What Every Writer Wants from Harper's

I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respected, confess at once that they have little idea where they arc going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character, perhaps two, they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration, all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears, he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books, like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new ones,begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.

This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.

A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he flirsts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.

最难的课文 L55 L58 L58 L60

New words and expressions

confess 承认 confess one's guilt 承认罪行 confess that I am guilty (也可跟从句)

表示"承认"的词还有：admit, acknowledge, confined新概念英语电子书

confess与它们的区别在于：confess是宗教词汇(忏悔)

inspiration灵感 inspire激发 brain wave灵机一动，脑波 sunden inspiration灵机一动

radical 根本的 也有"激进"之意

(同)primary根本，fundamental基本，essential根本

interweave 交织 inter相互 weave 编

weave a story 编故事 Weaving Maid 织女 He weaves a lie.撒谎

afresh 重新 =again

fresh student 新生 fresh water淡水资源 I am fresh here.

discern辩明，领悟 ——长期的考证，敏锐的目光(强调result)

(同)observe——(科学上)长期、敏锐考证(强调process)

detect——侦察，侦探

spot——猛然发现(suddenly) I spotted an old friend of mine.

indescribable无法描述的 beyond description

utter表述 unutterable非言语所能表达的

express表达 expressible能表达的 inexpressible难以形容的

blur使……模糊不清 Tears blur my eyes.泪水模糊了双眼。 blur with由于……而看不清

befog——由于雾看不清 blot——墨水弄污 stain——由于污渍而弄得不美观

yeast激动 来源：酵母，发酵粉

I am yeasty.我有点激动。 yeasty talk空洞的，一派胡言

fathom领悟，彻底了解 fathomless无法计量，无法了解的 fathomable能够了解的

原意：测量(水)深的手段 go to the bottom of sth.研究 with plumb研究

comprehend理解 penetrate深入，探索

interminably没完没了地 terminable可终止的，有期限的(有完有了：) a terminal(汽车)终点

(同)unbounded无边的，limitless无限的，无界限的，never ending无限的cease停止 ceaselessly

winkle挖掘(向外挖) dig(向下)挖

易混：wrinkle皱纹

super impose添上，加上 impose强加 He is very imposing.他很威严。 Imposing building宏伟的楼

love affairs 恋爱

incidentally顺便说一下 (同)by the way; in passing

in the sight of以某人观点 =in the eye of

He is in sight.他出现了。 Out of sight

Out of sight,out of mind.眼不见，心不烦。

undoing祸根 undo解开 ruin毁坏

The scandal undoes his fame.丑闻把他的名声坏了。=The scandal is the undoing of his bad fame.

smoking undoes my health.

pertinent中肯的 pertinent suggestion/proposition合理建议

(同)apposite适当的，suitable合适的，applicable可用的

be pertinent to sth.和……有关 =be relative to

flirt调情 flirt with sb.不认真对待某人。 flirtatious玩世不恭的，轻浮的

inmost内心深处的 =at the bottom of one's heart

at the inmost point

Notes on the text

…those I have known, and (whom)I respect…这里whom可省略，但加上表示强调(为数少)

set pen to paper诉诸笔端，也可以用apply pen to paper = write

pass for (= be regarded as)被当作，被认为

a train/line of thought思路

pick me up提神

destination目的地

journey旅途(跋山涉水地)(创作的历程);

而trip游山玩水地

to my (certain) knowledge = as I know

set设置 reset重新设置

heard of听说

skeleton骷髅;提纲 =outline

breaking打破 =drop

remaking重新构想 rethinking

timing时间的转换

interweaving交织

come to逐步的

organic有机的(flexible)

self-discovery自我发现(对自己人性的解刨)

reflection思索

psychology心理学

be of结构，表示一种状态

It is interesting. = It is of interest.

revise修改(谈到写作)

a blurred image appears突然出现了一个模糊

的影子

image = figure

brushstroke绘画的技巧

not until直到……才

condensed thinking浓缩的思想

outlive

( = live longer than)超出……，活得比……长

out- 超

outnumber数目超过，比……多; outwit比……聪明

total immersion完全沉浸其间(作家最高境界)

narcissist自我陶醉者，自恋狂

narcissus水仙花

winkling out发掘出

might as well ( = have reason, is reasonable)

He might as well be proud of son.

bore令人讨厌的人

black look遭人白眼

cover the distance弥补之间的距离(= cater for)

pertinent中肯的

a year or two back = a year or two years ago

talent智慧

draft草稿

like any other表示单数"任何一个"

make order调理程序

submit to屈服、容忍 =bear

discipline纪律

critic批评家

when he flirts with fame当他不太考虑名誉问题的时候 错误，应为：追求名誉

take time off休息

from living with himself不再探索内心的感受

at its inmost point在内心深处