation with the assistant manager who listened politely and then gently ushered me out of the kitchen and back to our booth. There I met my horrified spouse and frightened teenaged kid staring at me in shock. I quickly received my au jus. I put on an extemporaneous show. It was hilarious, but my sanity was now in question.
I’ve been writing Lamentations on Chemistry since 2006. Part of the reason is that occasionally I get a seed crystal of an idea floating around in my ADHD consciousness. [Note: Here is where a dear reader put his foot down and demanded that I explain to the other dear readers what a ‘seed crystal’ is. This thing I shall do.].
Usually, the seed crystals are intrusive thoughts that have blundered into the maelstrom swirling vortex of my mind. Outside of work I can squelch myriad intrusive thoughts simply by watching YouTube or BritBox. But at work I am trapped at my desk, unsupervised and alone in a closed and silent room. I could die in here and nobody would notice for days. Maybe they would resort to waking up the company cadaver dog and going for a look.
A seed crystal:
Imagine a glass of warm water into which sugar has been dissolved. Sugar is added and added and soon the warm solution can hold no more sugar. You quickly pass the warm solution through a filter into another glass and remove all of the sediment. You again warm the sugar solution with stirring so there are no more solids remaining. You put a lid on the glass and as the solution cools, it invisibly goes from a condition of saturation to supersaturation. With the glass sitting still and allowing no evaporation of water, the clear solution continues to cool to room temperature and remains clear. Now you gently lift the lid and drop in one or two tiny sugar crystals. As they drop to the bottom of the solution you see a cloudy/granular-looking event spread quickly through the solution. Solid sugar is precipitating, forming sugar crystals. The sugar is going from
The crystal you dropped into the solution is called the ‘Seed Crystal’. It begins to grow, and rapidly other crystals begin to grow.
Back to writing
In my experience, the process of writing helps me find coherence out of the dust devil of my mind and, through some kind of synthesis, into something bigger than I had first considered. I usually have 20-30 drafts going simultaneously. If after months of latency I can find a way to complete an essay I may post it. But many will be deleted to avoid public embarrassment.
The very act of laying out an essay requires one to deconvolute thoughts and emotions. Usually it becomes obvious that some background reading online is necessary and then sprinkle around relevant links. Typically, some sentences begin to appear and are quickly edited. With the help of Ms. Google, words are double-checked for spelling and meaning or more suitable synonyms may be found. Often I find that I have been misusing a word. Soon, a paragraph is temporarily tacked in place and another is begun. Sometimes the order of paragraphs is changed thanks to the inventor of ctrl c and ctrl v. Then there is always ctrl z to save the day.
All of this organizing of language while writing causes me to reevaluate preconceived notions and find previously unseen connections and pathways. Often, the compelling thought originating an essay vanishes because half-assed notions are cast away or entirely new arguments materialize. In 7th grade I realized that certain alternative words could alter one’s thinking. Even synonyms may hold nuanced meanings that may or may not sharpen your language, and they are worth considering.
Writing is better thinking. It can lead to sharper analysis and helps to straighten out kinks and connect discontinuities in your communications.
In the end, I like to write but ‘I like to have written‘ even better.
//End//
