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More on Robert Caro's research & writing methods
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Posted by Paul Korm
Apr 21, 2019 at 01:27 PM
Some years ago a topic here discussed the biographer Robert Caro’s outline for his “The Years of Lyndon Johnson”.
https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/3934
Caro recently (April 2019) released a book discussing his experiences and methods, including research, interviews, note taking, outlining, writing and editing. After engaging in extensive research on a topic or event in a subject’s life, Caro proceeds to his writing phase.
CARO: I can’t start writing a book until I’ve thought it through and can see it whole in my mind. So before I start writing, I boil the book down to three paragraphs, or two, or one—that’s when it comes into view. That process might take weeks. And then I turn those paragraphs into an outline of the whole book. That’s what you see up here on my wall now—twenty-seven typewritten pages. That’s the fifth volume. Then, with the whole book in mind, I go chapter by chapter. I sit down at the typewriter and type an outline of that chapter, let’s say if it’s a long chapter, seven pages—it’s really the chapter in brief, without any of the supporting evidence. Then, each chapter gets a notebook, which I fill with all the materials I want to use—quotations and facts pulled from all of the research I’ve done.
Caro, Robert A.. Working (p. 197). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
“Working” is an interesting read for anyone looking to understand Caro’s methods.
Posted by Amontillado
Apr 21, 2019 at 03:04 PM
Sounds similar to Randy Ingermanson’s snowflake method, or Hemingway’s initial step, write the truest sentence you can.
My theory is every work starts with a thing often called an outline.
For some writers, it’s 40,000 words of prose, written as if leapfrogging unicorns by the seat of the pants, navigating on whim of inspiration. If I try that, I end up with lots to fix.
For other writers, that first thing is a storyboard. Some create traditional outlines.
I like anything that prototypes an idea in less than 40,000 words.
Outlining has a bad name. Part of that comes from the pain of looking at a hierarchical topology you’re sick of and morphing it into a sequential exposition.
It helps to do the hierarchical idea tree in a mind map and then outline a sequential presentation from there. That way the inventory of ideas doesn’t look like an inescapable plan and the outline evolves as chapter and scenes.
Of course, once I’m internationally recognized, I’ll be better prepared to say how I really did the job.
Rereading this, I regret putting “leapfrog,” “unicorns,” and “seat of the pants” in the same sentence. I meant no disrespect to mythical creatures or haberdashers.
Posted by Hugh
Apr 21, 2019 at 06:59 PM
Books about writers’ methods intrigue me. At 190-odd pages, this doesn’t sound typical of Caro’s usual doorstops. One for the wish-list.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Apr 23, 2019 at 09:16 AM
Fascinating - that early exchange (back in 2012, long before I joined the forum!) is also fascinating.
Yes, you can see why everybody gets so excited by VR/AR and so on. The infinite canvases one could, in principle, have if you used a mixture of both *could* be the perfect equivalent to the Caro paste-up method.
It’s either that or back to Minority Report - and I suspect VR/AR would be a lot cheaper than great big swathes of electro-sensitive glass!
As it is, I’m saving diligently for one of those big curved monitors. Given that I already fill both of my monitors to overflowing (each has about 6 virtual desktops on it as well), I would have to coin a new data-related phrase: you can never have too much virtual space.
Posted by Paul Korm
Apr 23, 2019 at 03:24 PM
Bill, you (and Robert Caro of course) could benefit from the Surface Hub 2
https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2018/05/15/meet-surface-hub-2/
A bargain at $9K for each screen.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/business/surface-hub-2