I'm told that Isaac Asimov never did rewrites on his books; he just wrote 'em out and sent 'em to his publisher. (I don't know if I believe it. Even if I do, I say, "pooh." And, "well, he was Isaac Asimov.") Coco Chanel, designer and inventor of the Chanel suit, famously described her recipe for elegance: get yourself dressed and then "before leaving the house...look in the mirror and remove one accessory." This reminds me of the dictum of editors to young writers: "Murder your darlings." (In other words, the phrase or sentence or paragraph of which you are most fond--is the one that needs the ax.)

Editing is tough. God Himself says so. John21:25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. I like the "amen" at the end for emphasis. And because it's the last verse in the gospels, I like to think God Himself is owning up to the difficulty inherent in editing.

In my spare time I like to write out quotes and verses. I do each one more than once, because the first version is inevitably busy and too-cute. And after years of doing art, it still takes multiple renderings to clear the clutter out of my brain. Its component parts are:

• fear that people won't "get" my point unless I throw in lots of clues
• compulsion to include every idea I have, because maybe I'll never have another one
• desire to use all the available space, because, as my father used to say: "willful waste makes woeful want"
• an impetus to include accessories for every person in a drawing, as if I were some Egyptian slave outfitting the person in the tomb with every accoutrement for the afterlife.

Note: I cut about 20% of this post out before putting it up.