Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Shades of Meaning

Shades of Meaning

Yesterday on Fox I heard a discussion between Neil Cavouto and some ex-campaign chief and they were talking about what the candidates needed to do in order to secure the nomination.

In the process of the conversation the old adviser said words to the effect that this or that candidate needed to achieve some tactical momentum and secure some regional victories. Cavouto replied with words to the effect that this sounded more like a strategic than a tactical objective. The Veteran responded that winning a hundred and forty some odd delegates was strategic, everything else was tactical.

Now this shows a bit of a lack of understanding about the meaning of the words, tactical, operational and strategic. In the EWW course I am trying to get the students to understand the meaning of these words and how they apply them to writing a longer work. In a political sense the analogy is similar.

In a political contest a tactical victory is to win in a state. An operational victory is to win in several states that have a regional connection… Like the South or Midwest. Strategically a victory is to combine the operational successes into a national one that secures for the candidate the required number of delegates. Anyway these words get bantered around by the experts who don’t always have that clear an understanding of what they mean.

To a writer a tactical piece is a chapter sized work. Operational writing is the stringing together of chapters and strategic is completing the entire book. Strategic in this sense is having all the overall ingredients and devices common to good writing. Tactical writing can sort of blossom on its own but operational and strategic writing requires a cold and calculated consideration. It doesn't happen by accident. Just as a political candidate doesn’t get elected by accident, a writer does not produce a stage, screen play or novel by accident. It just doesn’t fall from the sky as you push the pencil or pound the key board.

For a writer to think that since they can write a vignette, chapter or essay and that producing a longer work is simply more of the same withexpanded word count is wishful thinking on a grand scale. What the EWW hopes to accomplish is posturing a writer so they have an opportunity to achieve success. This whole notion is hard to get across but some students seem to come by it easier than others. I think that those who have been overwhelmed and had to struggle hardest grasp the underlying premise quicker and better.