The Writing Process
Writing in its broad sense - as distinct from simply putting words on paper - has three steps: thinking about it, doing it, and doing it again (and again and again, as often as time will allow and patience will endure).
广义上的写作——不同于简单地把文字堆彻在纸上——有三个步骤: “思考”、“做”、“再做一次”(一遍又一遍地重复，只要写作者自己的时间还允许，耐心还能忍受)。
The first step, "thinking," involves choosing a subject, exploring ways of developing it, and devising strategies of organization and style. The second step, "doing," is usually called "drafting"; and the third, "doing again," is "revising." The next several chapters take a brief look at these steps of the writing process.
第一步“思考”，包括选择写作主题，探索如何发展这个主题，以及设计组织策略和风格。第二步，“做”，通常被称为“起草”；第三步，“再做一次”，这就是“修订”。接下来的几章，将简要介绍写作过程中的这些步骤。
First a warning. They're not really "steps," not in the usual sense anyway. You don't write by (1) doing all your thinking, (2) finishing a draft, and then (3) completing a revision. Actually you do all these things at once.
首先提醒读者，以上的“步骤”并不是真正的步骤，至少不是通常意义上的步骤。你不会这样来写作的：(第一步)做完所有的思考；(第二步)完成草稿；然后(第三步)完成修订。实际上，你是同时做所有这些事情的。
If that sounds mysterious, it's because writing is a complex activity. As you think about a topic you are already beginning to select words and construct sentences - in other words, to draft. As you draft and as you revise, the thinking goes on: you discover new ideas, realize you've gone down a dead end, discover an implication you hadn't seen before.
如果上面这些话听起来很神秘，那是因为写作是一种复杂的活动。当你在思考一个话题的时候，你就已经开始选择单词和造句了——换句话说，那就是草稿。当你打草稿和修订草稿的时候，你的思考还在继续：你发现了新的想法，意识到你之前进入了一个死胡同，（或者）发现了一个你以前从未见过的暗喻。
It's helpful to conceive of writing as a process having, in a broad and loose sense, three steps. But remember that you don't move from step to step in smooth and steady progress. You go back and forth. As you work on a composition you will be, at any given point, concentrating on one phase of writing. But always you are engaged with the process in its entirety.
广义上以宽松的标准，把写作看成是一个有三个步骤的过程，是有帮助的。 但是请记住，你是不会平滑地、稳稳地一步一步往下走的。你会来来回回折腾着走。 当你写一篇作文的时候，在任何一个给定的时间点，你都是集中精力于正在从事的写作步骤，但是，你总是在和全部的写作过程打交道。
（以上是对本书第一部分的整体介绍，本书第一部分包含第四、第五、第六、第七，一共四章，后续将继续节选学习）
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