Capote

Today I was wondering about the fact that I agonize over every word in my books. This is why it's taking me so long to get Xmas Carol out: I seek perfection. Anyway, while thinking about this I remembered that Truman Capote said he agonized over every word of his novels.

I don't bring this up to indicate that I am in any way Capote-like, except for being gay. It's just that while searching for his name and any mention of his habit of "agonizing over every word" of his novels, I came upon a nice review of Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote. It includes several excerpts from the book. I must say, reading the review made me want to buy the book. Due to some strange oversight, I didn't even know it existed. You'll find the review here.

It's sad that we lost this man. It really is. He would have written many more great books (once he got sober).