Explaining Difficult Things

Explaining things well is one of the hardest parts of writing. But, in fact, the heart of writing lies in explaining things that are difficult to explain.

If this sounds cryptic, consider the lines spoken by the fat man, Caspar Gutman, in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon: “I’ll tell you right out that I’m a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk.”

Sam Spade responds: “Swell. Will we talk about the black bird?”

In the spirit of Dashiell Hammett, Sam Spade, and Humphrey Bogart, we’re here to explain everything...or at least the black bird.

The purpose of this chapter is to demystify the process of explanation, also called more generally exposition. Exposition is the art and craft of setting forth, or explaining and describing, a person, process, idea, or thing.

After you’ve read this chapter, and worked through the exercises in the "Stretch Your Brain" section at the end of the chapter, you’ll be able to explain and describe anything.

By the way, a description is not necessarily an explanation. In contrast to a description, which often merely statically describes something, an explanation provides some account of what something is, what it does, and why it is the way it is.

Bring on the tough stuff! What is life? What is art? Why do we love? What is the meaning of the universe? And, how does a cathode ray tube monitor work as compared to an LCD display?

If you can pose a question, and have formulated an answer or answers to it, you can certainly learn to explain the question and your answers in writing so that other people can understand what you have asked and answered.

Continued next page

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