When you write, how much of it is inspiration and how much refinement?
It depends on the topic. If I know what I’m talking about and am dead-on accurate, generally 95%+ inspiration
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Otherwise it is 75% refinement/grind, and the original vision doesn’t fit well w/ further inspiration that comes while writing
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The key thing imo is not to get distracted by marginal refinements/effort that make the trials seem less awkward w/o actually clarifying/deepening them
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(they are awkward b/c weak/clumsy understanding, not because “lazy”; all the effort in the world won’t make them un-awkward, just more impressive to others)
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(if you have N hours to write to some extent you want to maximize number of “awkward” trials rather than devoting all N to polishing 1 or 2 essays that are obviously dissatisfying, b/c most of that polishing is purely stylistic)
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(also: to extent you do polish it, writing first draft quickly then waiting 1 wk- 1 mo - 1 yr to edit makes it much harder to edit towards use as final product, but much easier to see fundamental problems and make substantial improvements)
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—-b/c you’re less invested in / in love with / defensive about your idea, and more willing to make wrenching changes or to use it for scrap
End of conversation
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