A Writer Can Expect To Revise His Work Over A Hundred Times

Reading Time: 2 minutesThose words were magic, a writer can expect to review his work over a hundred times. That so many times. Can you imagine going through something one hundred times? By the end, you're going to go mad.

Actually, when I'm working on video it's not unusual for me to watch the same five minutes 20-30 times till I'm satisfied it's perfect.

I've been applying that procedure to my dissertation which is why I still haven't completed it. I was feeling discouraged this morning but this afternoon when I heard the sentence I'm now using as a title for this I felt encouraged.

Of course, it's hard, of course, it's repetitive but if you want to write well you've got to give it the time it requires. What's the point in having a dissertation to write if you're going to do it within two days. What about all the thought process. What about all the conversations you're missing out on.

I joked with someone who was still taking notes today, "45 credits.... ah that's worth at least 45 minutes of work". She probably hates me for saying that but come on, it's your dissertation. It's the first time that people want you to blab for so long about a topic of your choosing. No one else tells you what to write, only how you should write it.

Some friends are smart, they chose the subjects they love. So did I, means you're studying even when you're not.

Add to this the process of writing. It's enjoyable. Put some music on, zone out for an hour or two and just write, research, and learn more about what you love, then write more. Write to learn rather than the other way around. I love the thought of writing to learn. It's a book I read several years ago, when still at La Chat in Geneva.

I think I'd like to be a writer. I don't mind academic writing as long as I have as much time as I want, or else organise my time so that I fool myself into believing I have as much time as I want.

There's one paragraph that's taunting me at the moment, I'm going to trick it though, and it will be tamed into a relevant bit of text.