I’ve read that some, like Hemmingway, could sit down and write a vast number of pages in a few hours. I am much slower. I begin with an outline, though I frequently rework the outline as I go. I write in an attempt to cover the topic, often leaving large gaps between thoughts. I rework that draft to try to get continuity within each section and between sections. Then I rework each section over and over trying to find the right words. I rework each section until if it says what I want it to say. I rework each section until a well informed reader should be able follow and not get bored. I rework it again so that someone with no background can pick up just that one page and at least get a general understanding of what I meant to say.

When I first started writing all this was done with a typewriter. Every draft had to be completely typed again. Once I got my first word processing machine the process became simpler. Personal computers make it even easier. One time I even typed an entire book just using my cell phone.

I wonder, however, if I could have learned to be more like Hemmingway if I had never found a word processor. What if I put more time into mentally forming perfect paragraphs before touching the keys? Well, I did not. Instead, I put a lot of effort into every page. I might rework the same section ten of twenty times. At first I insert and delete entire sentences, or even paragraphs. Later in the process I may re-read the section and change only one or two words.

I enjoy the effort. I think about how my father would take a piece of lumber, plane it smooth, trim it to size, sand it over and over again, fit it in place, smooth the edges and joints, stain the piece, polish, and then apply a protective lacquer. It was his hobby. His father did the same with his hobby. Perhaps it is genetic. I enjoy shaping the words, sanding the edges between paragraphs and sections, assembling the whole, and then polishing the points where sections connect. I guess what I do for my hobby is very much like what my father did with his.

The key to the process is to find joy in every minute. If it seems like work, then it is time to step away and take a break. When I do this right, every hour is an hour of gratitude.