I touched on this before, but for me, that’s part of my struggle.

Whenever I write, I struggle with details.

While I was writing an my account of yesterday’s Plaza encounter, Tim wrote another, which you can read here.

What stands out for me in comparing the two versions is Tim’s attention to details. Tim takes the time look up information on the conference to help set the scene. And his recall of information exchanged in the encounter is linear and fluid. In my version, I chiefly wander around in the arena I most often go to- emotion.

It’s nothing new, this tendency in me.

I’ve felt a long frustration in my inability to retain or recall facts and figures, titles and technical details. I grew up close to a brother with an innate ability to absorb specifics, and around whom I rarely felt “I had my facts right.” And I often don’t- it’s just how I am.

This is broadly because my memory is less lingual and more sensual. I remember feelings, and visual impressions, much easier than I do facts and figures. Which explains why I am drawn regularly to emotion-producing music and movies. My decision making is too often driven by feelings- by impressions and intuitions- than by facts.

The consequence of this in my writing is that I also aim more at the emotional than the factual.

Which leaves me feeling quite often like my writing, like my thinking, is fuzzy.

I suppose it is largely a matter of just slowing down and taking a few extra minutes to do research. I do, in reality, have an extensive memory. It’s just called Google.