Why Writers Should Keep A ‘Writing Diary’

“Surveying this at the end of a project provides a fascinating vision of the evolution of a book – though I invariably find that it’s a catalogue of complaints (‘horrible day,’ ‘appalling day,’ ‘realised that most of what I wrote last week was rubbish’), relieved only rarely by moments of insight and sweaty euphoria: ‘Think I’m getting there at last, thank Christ!'”