You might have noticed the addition of tabs to this blog. One is for quotes, most often to do with writing. I’ve just added this one by Philip Roth:

“I find it arduous and un-doable. It?s laden with fear and doubt. It?s never easy?not for me. The ordeal is part of the task, and the satisfaction usually comes at the end. You stood up to it, you endured it! You achieved the unachievable—for you. But the next time out, I find it impossible all over again.” —Philip Roth, as quoted in Vanity Fair, November 2010.

 

(It goes to show what riches await in the magazine stack at the beauty parlour.)

I think a first draft is by nature exciting: so much is possible. But then comes the long, long middle?drafts two, three, four … . These are so tough: fear and doubt indeed. The last draft is indeed satisfying; the words “the end” must surely be the most beautiful in the language.

On a personal note: we’re now in San Miguel de Allende. I’m almost settled in. Soon I’ll be getting back to work, laden with fear and doubt.