So: a repetitive, obsessive, iterative application of preference: watch the needle, adjust the prose, watch the needle, adjust the prose (lather, rinse, repeat), through (sometimes) hundreds of drafts, over months or even years. Over time, like a cruise ship slowly turning, the story will start to alter course via those thousands of incremental adjustments.
—George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
—George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
Saturday, July 08, 2023