Caress your phrase tenderly; it will end by smiling at you.
I don't take a scene or word for granted.
You can spend hours editing an email but send it as if you wrote it in a minute.
Of one thing the reader can be certain: the more easily anything reads, the harder it has been to write.
I believe if a sentence is to retain its strength over time, it needs to be carefully made.
Journalism encourages haste ... and haste is the enemy of art.
Sometimes I'll spend an hour writing a tiny email. I work on it until I've created the illusion that I've dashed it off in three minutes. If I make a typo, I let it stand. Sometimes in fact I correct the typo without thinking, and then I back up and retype the typo so that it'll look more casual. I don't know why.
If you are careful about the content and writing style, readers will not feel that you are in a hurry.
Phrases that have historical significance or become headlines don't just magically appear in the moment. They are mindfully planned.
It takes me a long time to write, and I trust myself, so I write very sparsely, so when I do, I know it's good, you know what I mean? Rather than writing a whole bunch and having to sort out what's good and what's not.
I think if you would like to describe composing as an act with one word, "slow" would be the word.
