thewritingprocess – Author

An Alternative To Shitty First Drafts?

To be straight: I revise. I revise and revise and revise and revise and revise and revise… You get the drift. And if you’re mathematically inclined, just add an exponent and use the alef. When do I stop revising? When I look at the thing and feel like vomiting. Seriously. But I have had theContinue reading “An Alternative To Shitty First Drafts?”

Writers on Writers’ Block

This interesting video showcases a number of writers talking about writers’ block. What always shocks and disappoints me is to see so many professional writers dismiss writers’ block as non-existent. Most of those who comment dismissively on it seem to have a very narrow definition for writers’ block: the inability to put words on paper.Continue reading “Writers on Writers’ Block”

The Writing Process

I was asked by a colleague to contribute a short essay on the writing process. No more than 4,000 words, she says. I wrote something, sent it out with some misgivings, got some positive feedback, and then was free to move on to the work that really has been at the center of my universe:Continue reading “The Writing Process”