Introduction
Writing is generally hard work. In the context of writing judgments, Sir Frank
Kitto refers to the “toil of conscientious writing”
315
, the “intensity of
penetrating thought”
316
and the “intense concentration of the earnest writer”.
317
Indeed, for a writer “intensity is the only thing”.
318
In consequence, writing
demands a discipline which “has necessarily to be self-imposed”.
319
Continuing on this theme, Sir Frank speaks of undertaking “the labour, often
the gruelling labour”, of writing out reasons for a decision,
320
and the “burden”
of reasoning to a conclusion.
321
There is “the travail” of it all in “making the
necessary preparations for the task, knuckling down to the sheer toil of it,
enduring the soul-searing tedium of it, going over the first draft, the seventh
draft if need be, and making all the necessary corrections and improvements
with the crossing outs, the balloons and the marginal scribbling”.
322
All of
these “add up to the discipline”.
323
An “adjudication that is not disciplined
cannot but be more or less of a travesty, however facile its language, [and]
however impressive the voice that pronounces it”.
324
Sir Frank suggests that the requirement for intensity can be met by the
appropriate method of writing. Writing is better done by literally writing it out
rather than dictating the text for typing
325
because dictating may forego “the
discipline of the careful manuscript”.
326
Modern word processing, however,
may be a better way to proceed, since it facilitates easy and frequent
amendment of text.
While writing requires a substantial and sustained effort, the task can be made
easier to do and the final product made better by a proper use of time. To
understand how to do this we must first engage with the fundamental truths
about time that underlie effective writing. Equipped with this knowledge, we
314
Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland
Chapter 1. This was advice given by the
King.
315
Kitto (1992) p 796
316
Kitto (1992) p 796
317
Kitto (1992) p 796
318
Justice Holmes, cited in Kitto (1992) p 796
319
Kitto (1992) p 793
320
Kitto (1992) p 791
321
Kitto (1992) p 792
322
Kitto (1992) p 792
323
Kitto (1992) p 792
324
Kitto (1992) p 792
325
Kitto (1992) p 795
326
Kitto (1992) p 795
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