The Writing Problems of Visual Thinkers -- Part 4

Visual thinking is not only non-linear, it is holistic: Everything is interconnected. Everything appears all at once, like a picture. (Clearly, this is a simplification, but it is a helpful starting point for a discussion.)

Good writing, however, requires that we unfold one thing after another in a sequence that gives meaning to the relationships among the parts.

As put in the article, "The writing of a visual thinker is like a map of all the possibilities; a verbal thinker writes like a guided tour."

Here are some writing problems visual thinkers can have as a result of thinking holistically.

13. Contextless -- No introduction. It is what it is; it is not defined by comparison with anything. Attempts to move visual into verbal through description or proclamation. May include vivid statement of opinion in isolation from other views and supporting evidence, a thought floating in space.

14. Aesthetic indiscrimination -- All details are equally important. Everything is everything else. Author does not take a position. Everything hangs in a mesh of undefined relationships. Bland, even, one-level quality to prose. No main point. Reads like a list.