Page:The Craftsmanship of Writing.djvu/168

THE GOSPEL OF INFINITE PAINS in point. He is said to have written with astonishing rapidity—The Corsair in ten days, The Bride of Abydos in four days; while it was printing he added and corrected, but without recasting. To quote his own words:

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Now, the ability to get one's thoughts upon paper with great rapidity is in itself an admirable gift. There is a freshness, a spontaneity, and oftentimes a crude strength in the first rough draft which must inevitably be partly sacrificed in the process of final polishing. There is a great deal of truth in Thoreau's advice:

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