I'm A Fierce Editor! I Don't Edit

I Think The Close Work I Do As A Translator Pays Off In My Writing - I'm Always Searching For Multiple Ways To Say Things.

I Don't Pare Down Much. I Write The Beginning Of A Story In A Notebook And It Comes Out Very Close To What It Will Be In The End. There Is Not Much Deliberateness About It.

The Moment When A Limit Is Reached, When There Is Nothing Ahead But Darkness: Something Comes In To Help That Is Not Real. Another Way All This Is Like Madness: A Mad Person Not Helped Out Of His Trouble By Anything Real Begins To Trust What Is Not Real Because It Helps Him And He Needs It Because Real Things Continue Not To Help Him.

I Attempt All Day, At Work, Not To Think About What Lies Ahead, But This Costs Me So Much Effort That There Is Nothing Left For My Work. I Handle Telephone Calls So Badly That After A While The Switchboard Operator Refuses To Connect Me. So I Had Better Say To Myself, Go Ahead And Polish The Silverware Beautifully, Then Lay It Out Ready On The Sideboard And Be Done With It. Because I Polish It In My Mind All Day Long—this Is What Torments Me (and Doesn't Clean The Silver).

I Think A Lot Of What Goes Into Writing Can Be Taught - Not Mixing Metaphors, Etc.