The Parable of Michelangelo’s David

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The Parable of Michelangelo’s David
An object lesson for the task-oriented

So Michelangelo was sitting in a bar . . . . Seriously. He was an artist. He must have gone out for a drink sometimes, right?

So Michelangelo is sitting in a bar, and suddenly the drunk four stools down notices him.

“HEEEYYYY! MichelANGeloh!!” the drunk exclaims happily and sloppily. “Heeeeyyyyy!!!”

Michelangelo edges back, looking wary.

“Heeeyyy! Michelangelo!” he slurred. “I chusht shaw your new shkulpture of David! Itsh amaszching!!”

He hiccups and lowers his voice. “It looksh jusht like DAVID! How did choo do it???”

Michelangelo puts down his cup and half turns on his stool. “Well,” he says, “if you buy me a drink—and stay down there where you are—I’ll tell you.”

So the drunk orders a round and settles in, blearily.

“It’s not rocket science,” Michelangelo says. “First, you have to have a vision of what you want to create. You need something that speaks to you, something you want to say. I found David. So you need your own David.”

“Then, find the best materials and tools you can: the purest block of carrera marble, the finest chisels and hammers.”

Michelangelo paused, and looked around significantly.

“Then you study David. You consider your tools and examine your medium—your block of carrera marble. You look at David. You reflect. You study the essence that is David….”

The listeners were rapt. They leaned forward.

“And then,” Michelangelo said, “once you know your David, once you really understand the central truth that is David….”

He paused and drank. Michelangelo looked at his audience.

“And then,” he said, “you take up your tools. You look again at David. You look at your medium. You look at David. And then . . . and then you take your hammer and your chisel, and you approach the carrera marble . . . . and you whack off everything that doesn’t look like David.”

The drunk fell off his stool.

Whaaaa???

I tell this parable to grad students who are pondering their research projects and theses, and it also works for newswriting students—or anyone, really, who wants to write a story.

What is the story’s essence, what is your David? The process of conceptualizing a piece of research or writing is a neglected art, and this shortcoming often shows up as muddy, mucky, poorly focused research or writing that does not reach its goal. Unless the researcher or reporter has a clear idea of what s/he wants to do, the story or piece of research that needs doing, the essential David of a project, the finished product will never look like David, and will always be a disappointment to both writer and reader.

An editor once told me that the first stage of the writing process is to “apply butt to chair” and, for him, to examine the ceiling tiles. Focus. Know what your “David” looks like before you touch the keyboard. Know your focus. Know the answer to the reader’s “So what?” questions, understand where your story is going, and the elements you will need to include, in what order, to get there.

So focus. If you understand these things before you start writing, you will be able to see your concept as you work with the mass of extraneous information that surrounds every writing project. And then you can start to knock off everything that doesn’t look like your David.

Thus endeth the lesson.

—Ted Pease