I love writing traditional magazine pieces, and especially their breadth of reporting and the deliberateness of the writing.
Writing is a solitary profession; you are really alone when you write. Then the emotions become well shaped and distinct. But their transition into words must be done deliberately and with rigid artistry.
It takes me six months to do a story. I think it out and then write it sentence by sentence - no first draft. I can't write five words but that I change seven.
It's always been about shelf life. Long-term parking, not short-term. That's why I take the time that I do when I write.
I'm such a slow writer I have no need for anything as fast as a word processor. I don't need anything so snappy. I write so slowly that I could write in my own blood without hurting myself.
I don't wake up every day and just write to write. I only write with purpose.
If I were to try to describe the way in which I write, the only word I would use without qualification is 'slowly.'
I don't write quickly, and I don't want to.
I don't like lyrics that are just thrown together, that were obviously written as you went along, or the song was already written and the guy made up the lyrics in five minutes.
I was never a quick writer, but composed with great care and efforts.
Give your main clause a little space. Prose is not like boxing; the skilled writer deliberately telegraphs his punch, knowing that the reader wants to take the message directly on the chin.
