"Don't interrupt motion with map-making"

Some of the best advice on writing I heard this quarter came from Candace in the class when she said, "Don't interrupt motion with map-making,"  a piece of advice I have been given permission to steal.

What she meant -- or what I am going to say she meant -- is that when you have a story rolling along, don't stop to draw a map or give directions to a side road or some other diversion. Give the reader enough information to follow your story but not so much detail to get lost in it. Not every twist and turn or person we meet along the way needs to be explained or introduced.

The advice reminded me of Mark Twain's remarkable demonstration of how far afield "map-making" can lead you. I promised I would put up a link to the story, and here it is. There's a YouTube video of Hal Holbrook reciting it, but I thought he gave it away up top. It's better in the reading.

Enjoy.