The Importance Of Flow

A great story reminds me of an EEG, the test that captures electrical brain patterns: words become, not a pulse, but a visual accumulation of different layers of activity.

Instead of a rough dot-by-dot plot point map for the unimaginative, a story shaped by an insightful, empathic, and talented writer is infused with spirit and offers characters that linger long after the reading experience.

Explaining why you do or don’t like an author’s work can be difficult. I often say, “Their flow doesn’t work for me”. (Or to pun, the writer and I are not on the same page.)

Flow is important. Regardless of talent, an author’s communicating style won’t resonate with everyone. Nothing technically wrong—sentences just don’t slide easily into the mind. Like being in a band room when everyone is practicing, but try as you might you can’t get into the swing of things.

The flow of a story is about more than sound, more than rhythm and syntax. Ideas and focal points are also part of the storytelling equation. The flow is multi-textual and offers a taste of the way the writer thinks: all encompassing, it includes narrative, themes, language, phonetics, and something elusive. Soul, maybe? Elements of an author’s energy (for want of a better word) infuse the narrative process.

Fostering flow is part of the reason experts suggest writers wait/come back to material before editing: you move from creator to spectator. Instead of being inside the waterfall of words, you can check out the scene from afar, and decide if you like the view.

Of course, next comes feedback. The problem with feedback is that as society’s appreciation of a writer’s signature “flow” dwindles, we start to see text where different “voices” infuse the author’s work, and struggle for domination. The current trend is to imprint rather than edit, so writers should really take care to work with an editor who will help hone their voice, and find their flow.

A good writer/editor/beta reader team can reshape flow skillfully. Sparseness is the current textual trend, but don’t let pages be mutilated beyond repair or recognition. Fractures in the flow are part of the reason people stop reading—a fissure where the reader’s attention falls from the story.

Find an editor who appreciates your perspective: who won’t relegate aspects that make your work personal as irrelevant fodder. A person willing to try and balance current commercial trends with a respect for the tone of your narrative.

Reshaping is helpful; it clears muddy waters and lets the story move along easily. Balance is key, but can be elusive. For centuries perfecting flow has been the quandary of writers around the world, so you’re in good company.