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Drafting

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something -- anything -- down on paper.”

-- Anne Lamott (Shitty First Drafts)

“The way to do a piece of writing is three or four times over, never once. For me, the hardest part comes first, getting something—anything—out in front of me.”
— John McPhee (Draft No. 4)

To write a great article in one sitting is folly. What we should instead is to write a suboptimal draft and the next day return to edit it (more than one if necessary).

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