On the theory that I can do only one thing well at a time, I practice a crude sort of division of labor when writing. I try to divide each piece into its component parts, and concentrate on just one for each draft or pass. A typical piece might go through these stages:

  • Outline. First, I’ll write a rough outline. I don’t mean the nice outline with roman numerals and subpoints that your teacher made you turn in. I just throw down a series of phrases that suggest the topics I want to cover in a paragraph or section.
  • Facts. Next I copy or summarize the facts that I want from my notes, and put them under each phrase in the outline, usually adding more outline points that I had forgotten. This step gives me the opportunity to consciously select the facts that I’ll use. I add rough footnotes as I go.
  • Argument or narrative. Then I take each nascent paragraph-really, just a topic phrase and a group of facts or ideas-and write them into a proper paragraph. I’m not concerned to write well; often I don’t even write strictly grammatically. My concern is to get paragraphs (not just sentences) that express the argument or narrative in roughly the right order.
  • Style. I then go through the manuscript, looking to add style-what a friend calls “verve.” How can I shape the narrative? Are these the right facts? How can I embed the theme? Does this piece have unity? Can I add any turns of phrase? If I don’t give some conscious thought to artistry at this point, the piece will certainly be dull. Here I write things that I would be ashamed for anyone to read, because I can always revise them out later if they don’t work.
  • Revision. After the first four or so steps, I simply revise, revise, revise. I do most of the revision on the computer, but I try to print out a late draft and edit it on paper. For whatever reason, I edit differently on paper than electronically, and I need both kinds of editing. If at all possible, I let the piece sit for a couple days or even a week during revision, so that I can look at it with fresh eyes.
  • Proofreading. Proofreading is better done by someone else (especially if you have a proofreader for a wife). It’s almost impossible to catch all of your own mistakes, and I usually end up tinkering and revising rather than proofreading. Still, I do make the effort.

This process feels inefficient and wasteful. There is left over in my subconscious from middle school the idea that I should write a rough draft, a first draft, and a final draft, and then be done, though of course the history faculty never taught such nonsense. But this iterative process is the only way I know to write decently. And going through the manuscript over and over rather than writing each paragraph as finished unit helps give a piece unity and flow. Hard writing makes easy reading.

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On the theory that I can do only one thing well at a time, I
practice a crude sort of division of labor when writing. I try to divide each
piece into its component parts, and concentrate on just one for each draft or
pass. A typical piece might go through these stages:

Outline. First,
I’ll write a rough outline. I don’t mean the nice outline with roman numerals
and subpoints that your teacher made you turn in. I just throw down a series of
phrases that suggest the topics I want to cover in a paragraph or section.

Facts. Next I copy
or summarize the facts that I want from my notes, and put them under each
phrase in the outline, usually adding more outline points that I had forgotten.
This step gives me the opportunity to consciously select the facts that I’ll
use. I add rough footnotes as I go.

Argument or narrative.
Then I take each nascent paragraph-really, just a topic phrase and a group of
facts or ideas-and write them into a proper paragraph. I’m not concerned to
write well; often I don’t even write strictly grammatically. My concern is to
get paragraphs (not just sentences) that express the argument or narrative in
roughly the right order.

Style. I then go
through the manuscript, looking to add style-what a friend calls “verve.” How
can I shape the narrative? Are these the right facts? How can I embed the
theme? Does this piece have unity? Can I add any turns of phrase? If I don’t
give some conscious thought to artistry at this point, the piece will certainly
be dull.

Revision. After
the first four or so steps, I simply revise, revise, revise. I do most of the
revision on the computer, but I try to print out a late draft and edit it on
paper. For whatever reason, I edit differently on paper than electronically,
and I need both kinds of editing. If at all possible, I let the piece sit for a
couple days or even a week during revision, so that I can look at it with fresh
eyes.

Proofreading. Proofreading
is better done by someone else (especially if you have a proofreader for a
wife). It’s almost impossible to catch all of your own mistakes, and I usually
end up tinkering and revising rather than proofreading. Still, I do make the
effort.

This process feels inefficient and wasteful. There is left
over in my subconscious from middle school the idea that I should write a rough
draft, a first draft, and a final draft, and then be done, though of course the
history faculty never taught such nonsense. But this iterative process is the
only way I know to write decently. And going through the manuscript over and
over rather than writing each paragraph as finished unit helps give a piece
unity and flow. Hard writing makes easy reading.
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