The thought of him using the term ‘ten-fingered’, for a paid typist, was quite amusing. It conjured up the image of him hunched over an old
Royal typewriter, the smell of a freshly inserted ribbon wafting out as the keys strike it with a
clackety – clack . . . the rhythm syncopated and marked with pauses as the determined author pecks the keys with two fingers.
This particular part of the
Foreword also talks about the process of writing such a layered and detailed storyline.
Quote:
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Then when the ‘end’ had at last been reached the whole story had to be revised, and indeed largely re-written backwards.
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The end of the writing process for the main storyline has to be looked at closely - ideas which have come to fruition in the final chapters have to be enhanced or even planted in the initial chapters so that the entire creation becomes as close to a seamless, consistent whole as it can.
I appreciate the fact that he stuck with the process over that thirteen year period!