Drafts

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/movies/awardsseason/writers-rethink-words-for-the-big-screen.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&nl=movies&emc=edit_fm_20130104

"David O. Russell wrote 20 drafts of the screenplay for “Silver Linings Playbook,” based on a novel by Matthew Quick. Ol Parker did 43, for four directors, before “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” was done. Tony Kushner’s first pass at “Lincoln,” based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” and other sources, was 500 pages long."

Can you imagine writing 20 drafts of something? Or 43?

I haven't, so far. I think sometimes we lose sight of how difficult creative work can be, even if you love it and it's the only thing you can see yourself doing. We see the finished product - a novel, a movie, a piece of art - and we marvel at it and we think to ourselves, "I couldn't do that in a million years."

What if we try?

To drafts.