The longer I write, the more important I believe it is to write the first draft as fast as possible. In drafting, I push myself so I am at the edge of discomfort...Later, it will be time for consideration and reconsideration, slow, careful revision and editing. But on the first draft I have to achieve velocity, just as you do if you want the bike to balance.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of quickly producing a first draft without overthinking, allowing for creativity to flow.
In this quote, Donald Murray discusses the significance of writing the first draft swiftly to unleash creativity and ideas without the hindrance of self-doubt or excessive scrutiny. He asserts that pushing through discomfort and achieving a 'velocity' in writing is crucial to finding balance in the creative process, which can later be fine-tuned during the revision phase. This approach encourages writers to prioritize initial expression over perfection, fostering a more productive writing experience.
In practice
In a writing workshop, when discussing strategies for overcoming writer's block, I would share this quote to encourage participants to write freely.
Our popular economics writers, however, are not in the business of giving their readers a ringside seat on the research action; with no exception I can think of, they use their books to do an end run around the normal structure of scholarship, to preach ideas that few serious economists share. Often, these ideas are not just at odds with the professional consensus; they are demonstrably wrong, and sometimes terminally silly. But they sound good to the unwary reader.
I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform.
I was unloading sides of beef down on the docks when I decided enough was enough. By then, I'd done a lot of reading on my own, so I persuaded New York University to enroll me.
There are books that one reads over and over again, books that become part of the furniture of one's mind and alter one's whole attitude to life, books that one dips into but never reads through, books that one reads at a single sitting and forgets a week later.
The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.
I want to go back to my country to help other girls. We need to support girls to see other possibilities for themselves, to have a vision for their own future.
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