Boiling it down

I'm back into the PhD, after a relaxing holiday and a focus on preparing a PG presentation. As I prepare a full draft on the subject of formation (one of my three main focuses) I am struck by the fact that I know more about the subject than I can adequately write about, and that I have at my disposal far more quotations and perspectives at my disposal than I can possibly hope to include.

I've decided that this is a good thing.

When I lectured in business communications, I became acutely aware that a student's writing typically betrays the worth of their storehouse. In other words, students with far more to draw on than what they were able to include inevitably had a depth and richness to their writing that their lesser-informed peers did not. In other words, it's better to boil something down to concentrate than it is to water it down to provide volume.

So, at the moment I'm not merely writing, I'm boiling, bubbling over, surrounded by the cloudy fragrance of formational thought, mentally savouring the concentrated flavours that subtly blend into a mouth-watering read...

At least, I hope so!

Great reading from Bates (2005) on definitions, and Anderson (2007, in Theological Education) on the InMinistry programme and associated distance education-style technique... plenty to, err, chew on and throw into the mix of authors already cited!