Comment by austenallred | Hacker News Reader

Comment by austenallred | Hacker News Reader

This is fantastic. I've been an addict of http://reddit.com/r/artisanvideos for quite a while, because there's something fascinating and enlightening about watching artisans perform their work (for example, Alexis Ohanian designing the Hipmunk bellhop logo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYEQpwduyPU).

It's especially interesting to note that there are few, if any, words in the entire essay that he didn't edit multiple times. A lot of times when you read something as well-written as PGs essays you get the feeling that the person writing them just sits down and hammers out brilliance. But in reality, at least in the case of PG - and I would venture a guess that most great authors are similar - greatness comes through sweat and repetition more than raw talent, until eventually that thing becomes second nature - or does it ever? I would kill to watch some of the great authors of all-time (a la Shakespeare, Hugo, Dickens etc.) write in real-time - it would be fascinating to know what their process was like.

Everyone revises their work, many times over. But yes the great authors do as well. I think this tool is cool for that reason.

“I have rewritten–often several times–every word I have ever written. My pencils outlast their erasers.” -- Vladimir Nabokov

But are you really trying to compare a bullet-point style blog post (not really an essay) to Shakespeare, Hugo, or Dickens?

Of course not.

I say go ahead and compare. Shakespeare and Dickens were both considered highly-commercialized and not art in their time. We already see pg's incredible value as a writer.

And what does the format matter? If it did, we would disregard haikus as poetry just because they can fit into tweets.

Are u nuts?

> Everyone revises their work, many times over. But yes the great authors do as well.

You state that as if it's some universal truth but it's certainly not. We know that Asimov only ever wrote a first draft and a final draft and Heinlein wouldn't even create a first draft most of the time. Neither of them is a Nabokov or Hemingway but they certainly fall into the category of "everyone."

Quite, and Ben Jonson writes

'I remember the players have often mentioned it as an honour to Shakspeare, that in his writing (whatsoever he penned) he never blotted out a line. My answer hath been, "Would he had blotted a thousand," which they thought a malevolent speech. I had not told posterity this but for their ignorance who chose that circumstance to commend their friend by wherein he most faulted; and to justify mine own candour, for I loved the man, and do honour his memory on this side idolatry as much as any.'

(http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5134/pg5134.txt)

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