Michael Dean | Substack

every preceding sentence was slow labor: the steady accretion of detail and the equally steady removal of whatever I had put in that I realized wasn’t doing necessary work or that the reader could figure out for himself.

• Writing is like a stacked buffet, where it’s up to you to pick and choose what you want. • Don’t make your readers pick what’s

Writing a successful lead, in other words, can illuminate the structure problem for you and cause you to see the piece whole—to see it conceptually, in various parts, to which you then assign your materials.

The key to good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing, the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary.