The Writing Process

Throughout Draft No. 4, John McPhee explains various phases of writing, as well as the overall evolution of his career, to illustrate the stages of the writing process. The first essay, "Progression," looks at the process more broadly within the larger scope of McPhee's career. It looks particularly at how the process of writing one piece can progress, evolve, and inform the process of another. For example, the process of writing several individual biographical profiles led McPhee to do a double, and then a quadruple profile. This process eventually led to the publication of his book, Encounters with the Archdruid. Additionally, the process of researching that material introduced McPhee to a character who would inspire a different piece altogether. That unrelated piece would then go on to be adapted into a feature film. This example, which McPhee uses to show writerly progression, illustrates how a writer's process...