In a post on Lit Hub, Mark Haber extols the virtues of digression. “All fiction is artifice, however a more conventional novel with its page breaks, chapter breaks and use of quotation marks often feels more contrived than a novel whose style traces the paths a mind naturally follows,” he says.
When he’s writing, Haber prefers to get the plot and premise out of the way so that he can focus on language and character. “After finding my premise I’m liberated, I can discover what the story and the characters are trying to tell me,” he writes. “Now I can meander, I can explore the memories, relationships, and events that have occurred in the character’s life while likewise investigating what they’re thinking about now. With this the narrator comes alive for me, digressing perhaps about the decision a decade ago that led him to this moment, or the scent of bergamot in a cup of earl grey or anything really, as long as it feels authentic, relevant, and helps the story.”
This requires the writer to trust that the story will tell him where to go. “Conversely, a plot with a strict structure doesn’t often take these liberties, it’s usually the writer telling the story where to go,” Haber notes. There’s nothing wrong with either approach and there’s also nothing wrong with a writer using a little bit of both.”
Digression is natural to storytelling and not only on the page. “If you want to tell a funny incident about something that happened at a wedding, you might need to give the listener some context. To do this you back up and explain the main players and the baggage they carry, their grudges and loyalties, their tumultuous affairs,” Haber says. “Simply put: in order to tell the main thrust of your story you need smaller supporting stories to give the incident at the wedding the significance it demands.”
