A worse obsession than mine.

I'm often embarrassed to admit that I'm forever finding connections. It's not that it's such a bad thing, but it tends to become wearisome to people who find themselves inundated by a never-ending string of free associations when all they thought they were doing was getting into a short conversation. But if this is embarrassing to me, think about how Robinson must feel, even though at the outset of his article he has a very public coming-out:

The subject is naturally attractive to all with character structures of the sort Freud dubbed anal, and I readily confess to belong to that sect.

Anal or not, however, he does have a point:

Periods and commas are lovely because they are simple. They force the writer to express his ideas directly, to eliminate unnecessary hedges, to forgo smart-aleck asides. They also contribute to the logical solidity of a piece of writing, since they make us put all our thoughts into words.

Again, I can feel that jealousy welling up in me: How full my writing is of those hedges and asides. How wonderful it would be if instead it were direct, logical and solid! The only problem is, of course, that it would no longer be my writing.

Go to: My greatest fear.