It's not as simple as you think.
It's not just scribbling away mindlessness in a composition notebook, and turning in a perfect manuscript. It doesn't work that way.
First, you need to think. If you don't think like you're supposed to, it doesn't come out right. Then, you need to scratch it all out and begin again. This doesn't sound like that bad of a task... sure, if the only thing you've written is a couple of mediocre sentences, it won't matter. But when you've done pages and pages of heart-wretching, soul burning revelations, it matters a lot. You might not think it's a big deal if you're a mathematician, because for you the formulas are already made. If you're a scientist, you know what I mean. It takes years to come up with that final thesis and prove that hypothesis is the one that serves the higher purpose. When that one chemical fails you, it's not about the experiments anymore. Now, it's about you. Now, it's not the chemicals that failed, or the process that didn't hold up. Now, you're the inexperienced child that knows nothing but the regurgitated chunks of grad school and your Ph.D. Now, you are the one that failed, and no one can tell you otherwise. You are the one who is at fault. Don't blame the data. Don't blame the miscalculations. Blame yourself.
It's easy for you... It's not quite the same for me. For the few that still want to subject ourselves to the metaphormosis of authors, the burning of gold to make it purer, it means everything. We know we have to work beyond hours, sleep less than most, think more than others, and believe in ourselves more than everyone has ever believed in us.
