The Duty of Manipulation

Under a pile of papers was my ever faithful read of Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg, and as I was about to go to sleep I flicked through the pages and read a few.

There was a paragraph that I still can’t get out of my mind.

It spoke about the word ‘manipulate’.

I took a screenshot and posted it on my social media page - it was that important.

Manipulate though?

What a negative connotation this word brings out.

I’ve read Klinkenborg’s book a few times. I tend to return to it often.

Especially as I start writing another book, or am stuck moving it forward.

I couldn’t remember this page though.

But his words have been lingering.

The page was telling me that manipulation is something I should consider as a writer.

That it may not be something the reader thinks about, but I should.

‘We hate the thought of being manipulated’, he says.

Well, yes.

I keep thinking it’s close to a negative influence over a person. And not too far away from manipulation, the word narcissism follows.

Gaslighting makes an appearance and coercion can even feature.

Why then, is Verlyn Klinkenborg encouraging me to manipulate the reader?

He seems to be doing this to me but I see some resistance because I already have an assumption of what the word means.

It has been important, then, to take away the pre-held attachment of meaning I had with the word and figure out where the word originated.

The word gives a connotation of handling something with one’s hands.

This theme is from its Latin root word manipulus which means ‘a handful’ or ‘sheaf’.

This word is made of two parts: manus meaning ‘hand’ and plere meaning ‘to fill’.

I can visualise holding something in my hands, and I have a duty towards it.

This somehow doesn’t feel inherently negative.

The Latin root evolved into the Late Latin word manipulare meaning ‘to handle’ or ‘to manage’.

When I think of these meanings, I instantly go back to my career when I was a Personal Assistant.

These were demands of my duty.

I had to handle and manage multiple demands to ensure I delivered for the person I was working for.

Again, the exploration into the roots and evolution have further distilled the notion that the word manipulate is a negative one.

The term then entered the English language in around the 19th century from the French word manipuler initially with a neutral sense and means ‘to handle’, ‘to operate’ or ‘to work with something by hand’, especially in scientific or mechanical contexts.

Now it sounds like me creating my mandalas.

I tend to apply the concept of ‘mechanical’ to my art practice.

And again, the idea that ‘manipulate’ being a negative again is further dismantled.

Mandalas are created in a way that manipulates the blank canvas.

I am literally controlling where the lines are drawn.

Over time, though, around the mid-to-late 19th century, the word began to mean skillfully controlling or influencing something. And whilst that can be seen as a positive, one can tell it can also open the door to be abused.

Which is why it eventually took on a more negative meaning that we are familiar with today - the idea of controlling or influencing people in a clever, unfair, or deceptive way.

But there is one theme that is recurring, bar the concept of the hands.

The idea of control.

Again, if I go back to the passage in the book, Verlyn Klinkenborg’s intention isn’t an ill one.

It’s one that encourages us to write.

But he is encouraging the writer to control the words and sentences they create.

Manipulation seems like a triggering word, but with Klinkenborg using it he gets you to explore why it’s triggering, just like I have here.

Control also makes me remember the Chapter and Verse from the Bhagavad Gita, and the general ethos I try to live by with both my writing and art practices.

It is the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 47:

’You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction’.

The idea of performance here is what I can control.

I can control how I handle these sentences I am sharing with you.

I am, through writing, finding the narrative arc, incorporating the etymology and hopefully telling a story, *manipulating* the words enough to share a learning so that my words stay with you.

This is the manipulation Klinkenborg is discussing.

My faith’s message is also backing this up, though it has always used less triggering language where the meaning doesn’t come across as negative.

And so I am here, feeling much better about the words Klinkenborg himself manipulated to share with me.

I’m glad I sorted out the papers and found my dear friend - this book - that reminds me that there is a lot still to learn about the writing process.

And it is safe to say I’m more than happy to manipulate my words and share them with you.

I hope you know, though, that there’s definitely no ill intent.