An honest workflow series from airyter, with a y: the draft is written by a person, a tool helps with polish, and each piece shows exactly where the line sat. Nothing here writes for you.
1. The ideaWhat the piece is for, and who reads it.
1. no toolnothing to automate; this is the point of the piece
2. The draftEvery sentence typed by the writer, rough and in order.
2. no toola blank page and a deadline
3. The big cutsDeciding what goes. A reader of the draft helps here.
3. no toola tool cannot know what you mean
4. The clean-upThe writer accepts or rejects every suggestion.
4. toolflags typos, repeated words, long sentences
5. The last readAloud, once, on paper if possible.
5. toolreads the text back in a flat voice
The split, shown on a real piece
An example paragraph from an invented shop, Hollis Lane Candle Co. Underlined in orange: written and decided by the writer. Mint: a spot where a tool flagged a long sentence or a repeat and the writer chose the fix.
Example
Every jar starts as a pound of wax and an afternoon of pouring. We pour in small batches. The wax cools unevenly in a big batch and we would rather pour twice than sell a jar with a sunken top. The last line, about the smell of the shop, stayed exactly as written.
by handtool pointed, writer decided