You begin with a subject, gather material, and work your way to structure from there."
-- Narrator (John McPhee) (Progression)

Importance: This quote outline's the progression of the early stages of the writing process, according to John McPhee. He places structure early enough in the process to be important and integral to the writing itself, but not so early that it dictates the subject or the research process. As such, structure should evolve naturally from the raw material but then serves as a guide for how to manage that material and turn it into a piece of polished writing. This quote is one of John's first clear instructional lessons to readers about how to become successful writers.

Writing a successful lead, in other words, can illuminate the structure problem for you and cause you to see the piece whole--to see it conceptually, in various parts, to which you then assign your materials. You find your lead...
-- Narrator (John McPhee) (Structure)