PARTS and WHOLES

I.
CRAFT: learning how to look at wholes and see parts.

II.
COMPOSITION and REVISION: learning that parts, when put together, makes wholes that are greater than their parts, not wholes that are parts-put-together.

III.
Some craftbooks, especially screenwriting craftbooks, would have you believe that writing is equal to the sum of its parts: "The Six Steps." "The Five Elements." "The Twelve Essential Aspects." Create parts, snap together, produce product. Product = parts. These kinds of craftbooks are no different from rip-offy self-help and weight-loss books-- pay, follow, get results.

IV.
When you think in parts, you need to feel the ghostly shape of the whole; when you think in wholes, you need to feel the ghostly shapes of the parts. (At least I have to, anyway, and it's good hard work.)