I love this reflection. Watching the early, messy versions of something creative is such a humbling reminder that the magic we see at the end usually comes from a lot of iteration and starting over.
As someone who writes and creates while raising kids, this really resonated with me. Motherhood has been teaching me the same lesson, that the process is slower, messier, and far less linear than I imagined… but somehow the work ends up deeper because of it.♥️🫶🏼
Fantastic article and great writing. I enjoy your humorous asides, even though the paleolithic time of the OG HGs would be my personal hell.
I also massively respect you getting rid of the TV. My husband and I basically do that as our leisure activity -we've got some board games but we need to push ourselves more. We decided to read Aesyschlus together but surprise, surprise, we haven't started yet.
I am fortunate to have never been a straight A student. That's slightly tongue in cheek, but I've never had the experience of anything coming to me incredibly easily. I think it's made it cognitively easier for me to know I always need to put the work in.
This piece made me a little weepy - you have beautifully articulated exactly why so-called "AI slop" will never replace the results of human creative endeavour, no matter what advances are made in its technical capabilities. As both a child and adult, I was always somewhat dismissive of Disney, viewing it as rather saccharine - you have certainly made me see it in a new light!
To bring the discussion back to hunter gatherers: writing is, as you so clearly explain, an iterative process, but what about the broader process of storytelling? Obviously, writing as we know it has only been undertaken for a relatively short period of human history. Research indicates that writing ability, although doubtlessly honed by regular practice, is at least partially genetic, but also that the neutral structures that support literacy are essentially cobbled together from brain regions originally evolved to support other skills. Studies of both ancient and modern cultures, such as Bronze Age Greece and early 20th Century Yugoslavia, suggest that oral poets were capable of composing incredibly complex and beautiful works of epic poetry, although generally they would have relied on large stocks of poetic formulae and themes inherited from their forebears, rather than creating them ex nihilo.
So I would be very curious to hear what we know about modern-day hunter gatherers' storytelling practices. Presumably the !Kung, Hadza, Efe etc. tell stories, because as far as I am aware, pretty much every documented human culture tells stories. But would they view story creation as an iterative process, as per the creation of Beauty and the Beast? Or would they see it as something more spontaneous, or perhaps even divinely inspired?
Think of every great story known to humankind. Cinderella for example is a derivative of Vasilisa and exists in many cultures. Those stories are the result of countless iterations, passed down through generations, each adding its own flavor or twist. Over time we end up with all of these different but similar versions across space and time. And yes, Hunter gatherers have many wonderful stores!
I listened to an interview recently with Olivia Laing. She wrote Crudo in six weeks. It was an experiment. She couldn’t stop and she couldn’t edit. It was polished almost in its original form, as I understood.
I was amazed by it. I always views book writing as editing and re-editing and editing again.
I think this can work for certain kinds of stream of consciousness novels - I loved Nightbitch and it was very off the cuff. But deeply researched nonfiction where argument structure and logically clarity are key? And you have to keep a reader entertained through the slog of facts? Forget it.
Thank you for this thoughtful reflection. The moment when you described watching the rough storyboard version and realizing how boring the first attempt was really stayed with me. It’s such a powerful reminder that the polished work we admire almost always hides a long trail of imperfect versions behind it. That idea resonates deeply because so many creative people quietly assume that struggle means they’re not talented enough—when in reality, struggle is often evidence that the work is being taken seriously.
One thought your piece sparked for me is that iteration doesn’t just refine the work—it refines the creator. Every version forces the artist to confront their assumptions about what the work is supposed to be. Sometimes scrapping a draft isn’t just editing; it’s a moment where the creator’s understanding of the project evolves. In that sense, the real process might not be draft → revision → masterpiece, but rather creator → revision → new creator → better work.
So good! Who would unsubscribe after this, lol. Love the original drawings. We do the “library of movies” thing too and so far it’s been fun for our 2YO and nicely understimulating for me
I really enjoyed reading this, it was beautifully written. It is nice to be reminded how much hard work went into the classis cartoons. They just don't make them like the used to.
Beauty and the Beast original is my all time favourite. Now I want to buy the special edition DVD.
Lovely. This reminds me of this great piece by the oatmeal:
Erasers are wonderful - The Oatmeal https://share.google/J8510cCodzX9XyVKq
Also, to date myself, Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I saw in theaters as a young child and it will always have a special place in my heart.
Same! My mom took me to see it theaters :)
I love this reflection. Watching the early, messy versions of something creative is such a humbling reminder that the magic we see at the end usually comes from a lot of iteration and starting over.
As someone who writes and creates while raising kids, this really resonated with me. Motherhood has been teaching me the same lesson, that the process is slower, messier, and far less linear than I imagined… but somehow the work ends up deeper because of it.♥️🫶🏼
Fantastic article and great writing. I enjoy your humorous asides, even though the paleolithic time of the OG HGs would be my personal hell.
I also massively respect you getting rid of the TV. My husband and I basically do that as our leisure activity -we've got some board games but we need to push ourselves more. We decided to read Aesyschlus together but surprise, surprise, we haven't started yet.
I am fortunate to have never been a straight A student. That's slightly tongue in cheek, but I've never had the experience of anything coming to me incredibly easily. I think it's made it cognitively easier for me to know I always need to put the work in.
My family had the flu last week too and it was brutal!
Brutal. Glad you’re better!
This piece made me a little weepy - you have beautifully articulated exactly why so-called "AI slop" will never replace the results of human creative endeavour, no matter what advances are made in its technical capabilities. As both a child and adult, I was always somewhat dismissive of Disney, viewing it as rather saccharine - you have certainly made me see it in a new light!
To bring the discussion back to hunter gatherers: writing is, as you so clearly explain, an iterative process, but what about the broader process of storytelling? Obviously, writing as we know it has only been undertaken for a relatively short period of human history. Research indicates that writing ability, although doubtlessly honed by regular practice, is at least partially genetic, but also that the neutral structures that support literacy are essentially cobbled together from brain regions originally evolved to support other skills. Studies of both ancient and modern cultures, such as Bronze Age Greece and early 20th Century Yugoslavia, suggest that oral poets were capable of composing incredibly complex and beautiful works of epic poetry, although generally they would have relied on large stocks of poetic formulae and themes inherited from their forebears, rather than creating them ex nihilo.
So I would be very curious to hear what we know about modern-day hunter gatherers' storytelling practices. Presumably the !Kung, Hadza, Efe etc. tell stories, because as far as I am aware, pretty much every documented human culture tells stories. But would they view story creation as an iterative process, as per the creation of Beauty and the Beast? Or would they see it as something more spontaneous, or perhaps even divinely inspired?
Think of every great story known to humankind. Cinderella for example is a derivative of Vasilisa and exists in many cultures. Those stories are the result of countless iterations, passed down through generations, each adding its own flavor or twist. Over time we end up with all of these different but similar versions across space and time. And yes, Hunter gatherers have many wonderful stores!
I listened to an interview recently with Olivia Laing. She wrote Crudo in six weeks. It was an experiment. She couldn’t stop and she couldn’t edit. It was polished almost in its original form, as I understood.
I was amazed by it. I always views book writing as editing and re-editing and editing again.
I’m so excited to read your book!
I think this can work for certain kinds of stream of consciousness novels - I loved Nightbitch and it was very off the cuff. But deeply researched nonfiction where argument structure and logically clarity are key? And you have to keep a reader entertained through the slog of facts? Forget it.
Glad you and the family are feeling better!
What a gorgeous read
Thank you for this thoughtful reflection. The moment when you described watching the rough storyboard version and realizing how boring the first attempt was really stayed with me. It’s such a powerful reminder that the polished work we admire almost always hides a long trail of imperfect versions behind it. That idea resonates deeply because so many creative people quietly assume that struggle means they’re not talented enough—when in reality, struggle is often evidence that the work is being taken seriously.
One thought your piece sparked for me is that iteration doesn’t just refine the work—it refines the creator. Every version forces the artist to confront their assumptions about what the work is supposed to be. Sometimes scrapping a draft isn’t just editing; it’s a moment where the creator’s understanding of the project evolves. In that sense, the real process might not be draft → revision → masterpiece, but rather creator → revision → new creator → better work.
This was a beautiful essay!
Thank you! I appreciate your writing and this add-on about your philosophy of art so much!!
So good! Who would unsubscribe after this, lol. Love the original drawings. We do the “library of movies” thing too and so far it’s been fun for our 2YO and nicely understimulating for me
I really enjoyed reading this, it was beautifully written. It is nice to be reminded how much hard work went into the classis cartoons. They just don't make them like the used to.
Beauty and the Beast original is my all time favourite. Now I want to buy the special edition DVD.
This is so beautifully written. How wonderful on so many levels. Process is Everything.