Talented writers make it look easy

Easy reading is damn hard writing.

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Perhaps best known to every American school child for his novel The Scarlet Letter, American author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was a prolific novelist, short story writer and essayist who certainly could speak with authority on the craft of writing.

His observation back in the nineteenth century rings equally true for twenty-first century writers.

As both writers, and most readers, know well, writing well takes time. Oodles of time.

The well written book has probably undergone numerous drafts and rewritings, the review of developmental editors and copyeditors, which necessitated entirely new rounds of rewriting.

Not to speak about the constant learning curve an author embarks upon once he or she chooses to embark on that career path. Workshops, classes, critique groups and a constant honing of one’s craft are all integral components of the job description.

Almost all writers will agree that Hawthorne’s description is just as relevant today as when he voiced it almost two hundred years ago. Easy reading is damn hard writing.