Garfield du Jour (Not That One)(Okay Kinda in the End)

James Garfield is one of my all-time favorite Americans - he may be the namesake for my favorite lasagna-loving cat, and his unfortunate assassination did give us my favorite political assassin of all time - and here's apparently how he wrote:

"Got to work in earnest today & finished about ten pages including the introduction & the first section of the theme itself. I have become confirmed in my method of work. I must substantially finish as I go. Some men write with great rapidity and then rewrite with care, revising & changing. The first is the creative spirit the second the critical. This method has some advantages, and perhaps among other things it gives more continuity to the composition. But I run the two processes together. I cannot well write a new sentence till I am satisfied myself with the last. This makes me a slow worker for it requires many erasures & changes to keep the proper proportions of the article."

It's one thing I guess if he was busy writing the dull, dry, lawyer-y nonfiction things I'd imagine some accomplished brainiac like him would write, but for anyone writing creative fiction I'd suggest he's dead wrong and all that style does is rob you of any great surprises as the story unfolds to you as the writer.

Love you, JG! 🕺