Getting the Plot Drafted

         Having been an inspired but frustrated writer for much of my life, I've reached a point where I can make some generalizations about what people write. I wouldn't call this particularly a classification of writers creations, but rather a classification by which every writers' project comes into being.

         A notation of immediacy is that in which the writer intends to capture some immediate issue of life in general, or personal thought which finally makes sense. Immediacy notations are heavy on personal content, and light on grammatical structure. Examples of this type of writing include:

                   * a grocery list

                   * a telephone message

                   * jotting a website associated with a TV ad

I consider notations of immediacy a private matter. What you write only has to make sense to you. By writing down a series of words, or phrases, or symbols, you will be able to recall what you were thinking when you come across these notes later on.

My series of symbols and abbreviations was born in my college note-taking days. Anyone who has to write down information as fast as it is being given develops a personal shorthand version. Ideally, one goes back and fills in the blanks, adds arrows pointing to more info and better phrasing of the point being made before too much time passes. The longer you wait, the fewer details you'll be able to recall.

There's a sort of reverse consequnce of this notation activity, particularly for visual learners. If I've arrived at the grocery store without my shopping list, I can usually close my eyes, concentrate on the list, and see what I wrote on the page. I don't always remember everything, but I remember more than I forget.

There's another adjunct consequnce of "immediacy notations". You will remember associations, like the web of thoughts traveling neurons about your body. The longer you focus on your note, the more disassociated your recollections will become, perhaps finalizing themselves in some fantasy about the way you wish things had worked out. As an example, I would propose you run across your handwritten note of an old date's name. Some memories come easity, and some come with more difficulty. A "note of immediacy" is written to fill the writer's intention, which is to remember something. This is a private type of writing.

Writing to be read by and shared with others requires a rework before presentation.


Written projects which begin as large complex theories or explanations, require some sort of organization and structure; the writer needs to synthesize his information into a logical sequence in his head or a written draft form before he sets to recording the first word.