One of my goals with this whole exercise, that being the dissemination of whatever crosses my mind in your general direction, is to practice the concept of relaying concepts.
I have been listening to LeVar Burton’s podcast ‘LeVar Burton Reads,’ which is exactly what it sounds like, LeVar Burton reading to you. In each episode he picks a different short story and, well, reads it. What I have found remarkable about the stories he has selected is how well the authors are able to create a universe in such limited space. In the days of Game of Thronesesque epics that spend entire tomes describing an ally in a far flung village, the ability to describe minute details without actually describing those details is astoundingly brilliant.
It is a talent that I have been lacking. In my school days I was, more often than not, able to meet those minimum word or page requirements. While this was effective in not being scolded upon turning in an assignment, it did not necessarily guarantee an adequate grade. I was always amazed at my classmates who would turn in fewer pages yet be just as, if not more, informative.
While there is always the element of understanding your audience, there is also an element of trust or faith in your reader. Your professor is going to want concerte proof you understand a concept and therefore demand more detail than may be required. However, a casual audience will likely fill in many blanks on their own. The trust is that you can set the framework and let their imaginations fill in the details. After all isn’t that the point?
For the sake of brevity, I will leave it at that.
Why is it not until 97% of the way through an entirely too long tale that people finally come up with ‘To make a long story short?’
Infinitely Expanding 