On Redoing Things

To make something good, just do it. To make something great, just redo it, redo it, redo it. The secret to making fine things is in remaking them.

Writing tip: The belief that the 1st draft must be good makes working on it an intimidating prospect that often leads to paralysis. So let the 1st draft be junk; it should be purely about getting from start to finish, nothing more. You really write the piece when you rewrite it.

Putting ideas into words is a severe test. The first words you choose are usually wrong; you have to rewrite sentences over and over to get them exactly right. And your ideas won't just be imprecise, but incomplete too. Half the ideas that end up in an essay will be ones you thought of while you were writing it. Indeed, that's why I write them.