Rebecca West: How She Wrote Her Novels

This short article was written by Miss West in the John O'London's Weekly issue dated October 11, 1924.

"I do not know how I write my books, except that I write them on six writing-pads at once. I write the rough draft of a page on the first page of a pad; then on the second I write the rough draft of a paragraph; then on the third I write the rough draft of a sentence; on the fourth and fifth I write the sentence more and more desperately; on the sixth I write the fair copy. People who do not otherwise admire my work tell me that this performance, particularly when carried on at high speed, reminds them of Cinquevalli."

After working out a very elaborate plot Miss West usually finds at the end of the story that not one atom of that plot has survived.