Writing

Writing is difficult. Words are like stitches and a story like textile. Like a textile? Like fabric? Like? So many options. “Technique” and “textile” may be from the same Proto-Indo-European root; or rather, there are two roots that may be the same, covering the space of “beget, produce, weave.” Writing is a form of weaving, as is computation. Why is a type-writer like a loom? Sadie Plant would be proud of me.

Lately I’ve been reading Jean-Patrick Manchette’s Chroniques, his more-or-less monthly summary of what’s happening in the Noir fiction scene that he wrote between 1975 and 1995 (what an uglily formed sentence). The collection, as far as I know, hasn’t yet been translated into English, but his novels (which are next to read) have been. Manchette has a very subtle grasp of the formal tropes of his genre. He can summarize a novel clearly and concisely, and give a detailed review without spoiling the ending. He pays great attention to style and seldom mentions an author whom he hasn’t read in their entirety. A good model for anyone who wants to write about writing.