Thoughts on the SVO method

I started1 a series on how to write a book from the perspective of someone who’s trying to write a novel, a blog and a non-fiction book because, well, that’s me. But I think it the method apply to any long structured text; not just stories and non-fiction but dissertations, long essays, articles that require lots of research.

This is why.

Term logic

The method relies upon splitting each element of the text into a subject, a verb and an object. These are basic elements of a sentence and they’ve been key to a particular study of logic, called Term Logic, since Aristotle’s time. It’s fallen out of fashion lately but it works here because Term Logic is the logic of everyday language. It will encourage us to think conversationally about the text.

Conversations tend to evolve back and forth as people iterate a point over and over again. A simple thought might yield a complex and beautiful conversation. So it is when we write short text. If we then take that short text and explore its subject, verb and object we can generate more and more detail.

The SVO method relies upon outlining and writing at the same time. Repeated iterations of subject, verb and object start from simple elements and output rich detail and compelling writing. This should tap into the way our minds are naturally optimised for language and produce text which is easier to read, fun to write and less stressful to plan.

But what are subjects, verbs and objects?

Subject

The subject establishes a noun; an opportunity to establish facts, details and background. It connects a new iteration, a new burst of writing to the text that’s already been written.

Verb

The verb is the engine of the iteration. What happens? What combination, relationship or conflict occurs? How does it happen. Most importantly, why?

Object

The object is rather open-ended which is good for our purposes. Taken literally, it can mean an objective context for the effect of the verb. The cat sat on the mat. As the verb is particularly useful as it blossoms with detail the object provides the hooks for further iterations and interesting details.

Writing while iterating

Producing SVO iterations for the details of your text as it forms is great for weaving research into writing as you can break it down into small chunks that become more and more relevant. And as you write you spawn further iterations and opportunities to build out detail. Unlike pure outlining, you’re also contributing to the completion of the text.

Later in the series I’ll explore how to use this method to derive the DNA of your text, then how to weave it all together into a finished piece.

What else can this method apply to?

I think we can rule out shorter texts because even the unattentive brains like mineare capable of processing concepts to the extent of churning out reasonably consistent text up to some length. In my case, I can write up to around 3000 words without notes or planning. Your mileage may vary.

But there’s room for improvement in the way I write research-heavy texts. For instance, novels are rarely written in a vacuum. The writer must first wade through a wealth of research, notes and personal experience to feed into the book. I’ve seen writers pull their hair out while trying to process huge chunks of this data while writing it in by the seat of their pants. I’ve seen others outline the life out of their book in a contrivance that may rival the finished article for effort and length.

It’s unlikely that you’d write any long text in one sitting, or even in order. It takes a disciplined writer to maintain their flow with all the disruption inherent to writing in bursts over a period of time. I’m not sure how good the brain is at resurrecting thought processes after a break of a day or more.

Meantime, writing tip clichés such as starting at the end and working backwards or aiming for n words per day are all valid and intelligent ways to deal with agony of giving birth to the literary baby growing in your head. They all require planning.

Neglect

So perhaps the SVO method will work for any text of significant length that requires some combination of research and planning, out-of-order composition and multiple writing sessions.

So if this series should focus on writing books it doesn’t mean to neglect theses, mémoires, expositions and refutations, novellas, plays and papers. I hope that if you’re writing any of these forms of text that you’ll find the method useful.

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