A simple trigger is usually enough to begin writing. An idea, a question, or perhaps just an opening sentence. For me, that’s sufficient. Occasionally, I’ll already have a second step in mind, a place that I might want to reach in a paragraph or two—although the most important factor, in all situations, is that I know the general trajectory.
Even when I am attempting to put down a very specific and passionate argument, I need the sentences to be loose, and I need to leave room for the unexpected, as the ending almost always results naturally from the beginning rather than a specific plan. A sense of trajectory gives the essay a sense of movement and creates the potential for the fortuitous. If I simply have a subject, regardless of how complex, that’s not enough, as it feels static and flat and, worst of all, too banal for the page.
At one point in February, I described it as the difference between speaking extemporaneously about a topic that you know well and reading from prepared remarks—and only one of those methods prompts the audience to lean forward. The description came once I realized that all of my essays—for this month at least—took unexpected turns. And that subject also became the subject of February’s last essay.
Issue 137 — On Perfection
Once the words are put to paper, once the brush hits the canvas, the disparity between the perfection of the mind and the imperfection of the world is sure to emerge.
Issue 138 — All Those Liars
There’s a wonderful paradox about sincerity: the driven con artist feels more comfortable while they lie than the typical person does while they tell the truth.
Issue 139 — The Art of Mistranslation (🔒 Paid Subscribers)
A little about Umberto Eco, a little about Elena Ferrante, a little about how translators are always writers.
Issue 140 — Listen, Memory
I discover the tricky bind of doubting the part of the world where I have unique expertise—my own desires.
Issue 141 — On Political Journalism (🔒 Paid Subscribers)
If you want to get ahead in political journalism, you must learn how to take a banal, humdrum, and consensus opinion and make it appear groundbreaking.
Issue 142 — Art is in the Eye of the Critic
When artists are reduced to rungs on a biography, and biography is the primary subject that many critics discuss, it leaves artists annoyed, critics unchallenged, and audiences bored.
Issue 143 — At the Edge of the Known (🔒 Paid Subscribers)
The essay that describes more of my thoughts about the importance of trajectory in writing.
Lastly, if you’re receiving the free version of Desk Notes, please consider trying a paid subscription. I will greatly appreciate your support. Thank you, as always, for reading.
Your essays have been immensely helpful and insightful.