[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin]
Many years ago I decided that if I ever write my autobiography, I will title it “But I Digress…”
[/QUOTE]
Ellen Degeneris had a similar thought for her book: My Point, and I Do Have One…
[QUOTE=pravnik]
“Tristram Shandy” is a famous example of the writing style you’re speaking of (although you’re actually writing of a speaking style, but I digress); digressions from the story line, then digressions from the digressions, and then a digression about digressions (or metadigression, I guess), etc.
[/QUOTE]
“Les Miserables” is like this as well. The book is at least twice as long as it needs to be to tell the story.
My friend calls it “birdtracking,” because the talker’s words resemble the mixed-up pattern of bird tracks on sandy surfaces.
A woman at work, the most digressive talker I’ve ever met, calls it “branching.” I tried to get the whole story, but then she tangented off onto her niece’s husband’s neighbor-from-1976’s recipe for lemon cake . . .
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. IMHO, “branching” is perfect.