This is
an experiment. To my knowledge, no historian, anthropologist, sociologist
or archaeologist has ever published an account of how he or she actually
wrote a complex book. There are plenty of 'after the fact' accounts,
but these do not catch the uncertainties, spontaneous surprise, dead
ends etc. that actually occur. Because those who are learning the craft
of writing have no access to honest accounts of the process as it occurs,
they may gain a distorted picture of how a book is created. This, with
all its faults, is an attempt to remedy this situation. Clearly it makes
more sense when placed alongside the other materials on the web-site
and the published book itself. Please note that in keeping with the
spirit of the enterprise, this is a rough, unchecked, set of materials.
Please use with discretion.
Prefatory
materials
Preface:
three attempts to explain why I wrote this account
The
Milk of Paradise, or The Conditions of Creativity
The
conditions of creativity: case studies of the lives and methods
of some major thinkers: Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Tocqueville and others.
The
longer-term roots of 'Savage Wars of Peace'
Roots
from 1962 to 1976
Roots
from 1976 to 1993
The
convergence of experience
A
diary of the writing of 'Savage Wars of Peace'
From
December 1993 to June 1994
From
June 1994 to September 1994
From
September 1994 to June 1995
From
July 1995 to March 1996
Writing
methods: from typewriter, via computer to the pen