[…] This article, entitled “Draft No. …read more […]

John McPhee has written so many wonderful, beautifully crafted articles and books it's incredibly reassuring to read his account of the struggle. I remember reading his Arthur Ashe book when I was fourteen, and then ripping through so many others. The Survival of the Bark Canoe remains a favorite. Although the requirements of the form are different, McPhee may be the unparalleled master at weaving exposition into a story, and making it absolutely compelling.

Concur, Markham. I've read several of McPhee's books and one of the more interesting is Assembling California. He's so good, he makes geology fascinating.

"If you lack confidence in setting one word after another and sense that you are stuck in a place from which you will never be set free, if you feel sure that you will never make it and were not cut out to do this, if your prose seems stillborn and you completely lack confidence, you must be a writer." I love this. It's oddly comforting. Thanks for posting these excerpts, Scott!