英语沙龙：What Every Writer Wants

I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respect,

confess at once that they have little idea where they are going

when they first set pen to paper.

They have a character, perhaps two;

they are in that condition of eager discomfort¹ which passes for inspiration;

all admit radical² changes of destination once the journey has begun;

one, to my certain knowledge,spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir,

then reset³ the whole thing in the Scottish Highland⁴.

I never heard of anyone making an “outline”, as we were taught at school.

In the breaking and remaking,in the timing⁵, interweaving,beginning again,

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 fascination⁶.

A blurred⁷ 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 passion 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 understand the exact outline of the vision before them.

For the same reason, writers talk endlessly about their own books,

digging up 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 pertinent⁸ 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 judgment⁹ from outside which can replace the judgment from within.

A writer makes order out of the anarchy¹⁰ of his heart;

he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of,

and when he flirts¹¹ with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself,

from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.

1 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

4 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

7 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

11 flirts   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She flirts with every man she meets. 她同她遇到的每个男人调情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She flirts with every handsome man she meets. 她和所遇到的每个美男子调情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》