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Transcript

The Surprising Pathway to Being Good · The Daily Writer

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: One of the most important lessons we can ever learn as writers is that good writing happens in stages.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you read a great book chapter, a blog post, a screenplay, or you hear a great speech, it didn't begin that way.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It was most likely outlined, drafted, revised, and edited probably several times before it took its final shape.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is the way almost all good writing, as well as almost all good art, is created.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Take the Beatles, for example.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: In the years since the Beatles made their original recordings in the 1960s, there have been lots of behind-the-scenes albums released that show how their songs progressed in stages.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: For example, the 2018 re-release of the White Album included the legendary Esher demos, which were recorded at George Harrison's house in Esher, about a half hour's drive southwest of London.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: During these sessions, the Beatles recorded an early version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's quite a bit faster and much more stripped down than the final version that was included on the album.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: But through the process of rewriting, arranging, perfecting the song over time, it eventually became something that was truly majestic.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a pattern that all great creatives seem to follow.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: The great William Faulkner spoke the truth when he said, get it down, take chances.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we would be hard pressed to say that any of the Beatles' early demos were bad because, I mean, after all, they were the Beatles, but they were definitely improved by the continual process of revision.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the same process holds true for all artists, including writers.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The first version is not the final version.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to just get down a first draft and then keep working on it from there.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's been said that 10% of good writing is inspiration, while 90% is perspiration.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that sounds pretty much about right.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Just get the words down and keep working at it, and you'll get better and faster over time.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to be good, you have to first be willing to be bad.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.