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There is a well-known anecdote that tells of Mark Twain travelling across America and receiving a telegram from his editor. The telegram says “Need 2 page story in 2 days”. Mark Twain is alleged to have responded “2 page story need 30 days. 2 days can do 30 page story”.
Those of you with some experience of writing will recognize the reason for the apparent paradox immediately.
Thirty pages gives room for rambling paragraphs, non sequiturs and unrelated blind alleys.
To distil a tale into just two pages requires review, reconsideration, revision, redrafting and endless editing if the final result is to retain the essence and carry the narrative.
I see the same pattern with my clients, whether the issues are business or purely personal.
When I first ask them to describe their situation as they see, inevitably I elicit the thirty page story.
That story is confused, with overlapping issues, unfocused worries, inconsequential asides and unsupported assertions. People often describe themselves as being in a gigantic morass, about to be sucked under and drowned by all the circumstances sapping their usual ability to cope.
This is not surprising. Few people feel they have a partner who will just sit and listen – without passing comment, or judgement, or suggesting instant solutions.
And those that do have such a partner rarely take the time necessary to articulate what is going on in their lives. They are too busy struggling to “fix” it without necessarily being fully aware of what it is that needs fixing.
In some ways my role begins by encouraging the client to edit down those thirty pages to something tighter, more focused and much less confused.
Among the more useful questions that direct the client towards the process of paring away the lianas entangling them are:
“So, what is it exactly that you are working on?”
“What would have to happen for you get the outcome you want?”
“What one change would make the biggest difference to you right now?”
“And what one thing could you do to bring that one change into effect?”
The questions are simple, even stark. The answers usually throw up a lot more anguish and take a lot more work to bring into effect.
Hence Twain’s thirty days for a two page story.
There is a well-known anecdote that tells of Mark Twain travelling across America and receiving a telegram from his editor. The telegram says “Need 2 page story in 2 days”. Mark Twain is alleged to have responded “2 page story need 30 days. 2 days can do 30 page story”.
Those of you with some experience of writing will recognize the reason for the apparent paradox immediately.
Thirty pages gives room for rambling paragraphs, non sequiturs and unrelated blind alleys.
To distil a tale into just two pages requires review, reconsideration, revision, redrafting and endless editing if the final result is to retain the essence and carry the narrative.
I see the same pattern with my clients, whether the issues are business or purely personal.
When I first ask them to describe their situation as they see, inevitably I elicit the thirty page story.
That story is confused, with overlapping issues, unfocused worries, inconsequential asides and unsupported assertions. People often describe themselves as being in a gigantic morass, about to be sucked under and drowned by all the circumstances sapping their usual ability to cope.
This is not surprising. Few people feel they have a partner who will just sit and listen – without passing comment, or judgement, or suggesting instant solutions.
And those that do have such a partner rarely take the time necessary to articulate what is going on in their lives. They are too busy struggling to “fix” it without necessarily being fully aware of what it is that needs fixing.
In some ways my role begins by encouraging the client to edit down those thirty pages to something tighter, more focused and much less confused.
Among the more useful questions that direct the client towards the process of paring away the lianas entangling them are:
“So, what is it exactly that you are working on?”
“What would have to happen for you get the outcome you want?”
“What one change would make the biggest difference to you right now?”
“And what one thing could you do to bring that one change into effect?”
The questions are simple, even stark. The answers usually throw up a lot more anguish and take a lot more work to bring into effect.
Hence Twain’s thirty days for a two page story.
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