A good piece of writing is a complicated machine. It has a shiny outer shell wrapped around complex inner mechanics.
The shell is the surface narrative. When we’re asked what a piece of writing is about, we often describe the surface narrative. It’s about a British lawyer who spends two months working harvest in the Loire. It’s about a new wine from a prestigious estate in Chile. It’s about pét-nat and how to serve it.
The surface narrative offers details about who, what, when, and where. It is the topic, and it’s almost never the story.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Maker’s Table to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.