PLACEHOLDER — replace with post header imageOn Writing6 min read
The Second Draft Is the Real One
I have written five books and produced, by my count, one usable first draft. Here is what I think the first one is actually for.
Read the essayJournal
Notes on writing, reading, and the working day.
Occasional essays from the desk — on revision, research, and the books that rearranged something.
PLACEHOLDER — replace with post header image
On Reading5 min readNotes From the Margins: On Reading With a Pencil
My copies are unlendable, unsellable and frankly a bit embarrassing. I would not read any other way.
Behind the Book8 min readNine Years in the Archive, and What It Did to My Sentences
Before the novels there were shipping records, parish registers, and a great deal of other people's handwriting. It shaped everything.
On Reading7 min readA Reading Year: Twelve Books That Rearranged Something
No rankings, no stars. Just the twelve that left the furniture in a different place than they found it.