**One gets the impression that Didion hovered over her words like a vulture hovering over a skull, wondering, Did I miss anything the first time I picked this clean? It probably took her half an hour to write a single sentence.**

I remember when I was an editor at the college newspaper there was this dude who was just AGHAST that I would edit any of his articles. One time I let him literally sit over my shoulder and criticize me while I edited his article (I know, blech, stop being such a damn pushover). Even Joan Didion scrutinized her own words, not someone else's editorial process (well, far as I know)!